C Spire Wireless, the only wireless provider in the U.S. that offers consumers and businesses a suite of personalized wireless services, announced today that it has officially joined forces with Ole Miss and Mississippi State to become the first wireless partner of both universities’ social media rewards programs.

Fans and participants of Hail State and Ole Miss Social Rewards programs will now be able to interact and engage with C Spire Wireless to earn additional rewards and new giveaways.  Additionally, C Spire’s participation gives these already successful rewards programs a new and unique mobile element – allowing fans to engage using their mobile wireless device.

The social media partnership between C Spire Wireless and the two Mississippi universities is the first of its kind in the nation and will be officially announced during the Mississippi State vs. Jackson State football game in Starkville and the Ole Miss vs. Central Arkansas game in Oxford, on Saturday, Sept 1.

“C Spire has been a dedicated partner with both Mississippi State and Ole Miss for many years through academic scholarships, sports sponsorships and much more.  However, our social media partnership with these outstanding institutions directly aligns with our mission to wirelessly connect people in a unique and personalized way, as well as elevate the schools’ social media rewards programs to an entirely new level that’s never been done before,” said Kevin Hankins, chief operating officer for C Spire Wireless.  “But, the people who benefit the most from this partnership and these unique social rewards programs are the fans, who will now be able earn points in new and fun ways and redeem them for amazing new rewards.”

With the addition of C Spire Wireless to Ole Miss Social Rebels and Hail State Social Rewards, fans will be able to earn more points to redeem for great rewards by interacting with the wireless provider and using C Spire’s personalized network to engage with the schools.  By using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, participants will now be able to earn rewards simply by checking into a C Spire Wireless retail location and C Spire fan events on Foursquare, comment on a Facebook or Twitter post, “like” the C Spire Facebook page or “like” a comment on the company’s Facebook page. Also, in addition to the Mississippi State and Ole Miss prizes and rewards already offered to fans, C Spire will also be providing amazing rewards like new wireless devices, accessories and more.

C Spire Wireless is also making it possible for Ole Miss and Mississippi State fans to engage in the games socially.  During Mississippi State and Ole Miss football games, fans can tweet photos that can be seen on the stadium jumbotron.  Additionally, fans can request songs, vote for the player of the game and even tweet in their seat sections for a chance to win additional points and prizes.  C Spire’s involvement in the social rewards programs elevates them to a more interactive way of connecting with their favorite schools and other fans – all while earning great rewards and prizes.

“C Spire Wireless was the clear choice when deciding to enhance our social media rewards program for our fans – making it more engaging and interactive, as well as just plain more fun,” said Ole Miss Athletic Director Ross Bjork. “Plus, with C Spire’s reliable, high-speed network, we never have to worry about a fan’s tweet not going through or an image not downloading correctly.  Our partnership and the sponsorship from C Spire is a historic one and will most likely be emulated by universities across the country.”

Mississippi State Athletic Director Scott Stricklan echoed Bjork’s endorsement of the program.  “We want to give our fans the best possible experience when interacting with Mississippi State and C Spire’s participation in Hail State’s rewards program helps us do that – giving them access to more points and new rewards,” Stricklin said.  “We’re happy to partner with C Spire and further a relationship that has benefitted our athletic department, our university and our students for many years.”

The program was developed in partnership with Lodestone Social Media, a leader in social media programs for college sports and brands like the Houston Texans, Dell, PBS-Paralympics and The Big Ten Network. Lodestone uses social media to convert Crowds into Commerce and their social media solutions generate improved fan engagement, fan growth, social CRM, revenue streams, social media impressions and vast amounts of fan behaviors, demographics, interests and activities that help company understand their audience to optimize marketing programs.

Bulldog Sports Properties, a Learfield Sports’ property and multimedia rights holder for Mississippi State Athletics, secured the partnership with C Spire on behalf of the university.

“This program will be one of a kind in sports, social media and brand integration and the future of how brands, sports properties and social media providers partner to deploy a social media fans experience in college or pro sports.” said Mark Drosos, president of Lodestone Social Media. “We are proud to be the social media partner on such an innovative program.”

Personalized Wireless
Personalized wireless at C Spire is a combination of a number of different wireless services and programs that combine to reflect and serve each customer’s unique needs.  Customers will see this unique personalization in apps and content that fit who they are, services that anticipate their needs, and rewards they’ll get just for using their phone in new ways.  For more information on C Spire’s partnership with Ole Miss and Mississippi State or C Spire’s personalized wireless services, visit www.cspire.com.