BBC Radio 1 received more than 42,000 MMS messages on Friday, Dec. 11 as part of its Free Picture Messaging Day.

For the 24-hour period, consumers were invited to send picture messages to short code 8199. The promotion was coordinated by The Mobile Data Association and carried no cost to customers of O2, Vodafone, Orange, 3, T-Mobile, Tesco Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

?The results were surprising,? said Ben Chapman, interactive editor at BBC Radio 1, London. ?At best we get 9,000 images in a month, but we had 3,000 in October, so 42,000 in a day was brilliant.

?We do acknowledge that sending images is more expensive than texts and removing the cost exposed the fact that our audience finds it fun and iswilling to engage with us,? he said. ?This project showed significant interest in picture messaging and shows real promise for interaction with the station in future.

?The pictures we got from around Britain were brilliant and gave us an amazing insight into where people listen to the radio.?

BBC Radio is a British national radio station operated by the BBC that plays the current popular music and chart hits throughout the day.

The MDA claims to reflect the common voice of the mobile data industry and is a mobile trade association in Britain that promotes the use and benefits of mobile data.

Consumers are ready for mobile
The station estimates that it received the equivalent of five months of MMS traffic in the 24-hour period.
BBC Radio has placed a selection of the photographs at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/mmsday/.

Consumers can find their picture by selecting the time they sent the image. The station said it has highlighted some of the funnier images.

BBC Radio said it plans to launch a stop-motion film online that aims to pack as many of the faces as possible on screen in a way that brings its DJs, the music it plays and its audience together.

Mr. Chapman said it signals an appetite for sending pictures that BBC has never seen before.

Martin Ballard, operations director at the MDA, said the figures demonstrate that when picture messaging is combined with a proper campaign through a call-to-action, people will respond.

The high use seen throughout the day provides proof that consumers will participate in mobile campaigns.

?The results illustrate the social power of picture messaging, while the project itself should act as a catalyst for inspiring new ways in which the medium can be used,? Mr. Ballard said. ?With the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2012 London Olympics, there are a wealth of opportunities.?