Text message marketing rings true

For Fox Sports en Español, texting works along with live TV events. The sports broadcasting brand is working with mobile marketing partner 2ergo to run texting campaigns during sports games broadcasts. One of these pro­motions, during the InterLiga soccer tournament, is sponsored by T-Mobile and is called “Jugador Del Partido” — Spanish for “Player of the Match.”

“These days, advertisers are look­ing for engaging unique creative mes­sages to reach people and just TV time doesn't cut it anymore,” says Paul Lau­reano, senior manager of integrated sales and marketing for Fox Sports en Español. “Text is cheap, it is portable, and it lets you reach people at the moment that they are most passion­ate, during the game.”

The Fox Sports en Español promo­tion invites viewers to choose from four nominees in a particular game to be the “player of the match.” The nomi­nees are pictured on screen with each player corresponding to a letter — A, B, C, or D — which participants can text into a short code to enter. At the end of the match, the winning player is announced.

“It's interactive,” Laureano says of the campaign. “You get people to engage at the moment of passion, and you are talking to people in that moment.”

An average “Player of the Match” promotion brings in about 10,000-20,000 text messages per game. In one recent game between Mexican teams Chivas and America, the promotion even received more than 10,500 text messages in one hour.

As 2009 progresses, with a tight economy and an even bigger demand for marketers to deliver ROI, text cam­paigns are more appropriate than ever. With more US consumers texting than ever before and the ability for measur­able results to tie into other channels, text campaigns are a must-have in '09, say experts.

“The challenge that I'd put to market­ers out there is to test different mobile messages this year,” remarks Zane. “Mobile offers a great test-and-learn opportunity with a great ROI, especially in a limited budget environment.” l