Text 2 Screen 4 Health: The It's OUR Healthcare! Mobile Campaign

Part of a Special Series Developed in Partnership With MobileActive.org

Text-to-Screen technology enables people to send text messages using SMS technology from their mobile devices to networked digital screens. Text-to-screen has been used in entertainment (concerts) and sporting events.

However, text-to-screen technology is not limited to the entertainment or sports industries. A range of health organizations have used it to deliver health messages to the masses. For example, in 2008, MobileActive.org highlighted a campaign designed to help people in California communicate their views about state-wide health reform. During the It’s OUR Healthcare! (IOH) initiative, a group of seniors, healthcare consumers and labor, arranged for a jumbotron to be positioned in front of the California State House. People passing by and others were invited to text their thoughts on health reform. These texts appeared on the giant television screen purchased by the coalition.

Key Activities:

In addition to deploying the jumbotron, members of the IOH coalition:

Built a database of mobile phone numbers for future use
Generated media and public attention
Organized “watch parties” to encourage individual to text more message to legislators
Educated coalition members about the benefits of mobile and multi-media technology

Results:

The IOH coalition received approximately 650 SMS (text) messages on the day of the campaign. 47-percent of the people who had previously opted in to the campaign sent an SMS on the campaign day.

Much of the campaign’s success was due to the fact that IOH did not rely on a single communications channel during the campaign. The coalition used the jumbotron, a Website featuring live broadcasts of legislative sessions, social networking sites and mobile to drive attention and action during the initiative.

Industry:

Healthcare

Primary Communications Discipline:

Mobile Marketing

Organizations Involved:

It’s Our Healthcare

Campaign Dates:

2007

For More Information:

MobileActive.org Article: How to Run a Text to Screen Campaign, December 1, 2008, http://mobileactive.org/howtos/how-run-text-screen-campaign
MobileActive.org Article : How to Run a Text-to-Screen Campaign: A MobileActive Guide for Nonprofits, March 4, 2008, http://mobileactive.org/how-run-text-screen-campaigns-mobileactive-guide-ngos
It’s Our Healthcare’s Text-Messaging Campaign, 2007, http://www.freerangestudios.com/whitepapers/casestudy_txt_msgning.pdf

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