Seattle, Washington-based mobile marketing company, Mobliss--which is best known for enabling SMS voting on the show, "American Idol"--is enabling SMS voting on "Rock Star: INXS," a new reality TV show from Mark Burnett Productions that is currently airing on CBS. The show invites viewers to help the band, INXS, find its next lead singer (to replace the late Michael Hutchence), by voting each week for the contestants they would like to see return the following week: all voting is conducted either via SMS or online (i.e. the show does not support voting via interactive voice response). SMS voting is available on Verizon Wireless in the US (where it is billed at standard rates) and on Fido, Telus, Bell, MTS, SaskTel, Aliant, and NorthernTel (in Canada, it is billed at a premium rate of CDN$0.25). In addition, Mobliss is providing the show with a live SMS chat application that allows viewers to text questions to the band and to the show's hosts, Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke. "There is such a passionate fan base for INXS that it was important that we included some type of viewer participation in this project," the show's creator and executive producer, Mark Burnett, said in a prepared statement. "Mobliss was, without a doubt, the perfect partner for us because of their demonstrated ability to handle extremely high volumes of SMS traffic and their proven track record working with top television properties."
In other Mobliss news: the company was recently chosen by Starcom IP, the interactive agency of G4, a Comcast-owned cable and satellite channel devoted to coverage of the videogame space, to power SMS voting for the third annual "G-Phoria" videogame award show. SMS voting was available at standard rates to customers of all tier-one US wireless carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular, and Nextel). Nominees for the G-Phoria awards were chosen by a panel of videogame industry experts: videogame fans could then vote for the winners either online or via SMS (note: this was the first time that the winners of the awards were chosen by the public). Fans were encouraged to vote during four "Race to G-Phoria" specials that aired on G4 in advance on the awards show and that provided information and commentary on each award category and nominee. "With the rising popularity of viewer participation in award shows, and given G4's target audience of men, 12-34, it made sense to extend the program with a wireless element," Starcom IP wireless specialist, Courtney Jane Acuff, said in a prepared statement. "We recommended Mobliss to G4 based on their reputation for technological solutions and past program executions. Beyond text voting, the Starcom IP and Mobliss program enabled G4's audience to opt-in for reminders to tune-in to the 'G-Phoria' award show broadcast--another example of how wireless programs can extend reach to a brand's audience."
