MobileStorm
Encyclopedia
mobileStorm is an email
and text-message marketing firm started by Jared Reitzin and based in Los Angeles
, California
. To date, the company has sent more than 3 billion messages and launched more than half a million marketing campaigns. Some of their clients include Overstock.com
, NASCAR
, American Idol
and Kaiser Permanente
.
Within Katalyst, Reitzin started a technology
division where they built websites for larger labels. Early in the company’s founding, Jonathan Schreiber, an advisor, inspired Reitzin's interest in mobile technology
. Reitzin says "[He] told me mobile is gonna be big... He explained the ecosystem to me and it got me fired up." Schreiber was able to provide Reitzin with his first project which was with Interscope Records
; Reitzin would start mobileStorm around that project.
mobileStorm officially launched in 1999 and incorporated in August 2000. They raised $40,000 initially from friends and family and were entirely self-funded. Reitzin states that “When I started mobileStorm, investors were throwing money at anyone who uttered the word "mobile." I think one of the best mistakes I never made was taking investment. I don’t think I would be around today.”
In 2007, mobileStorm sought to expand and announced a Series A round of funding with eonBusiness and opened an additional office in San Francisco. The San Francisco branch will focus on new accounts, sales, and customer service. In 2008, mobileStorm was named the email service provider of FreemantleEnterprises, which manages shows like American Idol
and The Price is Right
. mobileStorm’s former products include Stun!, which allowed small to medium sized businesses to build a database of customers and market to them via text messaging, email, voice and fax, and Bolt, a hosted service designed for large enterprises that deployed marketing, customer service, and transactional messaging programs. The two platforms are currently integrated into "mobileStorm for Marketing."
, hospitality
, nightlife
, events, agencies, and healthcare), however today we service everyone from airlines to schools to retail."
mobileStorm's cornerstone platform is "mobileStorm for Marketing" which provides a web-based, integrated platform for messaging via email, mobile, and social media.
, the company was able to save $275,000 at a single clinic by deploying an SMS appoint reminder solution. Humana
, a multi-billion dollar health company, is a beta client of the service. mobileStorm forecasts that the mobile health market will reach over a billion users by 2020.
’s "game changers" competition. That same year, they were also named the Mobile and Communications Company of the Year by the Technology Council of Southern California. In June 2011, mobileStorm was named #1 on Website Magazine's list of Top 50 Movers and Shakers in Mobile Services, which is calculated by aggregating averages for page view
s and daily unique visitors.
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and text-message marketing firm started by Jared Reitzin and based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. To date, the company has sent more than 3 billion messages and launched more than half a million marketing campaigns. Some of their clients include Overstock.com
Overstock.com
Overstock.com , also known by its shortcut, O.co, is an online retailer headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Founded in 1997 by Robert Brazell, under the name D2: Discounts Direct, it was a pioneering online seller of surplus merchandise which, upon its failure in 1999,...
, NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
, American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
and Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield...
.
Company history
In 1998, at the age of 19, Reitzin dropped out of college to start a record label called Katalyst Music Group.Within Katalyst, Reitzin started a technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
division where they built websites for larger labels. Early in the company’s founding, Jonathan Schreiber, an advisor, inspired Reitzin's interest in mobile technology
Mobile technology
Mobile technology is a collective term used to describe the various types of cellular communication technology. Mobile CDMA technology has evolved quite rapidly over the past few years...
. Reitzin says "[He] told me mobile is gonna be big... He explained the ecosystem to me and it got me fired up." Schreiber was able to provide Reitzin with his first project which was with Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
; Reitzin would start mobileStorm around that project.
mobileStorm officially launched in 1999 and incorporated in August 2000. They raised $40,000 initially from friends and family and were entirely self-funded. Reitzin states that “When I started mobileStorm, investors were throwing money at anyone who uttered the word "mobile." I think one of the best mistakes I never made was taking investment. I don’t think I would be around today.”
In 2007, mobileStorm sought to expand and announced a Series A round of funding with eonBusiness and opened an additional office in San Francisco. The San Francisco branch will focus on new accounts, sales, and customer service. In 2008, mobileStorm was named the email service provider of FreemantleEnterprises, which manages shows like American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
and The Price is Right
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
. mobileStorm’s former products include Stun!, which allowed small to medium sized businesses to build a database of customers and market to them via text messaging, email, voice and fax, and Bolt, a hosted service designed for large enterprises that deployed marketing, customer service, and transactional messaging programs. The two platforms are currently integrated into "mobileStorm for Marketing."
Company culture
mobileStorm has 11 core values that "dictate every action that [they] make and every customer interaction that takes place;" some of these include: Maintain Integrity at all Costs, Practice Transparency, Work Hard, and Have Lots of Fun. In 2010, Reitzin got a tattoo of the company logo, a swirling tornado, on his right ankle. He currently offers $1,000 to any employee that also gets the tattoo; to date, two employees have taken him up on the offer.Products and services
Reitzin states "We have two parts to our business: our online which focuses on small business, and our direct sales group which focuses on mid-market customers. Our strengths lie in the verticals we first started in (entertainmentEntertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
, hospitality
Hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, resorts, membership clubs, conventions, attractions, special events, and other services for travelers...
, nightlife
Nightlife
Nightlife is the collective term for any entertainment that is available and more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning...
, events, agencies, and healthcare), however today we service everyone from airlines to schools to retail."
mobileStorm's cornerstone platform is "mobileStorm for Marketing" which provides a web-based, integrated platform for messaging via email, mobile, and social media.
mobileStorm for Healthcare
In May 2011, mobileStorm announced "mobileStorm for healthcare," a secure mobile messaging platform that allows transmission of protected health information to patients via mobile devices. The service is the first HIPAA-compliant communication platform, meaning that it protects patients’ security and privacy. In a case study with Kaiser PermanenteKaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield...
, the company was able to save $275,000 at a single clinic by deploying an SMS appoint reminder solution. Humana
Humana
Humana Inc. , founded in 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base of over 11.5 million in the United States, the company is the largest Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and has a...
, a multi-billion dollar health company, is a beta client of the service. mobileStorm forecasts that the mobile health market will reach over a billion users by 2020.
Reception
Inc. Magazine named mobileStorm the "best company for sending text messages." In 2008, mobileStorm won VatorVator
Vator is a community-based website focused on the business of funding and building emerging technologies for startups. Vator operates a database of dynamic, private-company profiles and a newsroom, covering technology and Internet trends through analysis and interviews...
’s "game changers" competition. That same year, they were also named the Mobile and Communications Company of the Year by the Technology Council of Southern California. In June 2011, mobileStorm was named #1 on Website Magazine's list of Top 50 Movers and Shakers in Mobile Services, which is calculated by aggregating averages for page view
Page view
A page view or page impression is a request to load a single HTML file of an Internet site. On the World Wide Web a 'page' request would result from a web surfer clicking on a link on another 'page' pointing to the 'page' in question. This should be contrasted with a hit, which refers to a...
s and daily unique visitors.