Starting this week, consumers who join a Fast Society group will see various ads for the show. Branding will appear on the first and last message and there will be a 5-second pre-roll audio ad and a takeover on the iPhone app. This is the second marketing partnership for Fast Society. The company also snagged a partnership with the CMJ Music Festival in October.
Matthew Rosenberg, director of ideas and co-founder of Fast Society, declined to say how many people are using the company's group texting app. A rival group texting firm, textPlus, claims 25 million people use its service while another competitor, GroupMe, estimates that 200,000 texts go through its system every day.
Michael Scogin, vice president of mobile for MTV, says the network is trying to be creative with promotions for the show, an edgy, scripted look at teens based on a popular British program. "SMS in particular is aimed at a younger audience," he says. "It's a big part of their lives."