SMS trial on Global bodes well for future polling applications by Dominion Institute

The head of the Dominion Institute says a recent experiment in using broadcast and wireless platforms to inform Canadians about foreign policy and solicit their views was successful enough to continue through new initiatives. On September 10, the non-profit educational body broadcast its Foreign Fields documentary, including short messaging service (SMS) polling to solicit feedback from viewers in real time. The test, with participation from several partners to make the project technically feasible, was determined a success. Now the Dominion Institute is in discussions with Global Television about an encore presentation, this time surrounding the upcoming federal election. The Foreign Fields project was the public launch of a new polling tool dubbed the VoxPoll, owned by production company National Dream Productions, but developed with a multitude of technological partners. The system used a short code doled out by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), along with the content aggregation services of Impact Mobile and back end technology from both Vertigo Software Technologies and Centripetal Thought to push poll questions via SMS to participants during the course of the show, which was shown nationally on Global TV. The questions polled viewers on their thoughts surrounding Canada’s foreign policy and place on the world stage. Survey results were available nearly instantaneously during the broadcast. Over the course of the show, the producers received responses from 3,500 distinct viewers. Dominion Institute executive director Rudyard Griffiths says the effort was a valuable learning experience. "It was an intense learning curve but that’s part of the fun of this program, is that you’re getting the opportunity as a cultural producer to step outside of the milieu of television documentaries which one can get to know, and then all of a sudden you’re working with aggregators, carriers, the CWTA. I think it really opened our eyes to the ability to extend television production in the space of real interactivity without getting bogged down by the promises of black boxes on television tops and all of those things that haven’t really delivered. The wireless provided, I think, a really interesting way to create a truly interactive viewing experience at a price point that was a fraction of a fraction of what a true interactive television model using fibre optic and broadband and all that might engender." The price tag for the entire production, polling included, ran $350,000, with a significant chunk thrown in by both the wireless carriers and by the Ontario Media Development Corp.’s Pioneering Content fund, which granted $15,000 and $70,000 respectively. Griffiths says this puts the lie to any assertion that wireless carriers aren’t interested in funding content. "I think they thought of it as an opportunity to make a bit of a point that text messaging does have greater potential than simply an entertainment tool." Other partners included CanWest Global Communications Corp., which kicked in $85,000 worth of in-kind marketing and promotion through its newspapers, television stations and web sites, and the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. Griffiths reserves special praise for the OMDC fund, however. While the project, in different forms, was turned down twice previously by the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, he says the fit with the Pioneering Content endowment was excellent. "I’m not crying over spilt milk, but I felt this was innovative and worthy of support and I felt maybe the Pioneering Content fund has got a great future in terms of keeping that vision of taking some risks. That’s hard for governments and others to do. We’re in this age of accountability where risk-taking is not necessarily encouraged, so my hat is off to them in terms of having the kind of institutional fortitude to launch a program like this." He says that now with the technology and concept proven, others will likely begin using SMS in similar ways. "We thought there was a serious use for this technology and there was an important public good that could come about through the project. I think in terms of the response rates, ourselves and all of the carriers were, I think, surprised in a way that we thought this isn’t MuchMusic. It’s not Canadian Idol. It was a pretty serious, hard-hitting documentary on Canadian foreign policy. But, again, I think that the call to action of being able to add your voice immediately into a national debate that is simultaneous to an effective but somewhat passive presentation of a documentary really clicked with viewers."

SMS trial on Global bodes well for future polling applications by Dominion Institute

News | 10/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

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