SMS case study - NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers

By Dan Butcher

March 16, 2010

Name and city and state of marketer
The National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh, PA

Name and city and state of agency or marketing services provider 
Songwhale, Pittsburgh, PA

Campaign/program name
Steelers Alerts and Text-to-win during games

Duration
Football season, ongoing

Common short code and keywords used
STEELERS to WHALE (94253), HINES to WHALE (94253), WIN FOOTBALL to WHALE (94253)

Objective
To get fans more involved with the Steelers both during games and throughout the year, keeping them informed and updated on news with the team

Target audience
Steelers fans

Strategy
To use SMS to get Steelers fans more involved

Call to action
Television, buses, Steelers and Songwhale Web sites, and during games over the PA and on the Jumbotron

Tactics
Grab the attention of individuals in Pittsburgh, where most people are Steelers fans, and make the message short so they remember it and sign up for the exclusive news about the team. During games giving an autographed football is given away, enticing more individuals to text in. 

Results
Database is currently more than 42,000 and growing by about 1,000 each week. During Steelers games an average of 1,920 individuals text in for the autographed football

What next
More promotions are being planned to further drive the numbers for the upcoming NFL Draft, Training Camp this fall as well as several for next season

Lessons learned
If given the opportunity, fans love to participate with the teams they love.

Because there is natural down time during sporting events and most people don’t leave home without their mobile device we are able to extend engagement with Steelers Fans outside the field of play.

These interactions allowed the Steelers organization to get a committed group of followers that enabled engagement through a new medium.

Surprise finding
The amount of sponsors that we were able to get involved with our mobile initiatives to create incremental revenue for our partner and activation opportunities for sponsors.