While SHAFT (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco--CBD included) content has been heavily regulated in SMS marketing for years, the CTIA tightened its rules surrounding this content in May 2021 resulting in SMS platforms industry-wide no longer being able to service brands who offer or communicate about SHAFT.
TxtCart is excited to announce that, while working in partnership with US Carriers and Twilio, we are able to service US alcohol brands on our Pro and Enterprise Plans starting in in January of 2024. We’ve put together this article to discuss the initial requirements of promotional SMS marketing for alcohol brands, explain the types of age-verification requirements, and answer frequently asked questions.
Benefits of using TxtCart as your Alcohol based SMS Platform
Alcoholic beverage brands who partner with TxtCart no longer have to worry about their SMS program being heavily filtered by carriers and Twilio. With TxtCart being a Twilio-preferred partner, we are able to quickly address any potential concerns that could arise as brands and carriers navigate the Alcoholic space as a new vertical of accepted promotional texting.
Initial Requirements
Alcohol brands that meet the following conditions are eligible for promotional SMS Messaging powered by TxtCart:
Located in the US and sending to US recipients
On TxtCart's Pro and/or Enterprise Plan
Have basic age verification activated on their website (e.g. full site "are you 21+ Y/N?" prompt).
Have in thread robust (full birth date entry) SMS age verification activated
Have SMS Double Opt-In enabled
Age Verification
In order to use SMS for promotional marketing, alcohol brands are required to have site visitors clear a basic age verification (e.g. are you 21+? yes/no) before entering as well as a robust age verification (e.g. full birth date and year entry) in-thread enabled.
In-thread age verification refers to an automated series of SMS messages a subscriber receives and can confirm that they are 21 years of age or older in order to opt into your brand’s promotional messaging.
As shown in the example below, if a subscriber is under 21 years old, they will be unable to opt into the shop’s messaging. Additionally, they will not be able to opt-in until their birthday is correctly formatted (YYYY-MM-DD).