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Shrek the Musical, M&M Mars integrate mobile into billboards

Author

Giselle Tsirulnik

Movie studio DreamWorks' Broadway production of "Shrek, The Musical" and candy giant M&M/Mars have placed a mobile call to action on two interactive billboards in New York's Times Square.

The billboards are located on Seventh Avenue and Broadway right above the M&M Mars flagship store in Times Square, arguably one of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide. RedCloud Mobile is powering the campaign.

The billboard asks consumers to text the keyword SHREKMM to short code 299669 for free Shrek wallpapers.

Consumers who text in get a message that says they are now part of the Shrek and BWYNOW database. They will get news and offers from both.

BWYNOW (299669) is a community of Broadway and theatre fans.

Additionally, consumers are routed to a mobile site where they can download free Shrek wallpapers.

The site also has a call to action, asking consumers to text the keyword MMW to short code 299669 to receive offers from M&M's World.

Shrek the Musical is the story of a giant green ogre who falls in love. Shrek is portrayed by Brian d'Arcy James, the Tony-nominated actor. Tony-award-winner Sutton Foster plays the role of Princess Fiona.

This isn't the first time that a Times Square billboard has had a mobile call to action displayed on it.

In fact, Diet Coke's "Style Series," campaign made use of the NASDAQ billboard in Times Square, by having a dial-in number posted on it, encouraging people in the street to use their mobile phones to call in and listen (see story).

German carmaker Volkswagen did a mobile campaign using a digital billboard in Times Square, asking consumers to text their vote to a short code. This was part of the German automaker's "What the People Want" campaign.

Once users texted their vote, they got a message asking them to look back at the billboard, which displayed real time results of the poll (see story).

For the Shrek the Musical campaign, the fact that users can personalize their phones with Shrek wallpapers, puts the brand into the consumer's hands.

It is possible that DreamWorks is also extending the reach of Shrek the Musical into a new segment of consumers, reaching not only Broadway's existing fans, but possibly creating a new class.