British Airways' ?Face of Opportunity? campaign is an example of how brands can use mobile to build up their email databases.

To support its work with small businesses and publicize the benefits of face-to-face travel, British Airways is giving away free trips to small business owners anywhere they need to go. Across the country people are seeing ads in press, event signage, flyers with the call to action to text their email address to 21713.

?Small business is the lifeblood of the American economy and we believe face-to-face meetings are the most effective way of growing those businesses,? said Anne Tedesco, vice president of marketing for North America at British Airways, New York. ?We're looking to support both, so we're reaching out to companies under 250 people and asking them to make an elevator pitch justifying an overseas trip which might help them grow.?

Consumers that text in receive an email pushing them to the Face of Opportunity hub where they can submit a video or essay pitch for the free flights.

The integrated mobile and email marketing components are directly supported by e-Dialog, made possible by its acquisition of M3 Mobile in April.

The campaign targets anybody who owns or works at a company or nonprofit organization under 250 people who can benefit from an overseas flight to grow their business.

British Airways is also running a Foursquare promotion rewarding people for coming down to the Grand Central event in person.

Many of the visitors generated through Foursquare have been very high quality, have entered the contest and gone on to be big advocates to their own following. 

In the past this has been a very diverse and extremely exciting group, from Idea Paint who's product allows consumers to paint a whiteboard on any surface, to nonprofits like FilmAid International who screen and produce informational and entertaining films to displaced people all over the world. 

?This was really successful last year and we've been thrilled to follow the successes of the entrepreneurs who we've supported,? Ms. Tedesco said. ?Our Web site, BA.com/contest, carries some inspiring stories from people who have really benefitted from the face to face meetings we facilitated.

?It's been fantastic in a number of ways. Firstly the SMS component has enabled us to augment traditional media with a short code,? she said. ?That generates an instant response email, much easier than asking people to fill out a form or make a mental note to come to the Web site later.

?We've also had street teams handing out flyers across Manhattan and Brooklyn during the two day live portion of the event, so SMS is the easiest way for people to respond to that contact.?

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily
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