iTouch boosts search for rural stars

Johannesburg, 24 May 2004

Cellular value-added services provider iTouch will provide the technology for a new SABC radio competition, which aims to discover superstars in remote and rural areas.

The Voice of Choice competition, which is a music culture talent contest that is being broadcast over 11 regional radio stations, with a reach of over 33 million across SA, is tailored specifically for the African market.

The competition is designed to overcome conventional entry barriers - such as language, lack of facilities, training, development and costs associated with recording, travelling and culture - by soliciting entries via radio and phone.

This is where iTouch comes in, as it will handle all the interactive voice response (IVR) for the competition, which will allow talented would-be stars in rural areas to audition via cellphone.

The organisation will also provide CDs of voice files to the judges, as well as competition applications, daily audited stats and call centre support. It will also offer SMS notification when required.

The auditions will be promoted via the radio stations, which will advertise a unique IVR dial-in number.

The IVR will then guide the contestants through the process of entering their personal details and entrants will be able to record an entry for a period of one minute. These recordings will then be compiled by iTouch for judging and evaluation.

Listeners will also be able to call in and play back recordings and vote for their favourite. They will be able to record comments, which will be used for radio content.

"The Voice of Choice is a stunning opportunity for us to demonstrate the versatility of our services in support of a massive public-participation event in SA," says iTouch CEO, Greg Brophy.

"iTouch has created the solution to help discover African talent in previously neglected communities and also to overcome the problem facing talented would-be singers in rural and remote areas.

"Nothing of this magnitude and originality has been staged here before, but based on our past successes with similar ventures - such as Big Brother - we are expecting a phenomenal response."