The Colorado Rockies have integrated a new in-game texting service to entertain fans and potentially to collect mobile phone numbers for customer relationship marketing.

The Major League Baseball team has partnered with mobile marketing company Txtstation for the initiative. While similar in-game text promotions have driven revenue through sponsorships, more professional teams are using it as a tool for building consumer databases.

?In-game entertainment is still in infancy,? said Michael Falato, vice president of sales and business development at Txtstation, Austin, TX. ?A lot of teams are interested, but they want to find sponsor.

?The real win is taking that database and using it to sell tickets,? he said ?We can tie in to a team?s sales force and CRM, and teams can use the information we collect for promotions.

?The biggest things teams and broadcasters will be asking soon is ?how can we grow a database, and create a one-on-one relationship with viewers so they can get updates in real time.??

Txtstation is a mobile marketing company specializing in sports and entertainment that lets broadcasters, event owners, sponsors and general media communicate with viewers or fans directly via mobile devices.

The company works with MLB teams such as the Rockies and the Tampa Rays, as well as the National Football League and National Basketball Association.

In-game engagement
The MLB currently offers its teams a free in-game texting platform, but some are opting to pay for more versatile options.

The Rockies were looking for a way to achieve rich engagement with fans through their mobile phones.

The organization will use the platform during lulls in the game (for example, during a pitching change).

Part of a famous song will play over the stadium?s loud speakers, and the video board will prompt fans to identify the lyrics that follow.

Here is a screen grab of the call to action, displayed on the stadium video board:

The choices are assigned the codes R1, R2 and R3, and fans text what they believe to be the correct answer to the short code provided.

The Txtstation platform distinguishes itself from competitors with its ability to display text voting results and content in real time and in high definition on the stadium?s video board. 

The Rockies? primary goal was entertainment, but the platform also provides the organization the opportunity to enrich its CRM programs, if it so chooses.

?Any time we work with teams or broadcasters, we encourage them to create a database with the numbers, to create a one-on-one relationship with those fans,? Mr. Falato said.

By building a consumer datbase with mobile phone numbers from participants, the Rockies could reach fans with team news like lineup changes and trade information, as well as special offers for tickets and deals from sponsors.

M(obile)LB
Major League Baseball has been an active player in mobile this year.

In May, the league announced an expansion of its Tickets.com platform in conjunction with Txstation to let the ticketing company?s clients reach out to mobile users at games using SMS messaging (see story).

As of June 23, 13 MLB teams had integrated Tickets.com?s mobile ticketing platform (see story).

?Mobiles becoming more ubiquitous, and something we have to do versus something that?s cool,? Mr. Falato said. ?There is ?nice to have? and there is ?need to have?.

?99.9 percent of phones have SMS ? it is a huge playing field,? he said. ?Teams and broadcasters are going to be heading in the direction [of platforms like Txtstation] in the next few years.?

Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro, editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer, New York