Text to the Rescue in Snowy Conditions

CHESTER, England, January 8 - Online SMS text services have provided a vital communication tool for
thousands of Schools and Businesses forced to close with little warning
during the treacherous snow conditions this week. SMS services such as
www.txtlocal.co.uk proved crucial in keeping parents and workers
notified of closures in advance.

Morpeth Newminster School in Northumbria was forced to close due to the
bad weather. Head Teacher Paul Lawrence, needed to contact over 600 parents
to notify them that the School was closed and text proved vital in helping
reach parents quickly.

'Txtlocal provide a vital service for sending emergency messages. I'm
about to send another 600 texts to staff and parents to let them know that we
are closed for the rest of the week!'

Jo Kavakeb, of Squirrel Day Nurseries, also found text useful in
notifying parents and staff about nursery opening and closing times.

'We have used Txtlocal's SMS service this week with great success. Text
is the ideal way to quickly and efficiently inform parents and staff about
opening and closing times during this period of adverse weather conditions.'

Recent findings from an independent survey conducted by Populus (2008)
found that more than two thirds (68%) of parents wanted their Childs school
to use SMS text communication more frequently to inform them about important
issues relating to the School.

Txtlocal (www.txtlocal.co.uk) provide a FREE inbound text system,
which enables parents to opt-in to receive text alerts from their Child's
School about matters such as parent's evening dates, dinner money reminders
and even personal texts about good or bad behaviour. Parents can also use the
inbound text service to inform the School about their Child's absence.

The snowy conditions also lead to an influx of small businesses, clubs
and community centres signing up to use their service to notify staff about
closures and meeting cancellations.

Slimming World, Stockport, use text to contact members and tell them
about class cancellations. Consultant Steve Mosby says 'Sending a text is
very personal and this is important. Most of our members have now opted in
for text communication about news, events and class cancellations; it's
perfect for instant communication.'

SMS messaging has been used for many years by organisations to send
instant SMS marketing promotions and alerts. However, recently it has been
used more frequently in emergency situations, as businesses recognise its
value in reaching large audiences quickly and efficiently.

Txtlocal MD Darren Daws, describes SMS as the perfect tool for emergency
alerts stating "We have had great feedback from customers who use our service
for emergency alerts."

Daws continues "We work with golf clubs notifying members that the course
is closed due to rain, Schools notifying parents about snow and swine flu
closures as well as travel companies notifying passengers about flight
cancellations. Text is simply the ideal instant messaging tool, it's so easy
to reach thousands of people instantly with a quick text."

    Editors Notes

    Txtlocal information

    - www.txtlocal.co.uk was launched in 2005 and is now the one of
      the UK's leading business SMS text messaging companies
    - Txtlocal offer industry leading SMS services including online SMS,
      email to SMS and 5 digit short codes (60777).
    - Txtlocal send millions of texts per month for a variety of
      organisations including Toyota, Nationwide Building Society, L'Oreal
      and The Lowry.
    - Txtlocal offer a free trial for all new customers, including 10 free
      texts

    Contact

    Kathryn Mann: Marketing / PR
    Txtlocal on +44(0)845-009-3188 or email kathryn.mann@txtlocal.com

Contact: Kathryn Mann: Marketing / PR, Txtlocal on +44(0)845-009-3188 or email kathryn.mann at txtlocal.com