Michael Power, Future of Messaging Adviser for MEF, shares his highlights and takeaways from the recent RCS World event in Paris where MEF Members and guests gathered to take stock of RCS’ progress and success since the inaugural event in 2022.
Wow! RCS World, hosted by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum at the stunning Google Office in the heart of Paris, was truly an extraordinary event. With over 200 in-person attendees, it was a standing-room-only affair, complemented by an additional 600 viewers joining us online. This achievement stands as a remarkable testament to the progress we’ve made in just one year since the inaugural RCS World event in Dublin.
This year marked a significant acceleration in the RCS landscape, with over 1.2 billion handsets worldwide now supporting this technology. However, this is only half of the story. The real value for both consumers and businesses lie in the B2C entry point: RCS Business Messaging (RBM).
Messaging providers from across the globe showcased how RCS is being employed for everything from non-intrusive, targeted cross-selling to delivering tickets directly to your phone’s wallet and enhancing public safety “
The day commenced with insightful keynotes from Colin Decamps (BearingPoint) and Jan Jedrzejowicz (Google), underscoring the potential of rich conversational experiences and how RCS Business Messaging offers engaging features like carousels and call-to-action buttons. These features are proving their effectiveness in the vast and rapidly expanding markets of Brazil and India.
Yet, the primary focus remained on consumer trust and the critical role of Brand Verification in safeguarding consumers from phishing and messaging fraud associated with unverified channels.
We were privileged to host an excellent industry analyst presentation by Nick Lane, Chief Analyst and Insight Officer of Mobile Squared, which highlighted the undeniable acceleration of RCS.
If we look at the success of other rich communication channels, it becomes clear that RCS is on track to become the most widely used channel in the coming years, not only for consumers but also for businesses looking to engage with their customers.
The rest of the day was filled with captivating presentations and panel discussions. Mobile Operators from France, the UK, and Germany shared their strategies for enabling businesses of all sizes to transition their customer communications from SMS to RCS.
Messaging providers from across the globe showcased how RCS is being employed for everything from non-intrusive, targeted cross-selling to delivering tickets directly to your phone’s wallet and enhancing public safety on some of France’s busiest railways.
A special mention and hearty congratulations go to our winner of the best RCS case study, Clara Bosi of Printemps, and Laure Cuillé of Sinch.
They demonstrated how RCS can provide customers with an app-like experience within the messaging channel, resulting in a remarkable 3.4x increase in engagement and a 6% boost in revenue compared to traditional engagement methods.
This is just the beginning of what RCS can achieve!
Finally, I want to express my immense gratitude to all the individuals involved at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum and Google, as well as all our speakers. An event of this magnitude requires considerable effort, and based on the feedback received so far, it’s evident that they executed it flawlessly.
Personally, I can’t wait for what next year will bring!
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