Could Branded Calling Save Lives? Search and Rescue Effort Hampered by Anonymous Calls

Could branded calling save lives? In mid-October, a hiker near Lake County, Colorado was lost overnight. After receiving reports about a missing hiker, the local search-and-rescue team tried repeatedly to reach the person by phone, but with no luck. As it turns out, the person ignored multiple calls from rescuers because the number was anonymous (unlike the image above). Thankfully, the hiker returned to camp the following morning and is now okay; but this could have turned out much worse.

While you could argue that the lost hiker should have answered the phone (and the search-and-rescue team is urging people to do just that), the larger problem is that people don’t trust calls from numbers they don’t recognize.

Even Twitter users sympathize with the hiker (and we suspect there are more):

The Problem with Unknown Numbers

Scam calls are a major nuisance. How bad is the problem? More than 9 in 10 people have received a scam or fraudulent call on their mobile device.

That explains why people don’t like answering calls from unknown numbers. In fact, 78% of people miss at least one important call a month because they don’t recognize who’s calling, and two-thirds of people will block or ignore an unknown call.

If a person is stuck in an emergency situation (like the intrepid hiker), they may be hesitant to answer a call if the number is unknown. This is something businesses, agencies, and rescue services should consider – a branded call could save people in peril.

First Orion Branded Calling

First Orion’s branded calling solutions empower businesses and agencies to deliver their name and reason for calling. INFORM’s 32-character text display allows the originating caller to show who they are and why they’re calling. With ENGAGE, U.S.-based entities can brand their call with full graphic display featuring name, colors, logo, and reason for calling.

The contact does not have to be saved in the person’s phone to deliver the caller’s information with both products. This helps mediate call spoofing, increase security, and deliver a better consumer experience with their mobile device.

In fact, branded calling can result in better answer and long call duration rates, whether you’re a search and rescue team, food delivery service, or financial institution. You can reach the right people at the right time and have more meaningful conversations.

Contact First Orion today for more information.