MTV reality star partners with Mozes for mobile

January 8, 2008

Ryan Sheckler’s fans can listen to his personal updates and leave messages as well

Extreme sports icon Ryan Sheckler is partnering with mobile networking service Mozes to get more personal with fans.

Most recognized for his MTV hit reality show "Life of Ryan," Mr. Sheckler became a teen idol sensation in 2007. Mr. Sheckler won notoriety after turning a professional skateboarder at 14.

“Ryan would like to build stronger, timely connections with his fan base directly on their mobile phones,” said Irv Remedios, vice president of marketing at Mozes, Palo Alto, CA.

Mr. Sheckler’s Mozes voice number is visible for his fans to call him and listen to his personal updates. They also have the ability to press 1 to leave him a message.

Not only are they able to leave voice messages for Mr. Sheckler, but they can also opt into his mobile fan club. This ensures that his fans will always be updated via text message about the newest and greatest directly from the skateboarder.

Voice and text messaging will be used to increase visibility and interaction.

Mr. Sheckler originally launched his official online community at http://www.ryansheckler.com.

Because of the success of the site – a way for fans to personally communicate to Mr. Sheckler – communicating back became an important next step.

“Ryan's campaign is different to us because it reaches outside of the music realm and into extreme sports,” Mr. Remedios said.

Since launching this mobile voice campaign, hundreds of fan messages have been left for Mr. Sheckler, making this another effective way to use mobile in marketing.

“Ryan's campaign is consistent with our overall strategy in mobile marketing,” said Patty Dao, director of business development at Mozes. “We believe that in the U.S., mobile marketing is essentially broken due to lackluster participation rates and has been the domain of only the largest brands due to the high cost of experimentation.

“We are providing a consistent experience for consumers and on-demand tools for marketers including artists and athletes that increase participation rates in these campaigns,” she said. “We also provide a lower cost of experimentation so that any marketer can easily run, learn from and improve their mobile campaigns.”