Launch of Big Swell SMS Alerts a First for South Africa
A BulkSMS.com Case Study

Launch of Big Swell SMS Alerts a First for South Africa

The online surf media and surf forecasting service Wavescape have launched the Big Swell SMS Alert service. This innovative mobile service is a first for South Africa and delivers an SMS message to Wavescape readers who wish to know when the next big ocean swell is due to hit South Africa’s shoreline.

“We are really excited about the potential of our new SMS alert service. It gives you a day’s notice of when a big swell is due to arrive at your stretch of coast without having to check your usual channels for extreme ocean swell conditions,” says Steve Pike of Wavescape.co.za.

Pike is well known for his quirky weekly email surf forecast reports and surf journalism. He has also provided spot-on surf forecasting services to a host of high profile big wave surf events in Durban and Cape Town.

According to Pike, “There has been a surge of people subscribing on our website for the free Big Swell Alert SMS service. We cover the western, southern and eastern coastlines of South Africa and you can select to receive an SMS for one or several regions. For example, surfers in Cape Town may wish to know what is happening in Jeffreys Bay or the West Coast as well as the Cape Peninsula to better plan when and where they will be chasing the swell. Likewise, Durban surfers may wish to keep an eye on the Wild Coast or the Eastern Cape.”

“This SMS service is perfect for anyone who lives on the coast, and not just surfers with a desire to surf big waves. Residents with homes next to the seafront could especially benefit from an SMS warning them to expect heavy sea swells. In recent years there has been an increase of storm activity that have damaged or threatened homes exposed to high seas and big waves,” continues Pike.

Wavescape partnered with the Cape Town based global messaging company BulkSMS.com to provide the Big Swell Alert SMS service.

“We are proud to be associated with Wavescape in launching this pioneering SMS alert service. It builds on the SMS surf forecasting services we have developed for Wavescape and we look forward to seeing this public broadcast service adding value to surfers and people who interact regularly with the ocean,” says Dr Pieter Streicher, managing director of BulkSMS.com.

The Big Swell SMS Alert service is an extension of the Wavescape Ocean Watch (WOW) model, an online surf forecasting service that displays both open ocean and beach specific surf conditions for the South African coastline. The Big Swell SMS Alert is a free service offered to readers of the Wavescape website.

For direct enquiries contact Ross Frylinck on email: ross@wavescape.co.za