A young Dublin premium SMS firm has succeeded in signing up around 75pc of Irish premier league clubs as well as a growing number of GAA and Rugby teams, providing the clubs with a means to keep fans up to speed on the latest developments and fixtures.
Merrion Square-headquartered The Black Dog Communications, which provides news, information and entertainment products ranging from jokes to trivia for mobile users and engages in marketing and competition campaigns with newspapers, has developed a product that enables football, rugby and GAA clubs to create new revenues streams and foster closer relationships with fans.
According to Pete Wilson of The Black Dog Communications, the company uses its premium SMS licenses to target sports clubs and other organisations and splits the revenue generated from fans using the premium SMS services with the organisations.
“So far 75pc of Irish first division teams like Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians and Sligo Rovers have signed up for the service,” Wilson says.
“Basically it doesn’t cost the clubs anything and what it does is create a new revenue stream for them whereby they can keep fans up to date on various events, fixtures and club information. We are trying to encourage them to make better use of the premium SMS services on their club programmes and in the grounds, but it is still a learning curve for them and they are only getting familiar with the benefits of the service,” Wilson explained.
Wilson explained that the company is also working with football, rugby and GAA clubs in Northern Ireland.
The Black Dog Communications, originally Dolphin Communications, was established in 2001 and has a team of 13 technologists and journalists engaged in creating content for areas such as sports, business, celebrity gossip, trivia and competitions. The company also works closely with TV3, RTE and various newspaper groups on joint competitions and promotions using premium SMS.
By John Kennedy
