American Idol brought text messaging to the US mainstream. The power here is phenominal – it caused the average american to learn how to use their text messaging features, learn how to type on a phone keypad, and decide to buy SMS buckets! It takes human drama and a social connection to show how technology can enhance your life – there’s no clearer example.

From a Wireless Week article…

The reality show phenomenon “American Idol” did more than just make Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Stoddard, Fantasia Barrino and Carrie Underwood household names. It elevated text messaging to a whole new level, making it a compelling way for TV viewers to affect the outcome of an extremely popular TV show.

In season four of “American Idol,” which wrapped up in May, wireless users and “Idol” watchers were able to use short codes and text messaging to vote for their favorite contestant. They could also enter “Idol” sweepstakes, compete in trivia games, chat with contestants and receive voting reminders. In addition, Cingular Wiewless offered “American Idol” ringtones and wallpapers. With each consecutive season of the show, the text messaging traffic thrives. But does this translate to revenue-generating opportunities for Cingular?

Analysts say the success of “American Idol” is not just the text messaging votes, but the new text messaging customers who sign up for the service because of the show and the ancillary products that subscribers pay to access, such as ringtones. “The votes alone are not what is compelling,” says Linda Barrabee, senior analyst, wireless/mobile at the Yankee Group. “What’s significant is if Cingular brings more customers to text messaging. And the ancillary stuff is where the recurring revenue is.”

THE IDOL IMPACT AT&T Wireless, of course, was the first wireless operator to benefit from the “American Idol” phenomenon when it became the official wireless sponsor of the Fox Network series in 2003. The company reported astounding results from that first campaign, which generated a record-breaking 7.5 million text messages during the season. Two years later, Cingular inherited AT&T’s sponsorship role when it acquired the operator in 2004 and the company has experienced similarly outstanding results.

Cingular Wireless reported that the fourth “American Idol” season generated more than 41.5 million text messages throughout the show’s 12-week voting period, a figure that the company believes is a text-messaging record for the largest volume of messaging occurring during a single campaign in the United States.

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But it isn’t just the text messaging volume that makes Cingular happy. The company says the additional content offerings, such as trivia games and ringtones, also have grown in popularity. “We saw a tremendous increase in the participation of these programs,” says Cristy Swink, executive director of messaging at Cingular. She attributes that growth to a bigger visibility of the ancillary products by featuring them in Cingular stores and in publications.

Not only did customers buy and participate in these other programs, but their participation helped generate more votes, Swink says. “These programs kept the audience engaged with the show so they were more likely to vote.”

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For Swink, the special formula that makes a TV show/text messaging campaign tie-in a success is a combination of show popularity and the integration of the messaging element into the program. “The user feels like something is happening because they participated,” Swink says. “That is very important.”

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