The National Hockey League?s Phoenix Coyotes will deliver team-specific content directly to fans' mobile phones.

The Coyotes have partnered with Thwapr Inc. to launch a beta test program of mobile video-sharing. Fans will be prompted to opt in for this service, which they can access via SMS or a mobile site, at home games for the remainder of the season and throughout the 2010 playoffs.

?Thwapr is launching a strategy to empower brands to connect with their fans and consumers via mobile multimedia,? said Eric M. Hoffert, chief technology officer at Thwapr, New York.

?The goal is to provide mobile media content such as pictures and videos combined with a social experience in order to strengthen brand relationships and/or generate additional revenue through the mobile channel via advertising or sponsorships,? he said.

Thwapr is a mobile-to-mobile video sharing communications platform that provides social sharing of mobile video regardless of carrier or device.

A mobile score
Thwapr supports more than 250 different types of mobile phones, including Apple's iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry Curve and Motorola Droid, as well as Samsung and LG models.

?The key objective is to provide rich-media content easily and quickly on an anyplace, anywhere, anytime basis to reach fans or consumers at their point of interaction with a brand,? Mr. Hoffert said.

These mobile initiatives are meant to engage Coyotes fans that are in-stadium for sports events, at a concert for a band or traveling away from home but want to check out sports information.

Fans can text the keyword COYOTES to the short code 757575 or go online and click the Thwapr link on the Coyotes Web site to sign up.

Here is a screen grab of the text conversation:

Opted-in consumers then receive mobile updates after each home game and can share clips directly with other mobile users or post them to their Twitter or Facebook pages.

Video can be delivered on-demand for events such as a press conference, typically four to seven minutes long, via SMS or Web browsers.

Here is a screen grab of a conference video via mobile:

Thwapr?s mobile offering will be immediately accessible to fans at the game and the team will be promoting the service through in-stadium announcements on the Jumbotron display.

ThwapBack is a feature users can access to provide their own text, picture or video comment.

?A simple way to think about this important new brand connection is to mobilize and monetize?taking video content to the next level by adding a mobile component and monetizing it through stronger brand loyalty/purchasing and/or via new revenue from advertising/sponsorships,? Mr. Hoffert said.

Challenges the mobile application faces are linked with the capabilities of multimedia formats, screen sizes, keyboard versus touch screen, Web browser type and network bandwidth.

The company then has to take the digital media content and spread it through social networks while still being accessible on various mobile devices.

Thwapr addresses these technical challenges with its mobile video-sharing platform to support the brand marketers' goal of connecting with fans and consumers.

The Coyotes plan to make use of the Thwapr service after the season ends, well into spring and summer for additional events and potential new applications.

?An upcoming version of the service will integrate support for both advertisers and sponsors, including dynamic mobile video ad-insertion and mobile banner display ads,? Mr. Hoffert said.