CompetitionLink – a new SMS service for setting up and running SMS votes, competitions and polls

Daniel Cimring, CEO of BlackHatMedia, had this to say "SMS competitions are already a familiar part of the competition landscape in South Africa. However, there are still many competitions being run that do not have SMS as a means of entry. We developed the CompetitionLink service in order to try and fill this gap and to convince companies large and small of the benefits of SMS entry. There is no reason why every competition being run in South Africa should not have SMS as a means of entry. Viewed in this light I believe that there is still a lot of potential growth in the SMS competition space."

"Compared to filling out a paper entry form and then having to use the post, SMS competition entry is quick and convenient. As a competition organiser, there is no need to collect and collate entry forms since everything is done electronically. And the winners can be informed with a SMS or by calling them."

An important benefit of SMS competitions is that they can also be used for market research. One or more questions can be asked as part of the entry and the research results are immediately available in electronic format without having to do any data capture. Below are some examples of what can be done taken from a recent article written for Gaming For Africa.

Sample entry wording
"SMS the name of your favorite slot game to 0820 03 03 50 and you could win R1,000 in free casino credits from Caesars to play that game. Over 18's only."

Sample reply
"Competition entry code AXDRTH. Winners will be announced at Caesars on 25/2/2004. You must be at Caesars to claim your prize. Good Luck!"

Sample entry wording
"SMS the word Monte to 0820 03 03 50, answer the questions that follow and you could win an all expenses paid trip to Italy. Over 18's only."

Sample replies containing market research questions
"Question 1/3. How often to you visit Monte Casino? 1. Every day 2. Every week 3. Every month 4. Only now and again"

"Question 2/3. What do you like about Monte? 1.It is close to where I live 2.It has the best entertainment 3.My kids love the facilities 4.I feel luck at Monte 5. N/A"

"Question 3/3. Which other Gauteng casinos do you visit? 1.Caesars 2.Carnival City 3.Gold Reef City 4.Emerald Casino"

Business contact
BlackHatMedia specialises in interactive SMS and SMS directories. For more information on CompetitionLink or on other services offered by BlackHatMedia, please call Daniel Cimring on 083-457-3360, email or visit www.blackhatmedia.com.