Technology was largely the cause of the controversy over the severity of Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler’s knee injury during Sunday’s NFC title game. Tweets from current and former players riled up the sports talk news cycle well into the week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, meanwhile, are using technology in a decidedly more productive way, and 78,500 fans seem to agree. The group is large enough to fill Heinz Field and then some, and they’re subscribers to the Steelers’ SMS (text message) alerts, receiving the team’s Micro Blog news. It’s one of the largest subscriberships of its kind among U.S. pro sports teams, according to the Pittsburgh tech company who provides the interactive SMS platform, SMaSh Technologies.
“The SMaSh platform lets us reach our most passionate fans the moment Steelers news breaks and enables us to do exciting, in-stadium, text-to-win promotions,” says Steelers Director of Marketing Tony Quatrini in a news release.
There are subscribers in all 50 U.S. states (not surprising considering the Steelers’ success since the mid-1970s). You can join Steelers Nation by texting “Steelers” to 76274 (SMASH) or clicking here.
According to Mobile Commerce Daily, 98 percent of all text messages received by consumers are read within an hour, easily outpacing other communication mediums. It’s a big reason why the Steelers are offering SMS sponsorship and promotions to local and national advertisers hoping to leverage that kind of instant connection.
SMaSH is no stranger to the sports world–Dallas Mavericks owner, Mt. Lebanon High grad and unabashed techie Mark Cuban led a $1.35 million investment round for SMaSh in 2009.
Now, if only they can figure out a platform to text Mike Tomlin our playcalling advice. But why ruin a good thing, right?
Joe Petrucci is managing editor of Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.
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