Forrester analyst Ari Osur said the ubiquity of smartphone apps and the development of new app-based push notifications give consumers more control over incoming messages while giving marketers myriad ways to target. “Text messaging grew up as a friend-to-friend communication channel, and when marketers inserted their brands in there, it felt inauthentic and invasive,” Osur said. “That’s changing as people become more reliant on their mobile devices.”