Congratulations to our winner and runner ups for winning their outstanding submissions for the $500 smsPREP Viral Scholarship! Check out their ideas to make smsPREP viral:

Here’s the idea: For every correct sms text question returned to smsPREP, smsPREP will reward a point to the student’s “account.” These points accumulate over a period of time determined by smsPREP ( a day, week, month, quarter –whatever meets smsPREP’s goals). Points accumulate for cash prizes or cool awards like phone apps, ring tones, games, accessories, i-pods, even vacations! Double or triple points can be awarded to students who invite friends to join the contest. Text opt-ins can be credited to the originating student’s account and even half-points could be accumulated for every correct response texted by the referring student’s friends. Special short term contests or pop-quizzes can be implemented for an hour, or two, or a day on a weekend. Groups of students could have a texting ACT or SAT parties with advance notice. School clubs could implement fund raisers for their organizations and have competitions with o r against other competing schools. Levels of gift categories can be published for goal setting at whatever numbers smsPREP determines meets or exceeds their income goals. Grand Prizes can be given to groups or students who end the contest period with the most points. All contest are motivated by award driven strategies. smsPREP can implement source coding and key words to keep record keeping automated if necessary. Variations of this idea can be implemented at any time based on smsPREP’s financial goals. In any case, be prepared to be rocked!

Winner: Jeremiah Light
Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, CO

There are always people texting during class and the teacher would catch them texting. The student will say, "I'm studying!". The teacher says, "Yeah right, on a phone?!" He shows him the smsPREP and talks about the benefits of the smsPREP and goes through all the details then the teacher is fascinated for a second then says, "STILL! NO TEXTING DURING CLASS!" Then he takes the phone from him and he goes "Aww, C'mon!" And the commercial ends.

Runner Up: David Nguyen
Independence High School in San Jose, CA

To virally promote smsPREP why not use the very media used for the business? The average teenager sends 1,742 text messages* every month. By using text messages to promote smsPREP it is likely that every teenager with a cell phone will be reached. Have you ever recieved one of those forwarded text messages? I know I have, more than once. smsPREP should create a forward SMS message where it sends a question; following the question could be some type of push for the person to try smsPREP.

Runner Up: Danielle Beeler
Millennium High School in Litchfield Park, AZ