Multi-platform Live Polling and Sweepstakes!

Get your cell phones ready, this week's PGA is going to be interactive. From the folks at TNT:

TNT and PGA.com join Txtstation to Launch Multi-platform Live Poll and Sweepstakes for the 88th PGA Championship

Golf fans Can Vote for a Chance to Win a PGA Golf Getaway via Wireless Text Message or at PGA.com

Turner Network Television (TNT) and PGA.com today announced that they have teamed up with Txtstation to launch a multi-platform viewer’s poll and sweepstakes in conjunction with the 2006 PGA Championship, live from Medinah (Illinois) Country Club. Each day viewers will be asked to interact using their cell phone or via PGA.com and submit their votes to poll questions, such as ‘the most dramatic PGA Championship moment’, or ‘the best PGA golfer in his prime.’ Votes can be submitted, utilizing Txtstation technology, either at PGA.com or via cell phone by sending a text message to short code number ‘88222’. The live poll and sweepstakes, beginning Thursday, August 17 and running through Sunday, August 20, is part of Turner’s multi-platform campaign in which coverage of the tournament will be simulcast across both television (TNT) and the internet (PGA.com).

“One of our goals is to lead the way in cutting edge interactive sports-related content,” said Lenny Daniels, senior vice president of sports production and new media, Turner Sports. “The PGA Championship Poll is a great example of how mobile marketing is impacting our culture. Adding the mobile component to PGA.com's poll enables them to creatively interact with the sports fans, as well as the broader viewing audience.”

Who's they?

This is fun...

“The Txtstation TV system continues to break new ground with interactive mobile marketing technology concepts, and we are very excited with the opportunity to combine real time entry points from both the PGA website, and mobile phones to drive television viewer response and ratings” said Matt Coleman, founder of Txtstation.

Oh yeah, ratings are just going skyrocket.

Real-time poll results will simultaneously be displayed during the TNT broadcast and on the PGA.com website. Each TXT message costs $.50. Most carriers are available; including Sprint Nextel, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cingular, Boost Mobile and Dobson.

Wow, this interactivity is a bargain. Oh but there are prizes.

Those submitting votes will be eligible to win a 3-day/2-night PGA Golf Getaway consisting of round trip airfare for two to Florida, two nights accommodations at the brand new Hilton Garden Hotel at the PGA Learning Center, a one hour golf lesson for two with Rick Martino, PGA Director of Instruction, training session for two on the Motion Analysis Technology by TaylorMade(“MAT-T”) system, two 18-hole rounds of golf for two at the PGA Golf Club and spending Cash. The winner will be announced by September 25.

This is fun...

About Txtstation

Txtstation is a leading mobile marketing company specializing in sports and entertainment. We allow broadcasters, event owners, sponsors and general media to communicate with viewers or fans directly through their mobile phones and other multimedia platforms.

Txtstation creates one to one ‘real time’ dialog with consumers at specific times and places such as events, concerts and live or pre recorded broadcast. Since 2000, we have been at the forefront of mobile interactivity designing ‘live’ integrated programs that harness the excitement of live events while delivering high consumer response and encouraging brand loyalty.

Remember the good old days when you would get a few synergy mentions? Poor synergy...it's time has passed.