Digital entertainment company Buongiorno has reached an agreement with Telefnica Latinoamrica for the exclusive introduction and management of an SMS competition initiative called Superconcurso SMS, in Latin America. 
The agreement will allow Buongiorno to introduce Superconcurso competitions in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala and Uruguay over the next year. Buongiornos says this is the largest business initiative it has undertaken in the region.
The growth in SMS traffic for this region is forecast to be highly significant over the coming years. The analyst Ovum predicts that in 2008, customers in Latin America are expected to send around 145 billion SMS messages, a 14% increase over 2007. In keeping with this prediction, Buongiornos business volume increased significantly in Latin America in the first half of 2008, with revenues reaching 9.2 million (7.5 million).
The results that Telefnica O2 has achieved in the countries where it introduced the Superconcurso have led to an expansion of the game to new markets where mobile telephony, and SMS messaging in particular, have a huge subscriber base. 
Superconcurso SMS enables operators to profit from the immediacy and universal reach of SMS messaging. It offers subscribers a daily challenge where they can attempt to win prizes that can increase in value week upon week as the competition progresses. The new versions of the Superconcurso will award prizes worth more than 10 million.
The introduction of new versions of the Superconcurso has led Buongiorno to conduct a survey of South American subscribers to learn how they would use the money if they won a prize equivalent to 500,000: 74% of those surveyed said they would use the prize to buy the house of their dreams, while 68% said they would travel the world. 52% of respondents said that such a sum of money would allow them to quit working and 6% said they would use the money for cosmetic surgery. Another survey conducted by Buongiorno revealed that 48% of people in South America, have used their mobile to take part in an SMS-based lottery competition. 
Telefnica O2 chose the proposal submitted by Buongiorno in preference to four other major international and regional companies to develop this project. Buongiorno says this was partly due to its specific experience in Latin America, but also because of the companys experience in providing content specifically for mobiles.
The agreement reached with Telefnica Latinoamrica is a recognition of Buongiornos successful targeting of the emerging Latin American VAS (Value Added Services) market and the recognition of our ability, as a global leader, to export and adapt our value proposition to suit different markets around the world in every country, says Buongiorno CEO, Andrea Casalini. The fact that Buongiorno is the first company to implement the Superconcurso SMS in the regions countries represents a significant growth opportunity in emerging markets, compensating for some slowing in Europe and the US. It is also an excellent endorsement from telecom operators.