As millions of eyes were tuned to the Oscars last night, the stage was set for one man to use the massive platform for a unique SMS call-to-action, whether the show’s producers wanted him to or not.

During the acceptance speech for winning best Documentary, the subject of which, Ric O’Barry, held up a sign that read “text DOLPHIN to 44144.”  Even though the camera cut away quickly, the message was still understood.

O’Barry, who captured and trained the first five dolphins who played Flipper in the popular 1960s TV series, dedicated the rest of his life to protecting and freeing dolphins from captivity after witnessing the ramifications of his actions — as well as the suicide of one of the Flipper dolphins in his arms.  His life’s work was chronicled in the documentary “The Cove,” which won the Oscar last night for best documentary of the year.

Following through on the campaign and texting “Dolphin” to 44144 returned a link to an Online petition and a means to send a letter to Pres. Obama.  MsgMe, the provider of the 44144 short code used in the call-to-action, said even though cameras cut away quickly when O’Barry held up the sign, the response was still significant.

“We saw steady traffic for the next five hours and have seen a huge spike in support over Twitter which we believe is generating the bulk of the traffic,” said Matt Silk of Waterfall Mobile, provider of the MsgMe SMS platform in an email today.  ”New subscribers are still coming in at a pretty healthy clip to sign the petition so we are ecstatic with the viral explosion of the campaign.”

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Although mobile apps are clearly all the rage, Shaun Gregory, the managing director of O2 Media, says it’s important not to place apps ahead of sound mobile marketing practices when it comes to utilizing the mobile space most efficiently in the promotional process.

Gregory advised firms to avoid the temptation of becoming wholly preoccupied with creating their own apps. Instead, he advised spreading one’s focus across a broad spectrum of opportunities in the mobile realm.

“Brands need to work out how apps fit into their wider mobile marketing strategy but many want to launch one before considering the alternatives,” Gregory told his audience at the FT Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference.

According to coverage of the event from New Media Age, Gregory revealed his view that applications “come into the advertising conversation far too early.” Rather, he offered, it’s vital to remember that traditional mobile marketing strategies like SMS marketing remain the most efficient and effective way to connect with mobile users.

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An interesting piece from MakeUseOf.com points to an often overlooked reality than few may have previously considered. In fact, any text-capable cell phone can now be just as reliable as a smartphone. How so? SMS-integrating services now make such a reality possible.

The article raises awareness of various options available to those with “regular cell phones.” These services “to which access is only a text message away” are designed to simplify on-the-go web activities for those who don’t have the latest, trendiest smartphones.

Posterous, for example, is a social network platform that enables the “cross-posting” of your updates across various social networking sites through a single email. Similarly, Hellotxt allows users to update better than fifty social networks from email as well.

Whether you’re sharing your status on Twitter or keeping in touch with friends via any of the gazillion social networks in existence, there are more opportunities for the low-tech cell phones in our midst than we may presently realize. To check out some of those you may have missed, visit MakeUseOf.com.

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It’s always nice to come across use-cases for SMS beyond the basic confines of marketing, and a perfect example is the increased usage of the medium for appointment reminders.

Headrush Hair Salon, an up-scale and high-traffic salon in the U.K, enlisted the help of TextMagic to introduce SMS reminders to cut down on no-shows and reduce the standby time for their stylists, helping curb the untold amount of revenue lost during idle time.  With over 4,700 clients total, no-shows had become a huge problem.

“TextMagic has improved our amount of no-show clients who may have forgotten the date and time of their appointment, therefore leaving a stylist in the salon with sometimes up to 2 1/2 hours of down time, which is clearly bad for business and profits.  We calculate that our number of no-shows has been reduced by approximately 70% since we’ve been using TextMagic and we expect this number to improve further as we obtain more clients’ mobile numbers.”

With SMS being inexpensive, easy to implement and having the ability to reach anyone quickly and easily no matter the type of device, it’s no wonder SMS reminder solutions have proved so successful.  Nearly every use-case I come across is deemed a huge success, with ROI that goes above and beyond most expectations.  As the concept makes itself known, wide-spread usage in a variety of industries will begin to take shape, for good reason.

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Car dealers are always on the lookout for shoppers in the market for a new or used car, and mobile is an ideal way to reach local customers who are ready to buy. Dealer Specialties, a division of Dominion Dealer Solutions and Dominion Enterprises, today announced the addition of Mobile Marketing Solutions to their vast non-mobile marketing services offered to car dealers.

The new program is a mobile website and text messaging lead generator for the auto retail industry. Three options are included in the package, a mobile inventory website, a mobile inventory website with four text messaging keywords, or a mobile inventory website with up to eight text messaging key words.

Shoppers will have to opt in to this program, which will require a separate type of marketing to work in the first place. For shoppers the program will offer on-demand access to vehicle photos, e-brochures and dealer contact information in a semi-customizable mobile environment. But in signing up for the program, the buyers will have to opt-in to offering their mobile phone number and e-mail for targeted mobile marketing campaigns. If the useful/marketing balance leans too much to marketing, many users will simply opt-out of the program.

For dealers, the benefits are a bit more clear. Creating a personal marketing list helps enhance long-term customer relations. “Dealers who want to reach on-the-go consumers who prefer to shop mobile and communicate via texting are encouraged to participate in this program,” said Al Hess, general manager of Dealer Specialties sales and operations. “The mobile and texting demographics clearly point to an opportunity automotive retailers can benefit from today.”

Dealer Specialties, a division of Dominion Dealer Solutions, is the nation’s leading provider of a comprehensive suite of inventory management solutions, dealer websites and internet marketing. Providing full-serve and self-serve solutions to dealers growing and changing business needs, Dealer Specialties provides real-time inventory updates, and inventory marketing on the industry’s largest online distribution network including GetAuto.com, Cars.com, eBay Motors, Craigslist, Vast.com, Google, YouTube and many others.

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