According to Limbo Chief Marketing Officer Rob Lawson, “The campaigns scored 53 percent awareness, in line with other SMS programs, but higher than might be expected from traditional forms of media. The overall impact was considerable with 28 percent altering their voting intentions.”

Key Findings

Change in voting intention: Six percent (6%) of those surveyed after the campaigns said that the advertising had changed their voting intentions significantly. This was highest for men at seven percent (7%), those aged 35+ at seven percent (7%), and for African Americans at nine percent (9%). An additional 22 percent (22%) said their intentions had been changed a little.

Change in perception of the candidate: Fourteen percent (14%) said that their perceptions of the candidate was now more positive than before seeing the campaign, with only four percent (4%) saying it was now more negative, a net 10 percent (10%) increase in positive perception. Barack Obama saw the biggest uplift, with a net gain of 16 percent (16%).

As well as changing impressions of the candidates, the campaigns also functioned to drive greater interaction with the candidate across other paid and non-paid media:
Thirty-seven percent (37%) paid more attention to news coverage about the candidate
Twelve percent (12%) became more aware of other marketing for the candidate
Seven percent (7%) visited the candidate’s website with a further 24 percent (24%) intending to do so in the future
Five percent (5%) visited the candidate’s mobile Internet site with a further nine percent (9%) intending to do so in the future

As SMS is a very direct medium, Limbo also asked recipients of the campaign how happy they were to see the candidates advertised through the Limbo service. Fifty-six percent (56%) of people said they were happy, and only 13 percent (13%) said they would have preferred not to see SMS advertising from political candidates. Men were more comfortable than women to receive the campaigns, and the 25-34 year age bracket was most happy.

About Limbo

Limbo is the world’s largest mobile entertainment community. The company leverages its patent-pending platform – which includes SMS, mobile web, mobile video, web, and email – to seamlessly integrate brands throughout unique games, content and community. The Limbo platform delivers over 50 branded interactions per consumer as well as provides unparalleled increases in purchase intent. The award-winning, privately held company, headquartered in Burlingame, Calif., and is backed by three of the world’s top venture capital funds: Azure Capital Partners (www.azurecap.com), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (www.dfj.com), and New Enterprises Associates (www.nea.com).