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Social media can instantly connect large numbers of people who share interests and activities. Much like sporting events. The New York Mets are pioneering a way to unite these two forms of public interaction, by bringing social media into the stadium. Beginning this season, a Citi Field big screen will play host to an SMS marketing system that presents a whole new way for sponsors to interact with fans, and fans with each other. Powered by txtstation, a company specializing in mobile marketing for sports and entertainment, the system boasts several features to get the crowd involved. Xerox is sponsoring ‘Citi Field’s Fan Photos’, which displays a slideshow on the big screen of photos taken by supporters with their camera phones. ‘Verizon Wireless Fan Choice Awards’ runs polls on such topics as “Who is the Met’s player of the game?”, the results of which are displayed on the screen in real-time, while Caesar’s Palace has sponsored a ‘Fan Forum’ that lets fans air their views on a given subject. Wise Snacks, meanwhile, is giving fans the opportunity to vote for their preferred ‘Eighth-Inning Sing-Along’ song, and Verizon is taking it to the next base by replying to messages from their network users with an invitation to visit their in-stadium store. It’s all novel advertising that is sure to catch the attention of stadium-goers. Similar systems are starting to pop up in all kinds of public spaces—concerts, clubs, shopping malls—as marketers take advantage of mobile connectivity to integrate levels of interactivity that are inspired by online communication. Spotted by: Mobile Marketer via Judy McRae