The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana used mobile at Macy's Glamorama event to raise money to build the largest Ronald McDonald House in the world.

The annual Glamorama fundraiser took place Aug. 21 in Chicago with musical performances and, fashion designers and celebrity appearances all focusing on the main goal of the event -- raising money for charity. To help achieve its fundraising goals goal, RMHC enlisted the help of mobile company Telescope Inc. to integrate an SMS campaign to let event guests donate to the charitable cause via text messaging.

"The main strategy behind this campaign is to increase awareness of the Ronald McDonald House Charities and garner donations via a new interactive method to raise money to build the largest Ronald McDonald House in the world," said Jason George, CEO of Telescope Inc., Los Angeles. "Because it is in-venue, mobile offers a direct-response mechanic to engage fans at the event.

"Once engaged, the participants receive all the information of how to complete their donation online and can opt-in to receive updates and additional information on RMHC-CNI," he said. "This is a great example of how mobile can be best used alongside other media to drive maximum benefit for the marketing partner."

The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana is to improve the health, well-being and education of children.

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program, in partnership with Advocate Hope Children's Hospital, provides essential health services to children in underserved areas in a mobile environment.

Children receive check-ups, immunizations and referrals for specialty care, including asthma, cardiology, and allergies. The goal is to find a "healthcare home" for all the children who visit the Care Mobile van.

Telescope has also managed mobile campaigns for clients such as Fox's American Idol, the NBA, the NHL, CBS's The Price Is Right and NBC's Deal or No Deal and America's Got Talent.

RMHC is hoping that the mobile campaign will increase interactivity with its audience and provide an additional method of raising funds.

During the event, guests were shown a video presentation highlighting the role of Ronald McDonald House in keeping the families of hospitalized children together and the need for the new House.

The video concludes with a call-to-action that asks the audience to text their donation amount to the short code 21523.

After the audience texted in their pledge amount for the RMHC, they received a reply message confirming the amount and the Ronald McDonald House Charity Web link with instructions on how to complete their donation online.

Attendees had the opportunity to opt-in to receive a reminder message from Ronald McDonald House Charities, as well as further information via SMS about upcoming RMHC events.

"Telescope worked with the Ronald McDonald House Charity, Macy's and their agency partners to conceive, develop and power the in-venue mobile campaign," Mr. George said.

"During the event people will be learning about the RMHC and the invaluable work they do to help hospitalized children and their families," he said.

"When people are most inspired they will be able to donate to the worthy charity using the only form of media they have available at that time -- their mobile phone."

Giselle Tsirulnik contributed reporting to this article.