| What does the National Basketball Association and | | | | the following night to elect LeBron James as the |
| mobile marketing have in common? At the 2008 NBA | | | | MVP. |
| All-Star Weekend, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, that | | | | Looking at this from a mobile marketing perspective, |
| answer is plenty. During this year's All-Star festivities, | | | | we begin to see the reach mobile marketing |
| fans, for the first time ever, decided the winners of | | | | campaigns can elicit in their users. Mobile media like |
| the notorious Slam Dunk Contest as well as the MVP | | | | this has the ability to generate interaction and |
| for the All-Star game. As if the incredible dunks of | | | | excitement among its audience, pointing to the |
| Dwight Howard and outstanding play of LeBron | | | | overall strength of the mobile marketing industry. As |
| James were not enough, this revolutionary night | | | | powerhouse brands like Sprite continue to grow, they |
| allowed fans to vote via text message for their | | | | are utilizing the latest technologies to create a buzz |
| favorite players. Basketball aside, this new trend | | | | that no other medium can rival. |
| represents the growing popularity and reach of | | | | Many sports teams and industries are working to |
| mobile marketing campaigns. | | | | integrate mobile marketing and advertising into there |
| Sponsored by Sprite, a soft drink leader, fans simply | | | | integrated marketing communications platform. The |
| texted the letter "A" or "B" to the code word | | | | faster this is completed the more of an established |
| "DUNKS" in order to vote in the Slam Dunk Contest. | | | | competitive advantage these associations will have |
| As Thomas Umstead notes, "over one million text | | | | when attaining market awareness, interactivity, and |
| messages" were received worldwide in the Slam | | | | market share. |
| Dunk Contest and another 500,000 were received | | | | |