The campaign is being rolled out in conjunction with The Who’s Quadrophenia Tour and includes SMS, mobile Web and a sweepstakes. Digigraph.me, UR Mobile, ePrize and mGood are all involved in the campaign.

“The strategy here is to empower The Who’s fans at every U.S. stop on the tour to make a charitable donation to Teen Cancer America,” said Barry Berkowitz, CEO of Digigraph.me, Las Angeles, CA.

“The mobile Web enables donors to quickly complete their donations with a credit card, earn entries into a grand prize sweepstakes and receive a personalized, digitally autographed thank you photo from the Who’s frontmen, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend,” he said.

Teen Cancer America is a non-profit with the goal of improving the lives of teenagers and young adults with cancer.

How it works

Calls-to-action are promoted in videos at the concerts, which encourage consumers to text-in the keyword WHO to the short code 95323.

The Who’s Quadrophenia Tour runs through Feb. 26.

Consumers are then sent a SMS message with a link that connects to a mobile form that users can fill out to make a donation to Teen Cancer America.

Additionally, consumers can enter to win a trip for two to the Teenage Cancer Trust Concert in London. The prize package also includes airfare, hotel accommodations and $1,000 cash.

Once users complete the form, they are sent a personalized picture via SMS and email from The Who’s front men, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey.

Mobile donations
Nonprofits are increasingly turning to mobile to drive donations and charity awareness.

Coupling mobile with a live event is a great way for Teen Cancer America to get the word about the campaign.

Consumers are more likely to donate to a cause while it is top-of-mind versus making the donation at home in front of their laptops.

Additionally, SMS’s reach means that the nonprofit can involve the widest group of mobile users.

“We see mobile quickly becoming the primary source for charitable donations, by individual civilian donors,” Mr. Berkowitz said. “For the most part, we’re all carrying our mobile devices with us, wherever we are.

“The ability to make charitable donations via mobile is critically important, when the call to action – the request to give, especially at events – requires a fast, efficient and secure communication and transaction method,” he said. “Mobile makes that possible, in a variety of ways, better than ever before.

“It promises to grow as the most effective channel to quickly help worthy charities, like Teen Cancer America, do real good.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York