Save The Children captured the publics imagination over the weekend with a text-based appeal to take action and put pressure on decision-makers to do everything in their power to end the violence in Gaza.
The appeal, carried in half- and full-page ads under the strapline: Stop the suffering, ran in The Guardian, Daily Mail and Sunday Times amongst others. The campaign carries the call to action: Text CEASEFIRE to 81819.
Real-time reporting reveals that the appeal generated 115,000 responses across three days. Responses were received regardless of the time of day, and the campaign spread virally. Respondents were sent a follow-up SMS carrying the message: Save The Children is taking 115k CEASEFIRE requests 2 Downing St @ 3pm today. We need more. Pls ask your friends to txt CEASEFIRE 80 81819.
The campaign was planned by Carat with the mobile response element run by mobile marketing agency Incentivated. According to Incentivated, across all press titles, the cost per response was just a few pence. Save the Children now plans to publicise the huge level of support in order to request that politicians everywhere push for a ceasefire.
Incentivated adds that mobile is becoming a mainstream communication channel to galvanise public support for small businesses, multinationals, public sector organizations and charities. Mobile was an important element of the Presidential election campaign which swept Barack Obama to victory in the US elections in November 2008.
This is an unprecedented response, and the message from our text campaign is loud and clear – the British public want an end to the bombing in Gaza, says Save the Children Director of Campaigns, Adrian Lovett. A huge number of the British public care what is happening in Gaza and have taken action. Politicians are well aware of those messages and we will continue to ensure their voices are heard. Right now, the fighting is still going on and one child dies in Gaza every three hours. Public support can and must make a change.
Incentivated Commercial Director Robert Thurner says the campaign proves the ubiquity and popularity of text as an immediate activation channel to traditional media which people respond to 24/7, regardless of their location. 
It also proves the power of mobile as a viral marketing channel, says Thurner. In this digital age, mobile is unique in allowing us to support the issues which effect us, and to spread the word among others with similar beliefs.”