When Carrier Billing meets RCS

Organized by Google and Digital Virgo, the session brought together a media-focused audience, with representatives from groups such as France Télévisions, Canal+, Warner, as well as radio stations like Skyrock and RMC. The objectives were clear:

• Provide practical education around RCS
• Demonstrate how it can advantageously replace SMS in certain campaigns
• Present new purchase journeys, including operator-billed payment directly within an RCS conversation

The presence of operator-side payment teams helped clarify the mechanics, benefits, and next steps for this new purchase flow.

RCS enhances messaging with features that turn a simple notification into an interactive experience:

• Rich media messages, carousels, action buttons
• Verified brand identity and a conversational context
• Automation capabilities and interaction analytics

What it delivers for media publishers and advertisers:

• Clearer offers and content
• Guided, more natural interactions
• A consistent experience from push to conversion

For TV networks, radio stations, and platforms, RCS opens the door to high-value use cases:

• Show teasers, trailers, and clips
• Polls, voting, and live games
• Subscriptions, editorial notifications, and personalized content
• Conversational customer care, after-sales service, and community engagement

At the heart of these use cases, RCS’s native interactivity drives higher engagement than SMS, thanks to rich formats and simple, seamless actions with no journey break.

A highlight of the morning, carrier billing within the RCS channel enables smooth, frictionless purchase journeys:

• Users can start and complete their purchase without leaving the conversation
• No need to enter bank or card details, which speeds up conversion
• A familiar, reassuring operator framework for the user

These journeys are especially relevant for voting and on-air interactivity, as well as premium content, donations, or one-off purchases tied to special promotions.

Exchanges with attending publishers highlighted:

• Interest in campaigns that are more immersive than SMS
• A drive for simple, fast conversion models
• The need to support the market with best practices, tested templates, and effectiveness metrics

Several players expressed interest in structured pilots to measure impact on engagement and conversion across varied editorial contexts.