Keynote® Testing Reveals Texting Not Ready for Presidential Prime Time

• Keynote Mobile Application Perspective® Technology for Common Short Code SMS Monitoring Uncovers SMS Service Issues in Week Preceding Obama VP Announcement
• Performance Issues Around Historic Text Campaign to Millions of Mobile Subscribers Underscores the Need for Industry Solution to Monitor Common Short Codes
• Between 40-50 Percent of People Subscribing to Receive the Historic VP Selection Text Message May Have Received the Message in a Very Untimely Fashion or Not at All

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(EON:Enhanced Online News)--Keynote Systems (Nasdaq:KEYN), the global leader in on-demand mobile and Internet test & measurement solutions for continuously improving the online experience, today revealed that the SMS service used by the Obama campaign was highly unreliable the week leading up to his momentous text announcement of his vice presidential running mate to millions of supporters. Keynote conducted 600 tests on the Obama ’08 Campaign short code from August 13 to August 22 in anticipation of the August 23 announcement. The results revealed inconsistent performance with extremely poor availability compared to the industry average. Based on its data, Keynote believes that between 40-50 percent of people subscribing to receive the VP selection text message from the Obama campaign may not have received the text message in a timely fashion or in fact very likely never received the text message at all.

“Keynote’s unrivaled expertise in measuring and monitoring the quality of the mobile end user experience, from the Web to SMS, can help businesses select mobile services providers and realize the return on their mobile investments”

Keynote conducted its tests in San Francisco and San Diego across two major carrier networks. Subscribers to the Obama ’08 Campaign received an SMS message and response time was measured once an hour over each carrier network.

“Our evaluation of Obama’s SMS service leading up to his VP announcement demonstrates the inadequacy of the SMS technical infrastructure to support large-scale marketing campaigns,” said Shlomi Gian, director of mobile business development for Keynote. “As mobile marketing increasingly becomes a key channel for campaign managers and marketers interested in communicating with voters and consumers, a solution for testing and monitoring common short codes is needed to ensure the delivery of critical information and reliability. The Obama event underscores the absolute need to monitor the performance of common short codes used in high impact marketing or sales initiatives in which actual delivery of the message to the consumer is important to the overall success of the campaign.”

Keynote’s on-demand Mobile Application Perspective® technology for Common Short Code (CSC) SMS monitoring offers increased visibility into the performance, availability and delivery of messages sent via Common Short Codes. Common Short Codes represent a fast-growing channel offering direct communication with end users, anytime and anywhere through a common medium – Short Message Service (SMS). Common Short Codes can be leased by any company looking to interact with hundreds of millions of wireless consumers.

“Keynote’s unrivaled expertise in measuring and monitoring the quality of the mobile end user experience, from the Web to SMS, can help businesses select mobile services providers and realize the return on their mobile investments,” added Gian.

Social Media and Related Links:

• BLOG: Keynote Mobility Blog: http://blogs.keynote.com/mobility/
• WHITEPAPER: How to Implement a Successful Common Shortcode http://www.keynote.com/docs/whitepapers/Implement_CSC.pdf

About Keynote

Keynote Systems (Nasdaq “KEYN”) is the global leader in on-demand test & measurement solutions for continuously improving the online experience. As an independent and trusted third-party, Keynote provides IT and marketing executives with an unbiased view into their Internet services from around the world. For over a decade, Keynote has been providing measurement data and testing capabilities that allow companies to understand and improve their customers’ online and mobile experience. Keynote has four test and measurement businesses: Web performance, mobile quality, streaming & VoIP, and customer experience/UX. In addition, Keynote’s industry analysis group called Keynote Competitive Research publishes proprietary studies measuring customer experience and service levels across a wide range of industries.

Known as The Mobile and Internet Performance Authority™, Keynote has a market-leading infrastructure of 2,500 measurement computers and mobile devices in over 240 locations around the world. Keynote also maintains one of the most representative panels of online users consisting of 160,000 consumers. Keynote’s on-demand, hassle-free infrastructure allows businesses to access services they need, when they need them to pinpoint and fix mobile quality and Internet problems before they impact customers.

Keynote helps over 2,800 corporate customers become “the best of the best” by helping them improve online business performance and mobile communications quality. Keynote’s customers represent top Internet and mobile companies including American Express, BP, Caterpillar, Dell, Disney, eBay, E*TRADE, Expedia, Microsoft, SonyEricsson, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone.

Keynote Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California and can be reached at www.keynote.com or by phone in the U.S. at [phone].

Keynote, The Internet Performance Authority, Perspective and WebEffective are registered trademarks and The Mobile and Internet Performance Authority and True Experience are trademarks of Keynote Systems, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2008 Keynote Systems, Inc.