Lance Armstrong and Livestrong Chalkbot Spread Words of Inspiration 08/04/2009 08:49 AM by Aaron
Lance Amstrong’s fight against cancer has been motivation for many but his comeback to cycling is one of the greatest comebacks of all time. As Armstrong prepares to start the 2009 Tour De France, this time he is not only racing for himself/team, but for the 27.5 million who died from cancer during his absence from pro-cycling. Livestrong continues to be on the forefront of social media and social change and is utilizing the technology of SMS to spread the word, literally.
Race enthusiasts and Livestrong supporters can text an inspirational message for racers, and the Nike Chalkbot will scrawl selected messages on the bike path before raceday, not only inspiring those racing but forever memoralizing these messages as they are broadcasted throughout the world to a massive global audience.
The Nike Livestrong campaign has been known for its innovative marketing, from introducing wristbands to meaningful content on Twitter, but the Chalkbot is one of the greatest examples of SMS innovation that will result in quite possibly the biggest text-to-screen campaign ever run.
SMS in this utility is logistically perfect, limiting the length of each entry to 160 characters by necessity, allowing more people to participate overall. And as the Tour de France is filmed, thousands of messages will be memorialized on film, which, with Armstrong racing, will likely be watched over and over again.
Just as the messages will be captured on film, SMS is a great way to memorialize a message in general, even without the benefit of having the greatest cyclist of all time and major television network coverage. SMS can be stored on the web, creating a website that users can text into and forever have access to, memorializing messages for any number of causes. The tie-in of SMS to television and a creative web integration can create a lasting message — something that any advertiser can put to good use.
This campaign is a prime example of the right way to engage users in a meaningful way via SMS, consistent to the marketing message of telling your story, while empowering users by literally spreading their words of wisdom in yellow chalk for spectators to take in. Not only will those who already feel connected to the campaign, but they will also be more likely to tune in to broadcasts. To bolster this, Livestrong is taking advantage of SMS to alerts users when to tune in to see their message in chalk. They have created a dialogue in a meaningful way that does not feel contrived to the marketing message, but empowering in a way that a non-profit organization with a cause this big should feel.
Racers will follow the yellow-chalk road to victory, a road of inspiring words, causes and hopes for a cause bigger than the race itself. And that SMS has played a role in that makes it clear that 160 characters are worth thousands of memorialized words.
