From May to September 2024, the Castle Race Series took over Ireland, France, and the UK, not just with impressive athletic feats, but also with top-tier mobile messaging campaigns. And who was behind the scenes making sure those runners, cyclists, and swimmers stayed informed and engaged? That’s right, we were.

Old School SMS Meets RBM Glow-Up

Castle Race Series has been trusting us to handle their mobile messaging since 2009 through our sister brand, BulkSMS.com; we’re basically in a long-term committed relationship. But in 2024, we decided it was time to spice things up a bit and introduced RCS Business Messaging (RBM) into the messaging mix to take advantage of more and more people RCS-enabling their mobile phones. Noting that at the time of this campaign, only Android phone could receive RCS business messages as Apple only began RCS-enabling iOS devices from October of 2024.

Think of RBM as SMS’s cooler, smarter cousin – the one who shows up to brunch with interactive buttons, videos, surveys, and real-time updates. Fancy, right?

So, What Did RBM Bring to the Table?

With RCS Business Messaging we gave participants more than just “Race starts at 9am” texts. We gave them:

• Rich Content: eye-catching visuals and buttons
• Post-race Surveys: because feedback is a gift, especially when it’s embedded right in your messages.
• Seamless Login to athlete profiles: one tap to glory.
• Location-based updates: “You are here. Also, here’s your hydration station.”
• QR Codes: for that instant information fix.
• Newsletter Sign-ups: no FOMO for future races.
• Measurable metrics: actual clicks on messages over and above the delivery rate.

The Results? Chef’s Kiss.

Here’s the RCS Business Messaging scoreboard for the five Castle Race Series events:

• 14,712 messages sent – 2,788 of those were RBM, with the rest sent via SMS fallback,
• 98.8% delivery rate – almost like we had a homing pigeon for every phone,
• 89.1% read rate – that’s practically a standing ovation for a messaging campaign, and
• 62.4% interaction rate – because participants just couldn’t help themselves engaging with the race campaigns.

Tosh Reilly, Registration Manager at Castle Race Series, summed up the success of their RCS Business Messaging campaign best: “The difference between RBM and traditional SMS is night and day!”

We couldn’t agree more, Tosh.

The Finish Line is Just the Beginning

This case study proves that RCS Business Messaging isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a game-changer. Whether you’re coordinating a triathlon or your company’s next big sports event, it’s time to ditch the plain-text and embrace the rich, dynamic messaging experience your participants deserve.

At Kero, we’re not just sending messages, we’re creating connections – the kind that keep participants coming back for more – and not just for the medals.

Ready to take your business communication to the next level? Explore the possibilities of RCS Business Messaging with us and see how this innovative rich business messaging technology can benefit your organisation.

For more information visit our RCS Business Messaging page.