Coca-Cola?s Sprite is using a slew of digital tools to connect with sports fans during the upcoming 2013 NBA All-Star game, including SMS and a mobile site.

Sprite is using digital media to let sports fans cast their vote for their favorite athletes and enter to win a trip to the game in Houston next year. The mobile component to the campaign focuses on social media, which is the glue that holds the digital effort together.

?Mobile is a very appealing platform to communicate about the Sprite brand,? said Bobby Oliver, brand manager at Sprite, Atlanta.

?Our core consumer is highly engaged with social media, and this allows an opportunity for compelling fan connection and an active dialogue with that core Sprite consumer,? he said.

Mobile fans
The goal of the Sprite Uncontainable Game is to get consumers talking and sharing sports-related content.

The soda giant is teaming up with six NBA basketball players in a competition to pick 24 amateur players from around the world that will compete in Sprint?s Uncontainable game during the 2013 NBA All-Star Game.

To get sports fans excited about the upcoming game, users can sign-up on Sprite?s desktop site at http://www.sprite.com/game. In order to register, users must have a Facebook account that is tied to their information.

Once a user is registered, they can cast their vote for their player picks daily for a chance at winning prizes including gift cards and a chance to go to the game in 2013.

The competing athletes will upload videos of themselves playing basketball with the goal of getting the most buzz.

A mobile-optimized version of the game is accessible on Sprite?s mobile site ? m.sprite.com. On the mobile site, users can watch videos and download wallpapers of their favorite NBA players.

Although users cannot vote from the Web site, the goal of the mobile site is to educate them about the program and share content via social media. With more consumers accessing social media via their handsets, this is a smart move for Sprite.

Users can watch videos on Sprite's mobile site

SMS is being used to interact with fans leading up to the game at NBA events as well as during the All-Star game. 

Users will be able to participate in real-time polls and quizzes to vote for who they think should win the game. Sports fans will also have the opportunity to enter to win prizes from interacting with SMS.

Sip on mobile
Coca-Cola has done a lot to ramp up its mobile strategy, particularly around SMS and mobile Web.

Recently, an executive revealed that 70 percent of a brand?s strategy needs to be built around channels that work such as SMS (see story).

With the long reach of both SMS and mobile Web, the mobile channels have proven to be effective for brands looking to interact with the most consumers.

Additionally, Sprite is able to rack up Facebook and Twitter impressions with the high focus on social media in the campaign.

Sprite also recently used a mobile advertising campaign that encouraged users to ?like? the brand?s Facebook page, showing the correlation between social media and mobile usage (see story).

?We believe that the mobile and sports connection will continue to be a strong way to reach out to our core consumers,? Mr. Oliver said.

?That is why we will continue to drive awareness of and participation in the Uncontainable Game throughout 2012 by communicating with our consumers via mobile and other social media channels,? he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York