Until recently, restless fans had to resort to doing the wave to pass the time between innings of our national pastime. But now, thanks to Short Message Service technology, there's another option.

Vibes Media, an Evanston, Ill.-based company that specializes in text message-based marketing programs using SMS technology, has struck a deal with the Chicago White Sox and U.S. Cellular to offer fans the opportunity to take part in interactive promotions during games.

The U.S. Cellular Question of the Day is announced during the eighth inning of games and displayed on the field's Jumbotron, according to Doug Rothrock, vice president of marketing and sales at for Vibes Media. Using the text messaging feature of their wireless phone, spectators can respond to an opinion question such as, "'Who's a tougher opponent, the Red Sox or the Yankees?' or 'Who's the best-looking White Sox player?'" Rothrock said. "After you answer, you are invited to take part in a 50-question trivia contest for prizes."

Each correct answer results in another entry into a monthly drawing for White Sox tickets, signed White Sox merchandise, and a chance to deliver the lineup card with the coach, according to Vibes Media. In addition to offering the in-stadium promotion for all home games, U.S. Cellular uses Vibes Media to offer the Question of the Day for all home and away games on FOX television.

The White Sox and U.S. Cellular are able to monitor the responses in real time during the game, Rothrock said. "It's ideal for sporting events, because it's a confined audience. We can fulfill prizes right there on site."

So the fans may get a kick — and possibly some loot — out of it and the White Sox like the chance get people more involved, but what's in it for U.S. Cellular? "It lets them get immediate feedback on the use of the technology. It's a chance to engage people and demonstrate the service — people can try it out."

At the heart of the text messaging service is Vibes Media's Instant Response Platform, a Windows-based application that supports both SMS and MMS. The messaging platform is designed to be scalable in terms of bandwidth and processing power. Rothrock said it can handle millions of messages by running multiple instances of the SMSC applications on different servers concurrently.

Customers can use Vibes Media's Web-based promotion system to create and test a promotion with no programming required. For example, the company reports, users (i.e., the team or wireless carrier in this case) can create many types of messages, including clues to trivia questions, and both instant winners and winners picked at random. Real-time Web-based reporting tools are designed to allow customers to view graphs and statistics.

The company also works with the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Fire, Chicago Rush, Minnesota Timberwolves and several other pro sports teams.

Earlier this year, it also worked with Minneapolis radio station KTTB/B96 to integrate text messaging and radio promotions. Vibes set up a Web interface that enabled disc jockeys to distribute wireless sweepstakes, replacing audience members phone calls with SMS (see Marketers Merge SMS, Mass Media).

Dan Muse is executive editor of internet.com's Small Business Channel and EarthWeb's Networking & Communications Channel.