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WAKEHAM & ASSOCIATES CONFIRMS VERIZON WIRELESS
AS SPONSOR OF APOLLO THEATER IN HARLEM, NY
VERIZON WIRELESS LAUNCHES ‘TEXT TO VOTE’ AT THE
APOLLO THEATER’S WORLD FAMOUS AMATEUR NIGHT
Audience Participation Merges Tradition with Technology While Supporting Theater Renovation
June 6, 2007
HARLEM, NY – Wakeham & Associates Marketing, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has concluded an agreement on behalf of the Apollo Theater with Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless today launched a text message voting initiative with the Apollo Theater’s world-famous Amateur Night.
Since 1934, aspiring artists and performers have graced the stage of the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night in the hope that approval by the theater’s audience will launch their careers. Verizon Wireless, the nations leading wireless service provider, has joined with the Apollo Theater to launch a new ‘text to vote’ program that will modernize the way fans vote for their favorite contestants.
Merging tradition with technology, four finalists, will be selected live at the Theater through traditional audience ‘applause’ voting. Beginning immediately after the show and running through to the following Tuesday at 5 p.m., text message voting will be open to fans across the country to select their favorite from among the final four. The finalist with the fewest votes will be eliminated and the remaining three will advance to the next round.
In addition to audience members in attendance, Verizon Wireless customers with TXT Messaging-capable phones can participate by visiting the Apollo Theater’s website and viewing video clips of the most recent competition. To cast their votes family, friends and fans of contestants can simply send a text message to “Apollo” (276556) and, in the body of the message, type their selection: STAR1, STAR2, STAR3 or STAR4 and press ‘Send.’ The winners will be announced on stage the following Amateur Night and also on the website the following Thursday.
For each vote cast, Verizon Wireless customers will be charged 99 cents and a portion of the charge will go toward the restoration of the Apollo Theater. The Theater launched the first phase of its refurbishment in 2005, at an estimated cost of $25 million. To date, the Apollo renovation is America’s most expensive and advanced refurbishment of a landmark theater.
Winners of the first ‘text to vote’ competition will be announced each Wednesday, live at the Apollo.
For more information on how you can cast your vote visit: www.apollotheater.org/amateur_night.html.