The National Geographic Channel ran an SMS alert campaign promoting its "Dog Whisperer" program, which saw 2,000 opt-ins and prompted pet store giant Petco to come on board as a sponsor.

The campaign was launched in honor of the Dog Whisperer's 100th episode with the intent to engage viewers and extend advertising opportunities for National Geographic. To achieve these goals, National Geographic turned to mobile marketing and advertising company 2ergo to develop an SMS program.

"Using the mobile phone as an additional communications channel makes the TV watching experience more interactive," said Chris Brassington, group managing director at 2ergo, Manchester, Britain.

"2ergo's technology platform allowed NGC to automatically add new subscribers through a keyword-to-short-code system, easily upload tips content and schedule a specific send date and time, keeping the management time for the program at a minimum," he said.

"Finally, this program gave an advertiser another channel to reach consumers while covering the costs of the mobile program for NGC."

The initiative involved on-air calls-to-action along with an online call-to-action asking viewers to text the keyword DOG to the short code 64288 (NGCTV).

After replying "yes" to the standard double-opt-in message, users are sent a tune-in reminder along with dog-training tips straight from the show's star Cesar Milan four hours before Dog Whisperer airs on Friday nights.

"Relevant and timely content that offers value to consumers should always take the lead in mobile marketing and messaging programs," Mr. Brassington said. "You'll get more subscribers who are more engaged and more likely to stay engaged with your brand over time."

2ergo handled all the mobile technology and SMS aspects of the program, while National Geographic took charge of the training tips content and sent it to 2ergo weekly.

After realizing the potential of this campaign, Petco chose to jump on board as a sponsor so that all SMS alerts would read "Sponsored by PETCO" and contain a mobile coupon code for 10 percent off purchases made at Petco.com.

Not only did this accomplish National Geographic's goal to extend advertising opportunities, but it offered an increased value exchange in the SMS alert program, enticing further consumer opt-ins.

Moreover, 2ergo implemented a promotional ringtone tie-in for the campaign, urging viewers to text the keyword CESAR to the short code 64288 to receive a free ringtone of the Dog Whisperer theme song.

Not only did the campaign's tune-in reminder see 2,000 opt-ins, but the promotional ringtone tie-in saw more than 2,000 downloads.

With the help of 2ergo, National Geographic accomplished its goals while maintaining the ability to cover campaign costs thanks to the integration of relevant sponsors such as Petco.

"Not only can SMS drive viewership of the show through a timely text reminder, but SMS is more convenient for the viewer than making a phone call or going online to interact with the show," Mr. Brassington said.

"We expect to see brands and advertisers doing a better job of integrating mobile marketing campaigns with traditional channels such as TV, print and online, as well as leveraging the various mobile channels such as mobile Web, messaging and smartphone applications together to create stronger campaigns," he said.