Idols competition uses SMS to garner the power of the crowd
‘Crowdsourcing’ is just one of many, many buzzwords doing the rounds at the moment. Coined by author, Jeff Howe, the term refers to the collective power of the crowd, as seen through Internet collaborative projects. The biggest example is perhaps Wikipedia which allows the ‘average man on the street’ to offer his knowledge of a subject without having to first prove his credentials. By outsourcing functions or projects to the ‘crowd’ of internet and mobile savvy consumers, organisations are able to draw on a wide range of expertise and perhaps most importantly, passion to promote their cause.
The return of power to consumers is obvious in the proliferation of amateur filmmakers, musicians and writers who can now easily create and publish their work through the Internet. One facet of ‘crowdsourcing’ is involving the ‘crowd’ in making their own choices about what they consume, whether this is a new flavour of chips or the content of local television programmes. In South Africa, the prime example of this is the Idol’s singing competition. Amateur singers ranging from the brilliant to the seriously misguided take to the stage and are voted for via SMS or cellphone call by viewers. This past Sunday saw the culmination of months of collaboration between fans and the producers of the show to pick the two final contestants, Sasha Lee and Jason. For the first time, the final decision was made purely by the voter’s choice, leaving the judges as moderators and not the final arbitrators. Sasha Lee stole the hearts and the SMS votes of the crowd and already her single is available for purchase from the Nokia download store.
Using the mobile phone as the voting medium allowed nearly 100% of South Africans to partake in the competition, if they felt the urge. Cellphones are ubiquitous with more South Africans having access to cellphones than Internet access and SMS technology is understood by everyone. Every cellphone is capable of sending and receiving text messages. The cost of entry to the competition was R2.00 per SMS. Premium-rated shortcode numbers are also a source of income for organisers of these types of competitions. Perhaps most importantly it allows producers of the show to gauge the level of support that will be shown to the winning singers and how much money they are likely to recoup from promotional events and record sales after the event.
According to Jeff Howe the first single released by an American Idol contestant, “A moment like this’ by Kelly Clarkson shot from number fifty-two to number one on the American pop charts in a single week breaking a record set by the Beatles. You can’t buy publicity like this; it needs the involvement and commitment of a crowd of fans. By using mobile voting means such as SMS text messaging, organisers of these events are not limiting their target market to those with Internet access, WAP-enabled phones or those residing in specific areas – there are no geographical or demographical limitations with mobile messaging.
Not only does this competition cover some of its costs by using premium-rated SMS messages, it has already built a base of fans that are willing to pay to attend future events involving the winners, buy the CD’s, attend the performances. SMS text messaging is simple, it is effective and everyone can do it. Any business can run ‘text-to-win’ contests or try and harness the power of the crossed with mobile marketing – it is an effective and extremely affordable marketing medium. If you didn’t get to cast your mobile vote this year, make sure you influence the Idol’s result next year via SMS.
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