SMS marketing campaign examples
SMS marketing campaign examples that Australian businesses use include a sale or new-season offer, an abandoned cart reminder, a win-back offer for lapsed customers, an event or launch invitation, a review request after a purchase, and a back-in-stock alert. ACMA requires consent before any marketing message, and you must be able to prove it. A past purchase alone does not establish inferred marketing consent. Every message must identify the business that authorised it, include correct contact details, and carry a clear, functional unsubscribe. Adapt each example with your business's valid contact details and the correct sender setup. The Reply STOP instruction requires a number and a sending method that can receive and process opt-outs. A branded alphanumeric sender generally cannot receive replies, so it needs a working alternative, such as an unsubscribe link.
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Which providers publish which campaign features
Of the 38 Australian providers checked, 26 publish saved templates, 31 publish merge fields, 23 publish link tracking, 15 publish scheduled sends and 31 publish that a STOP reply unsubscribes the contact automatically.
38 of 38 providers shown.
Matches require published evidence for every selected feature. A hidden row may have missing evidence, which does not mean the feature is unavailable.
| Provider | Saved templates | Merge fields | Link tracking | Scheduled send | Recurring send | STOP reply handled automatically |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatti | Yes | Yes [[contact.name]] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ClickSend | Yes | Yes (First Name), (Cust. 1) placeholders; campaign article shows [First Name] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Esendex | Yes | Yes Dynamic fields selected from a drop-down in Message Centre Compose (no syntax shown) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guni SMS | Yes | Yes Personalise option inserting contact-group personalisation fields; syntax not shown | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sinch Engage | Yes | Yes Personalisation dropdown in the template/message editor; syntax not shown | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMSGlobal | Yes | Yes Insert Merge Field option below the message box in MXT; syntax not shown | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cellcast | Yes | Yes [First Name], [Appointment Date], [Location] | Yes | Yes | · | Yes |
| Klaviyo | Yes | Yes {{ first_name|title|default:'there' }} | Yes | Yes | · | Yes |
| Kudosity | Yes | Yes Click 'FirstName' field button to insert; up to 10 custom fields per list | Yes | Yes | · | Yes |
| Mobile Message | Yes | Yes {field_1} to {field_5} or named variables such as {date_of_birth}; inserted via the Add Tags dropdown | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| BE Messaging | Yes | Yes %name%, %label%, %number%, %service_number% | · | Yes | No | Yes |
| Infobip | Yes | Yes placeholders and attributes from the People module (syntax not shown) | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| MessageWorks | · | Yes {FirstName}, {Amount} or any custom field | Yes | Yes | · | Yes |
| Notifyre | Yes | Yes Personalise button inserts built-in fields (First name, Last name, Mobile number, Organisation, Email address) and four custom fields (cf1-cf4); token syntax not shown | · | Yes | · | Yes |
| Optus | Yes | Yes numbered parameters %%1%% to %%6%% from list columns | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| SMS Broadcast | Yes | Yes merge fields like first name or location, populated from imported contact data; syntax not shown | Yes | Yes | · | · |
| SMS Express | Yes | Yes personalisation / merge / dynamic fields from custom contact fields; syntax not shown | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| SMS Fusion | Yes | Yes custom fields (syntax not shown) | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| Soprano Design | Yes | Yes dynamic personalisation fields (syntax not shown) | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| touchSMS | Yes | Yes merge fields from CSV columns via Merge fields dropdown (syntax not shown) | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| 160.com.au | Yes | Yes #first name# / #last name# | · | · | · | Yes |
| Attentive | · | Yes {{subscriber.firstName}} | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| Bird | Yes | · | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| SMSFlow | Yes | Yes {first_name} | · | · | · | Yes |
| Texto | · | Yes {{first_name}}, {{booking_time}} or any custom field | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| TNZ Group | · | Yes [[First Name]] / [[Company]] substitution commands | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| eNudge | · | Yes personalisation fields from standard contact fields plus 15 custom fields; syntax not shown | · | · | · | Yes |
| Podium | Yes | Yes Podium Inbox variables inside template bodies (syntax not shown) | · | · | · | · |
| SMS Everyone | Yes | · | · | · | · | Yes |
| Swift Digital | · | Yes personalisation fields (first name tag, member/case numbers); syntax not shown | · | · | · | Yes |
| Tall Bob | Yes | · | · | · | · | Yes |
| Telnyx | · | · | Yes | · | · | Yes |
| Vision6 | · | Yes wildcard (mail merge field) inserted via + icon, with fallback | · | · | · | Yes |
| Whispir | Yes | Yes automatic recipient first-name insertion (syntax not shown) | · | · | · | · |
| Bulk SMS Australia | · | Yes message personalisation with recipient name and other fields (syntax not shown) | · | · | · | · |
| Telstra | · | · | · | Yes | · | · |
| Textit | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| Vonage | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Sale or new-season offer
A sale announcement goes to your marketing list when a new collection, a new menu or a seasonal promotion starts. Every recipient must have consented, either expressly or in a way that lets you infer it, and you must be able to show that consent. The message works best when it states the offer and the end date plainly.
- "Bondi Threads: our new-season range has landed. Shop instore or online until Tue 14 Oct. Reply STOP to opt out" (110 characters, one SMS)
Abandoned cart reminder
This message goes to a customer who consented to marketing and left items in an online cart without finishing the purchase. Only send it to people on your marketing list, not to every abandoned cart you can find. Keep it short, point to the cart and let the customer act.
- "Bondi Threads: you left items in your cart. Your saved pieces are waiting at our website. Reply STOP to opt out" (111 characters, one SMS)
Win-back offer for lapsed customers
A win-back message targets customers who have not ordered or visited in a while but who agreed to hear from you. A cafe might send it before a quiet season, a clinic might send it when bookings slow down. The example below stays under one SMS so it reads in a glance.
- "Northside Cafe: it has been a while since your last visit. Come in for your usual coffee before Tue 14 Oct. Reply STOP to opt out" (129 characters, one SMS)
Event or launch invitation
Invitations go out ahead of an event, a tasting, a product launch or an opening night, again only to people who consented. Give the date, the time and a way to respond. A sender ID cannot receive replies, so plan a number for the campaign before you need one.
- "Northside Cafe: you are invited to our tasting night on Tue 14 Oct at 6:30pm. RSVP at our website. Reply STOP to opt out" (120 characters, one SMS)
Review request after a purchase
A review request follows a completed purchase or appointment and asks the customer to share their experience. Send it from a number rather than a sender ID so customers can reply or reach you. Do not include anything private in the text, because a standard SMS is not end-to-end encrypted.
- "Harbour Physio: thanks for your visit. Tell us how it went at our website and help us improve. Reply STOP to opt out" (116 characters, one SMS)
Back-in-stock alert
A back-in-stock alert goes only to customers who asked to be told when a product returns. It is one of the most specific consent situations you will meet, so record how and when each customer opted in. The message itself can be very brief.
- "Bondi Threads: the linen shirt you asked about is back in stock. Order yours at our website. Reply STOP to opt out" (114 characters, one SMS)
The campaign features to tick in the table
The table sits at the top of this page. Ticking a feature keeps only the providers whose own pages state that they offer it.
Saved templates matter for a sale or new-season offer sent every season, and for a review request sent after every purchase, because the same message returns on a schedule.
Merge fields matter for the win-back offer and the review request, since each names the customer or the product.
Link tracking matters for the abandoned cart reminder and the back-in-stock alert, because each carries a link and you need to know who tapped it.
Scheduled send matters for a sale timed for a morning, and for an event invitation sent a week ahead.
Recurring send matters for a new-season offer repeated each season. Some providers state plainly that they do not offer it.
STOP reply handled automatically matters for every campaign on this page, because each is a commercial message and the unsubscribe must work without a person reading the inbox. The Spam Act 2003 requires a functional unsubscribe, honoured within five business days.
A dot in the table means the provider's pages say nothing either way, and it does not mean "No". Every "Yes" links to the page it was read from.
Before you send any of these campaigns, work through the checklist below.
Before you send a campaign
Consent comes first. Every commercial message needs consent you can show, and the duty sits with your business, not with your SMS provider. A compliant provider does not move the obligation to itself, so keep records of how each recipient agreed to hear from you.
Identification and opt-out come next. Each message must clearly identify who sent it and include accurate contact details, and it must carry a functional unsubscribe that stays live for at least 30 days after sending and is honoured within 5 working days. The wording "Reply STOP to opt out" is a convention, not a legal form. Any working unsubscribe meets the law.
Think about the number you send from. Since 1 July 2026, a branded sender ID must be registered on the ACMA SMS Sender ID Register through each provider you send with, and an unregistered sender ID shows as "Unverified". A sender ID cannot receive replies, so use a dedicated virtual mobile number or a shared number for two-way campaigns.
A long message is charged per part. The standard GSM-7 set holds 160 characters in a single SMS and 153 per part in a longer joined message. Unicode encoding holds 70 characters in a single SMS and 67 per part in a longer joined message. Characters outside the GSM-7 set, emojis among them, can change the encoding, and the encoding sets the limit.
Check the final expanded text, including inserted names and the actual links, in our SMS character counter before you send. The part count is an estimate, and your provider determines billing.
Test the opt-out using the actual sender and sending method before the campaign goes out. Use the displayed unsubscribe instruction, then confirm the test recipient is excluded from subsequent commercial sends. Not every number or API processes STOP automatically, so the test shows whether yours does.
Unsubscribe handling varies by route, so the Australian bulk SMS providers compared on price and features let you confirm which ones process STOP before a campaign goes out.
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Frequently asked questions
What should an SMS marketing campaign include?
An SMS marketing campaign should include your business name, accurate contact details and the offer or purpose in plain language. Send it only to recipients who consented. Under the Spam Act 2003 the unsubscribe must stay functional for at least 30 days, and you must honour any opt-out within 5 working days. A Reply STOP instruction works only if the number you send from can receive and process replies, so a branded sender needs a working alternative, such as an unsubscribe link.
Can I send SMS marketing to anyone on my customer list?
You cannot send SMS marketing to anyone on your list who has not consented to receive commercial messages from you. Consent can be express or inferred, and your business must be able to show it if the ACMA asks. Before you send any marketing message, you should check how each person on your list gave consent to receive commercial messages from you, and you should complete this check for every person on the list before the first message is sent to anyone.
How long should a marketing text message be?
A marketing text message should be as short as you can make it while still naming your business, the offer and the unsubscribe. A single SMS holds 160 characters in the standard GSM-7 set, but only 70 characters once you use an emoji or a character outside that set. A 161-character message in GSM-7 is charged as two messages.