Digital: Budget under $1 Million
April 6, 2009
A hit series on The N, a 24-hour TV channel for teens, is Degrassi: The Next Generation, a show whose edgy topics provoke passionate online discussion among fans at The- N.com and provide an advertising vehicle for Masterfoods’ Skittles candy.
Last year, a series of Degrassi webisodes that incorporated show characters in fictitious “What If...?” situations, drove hundreds of thousands of streams in The- N.com’s broadband player, The Click.
Inspired by fans’ continued interest, The N and Skittles partnered to thank fans for their support and engage consumers via a fully integrated “What If...?” promotion wrapped around the Skittles tagline, “A Rainbow of Possibilities.” Viewers learned about the promotion via an innovative co-branded TV spot featuring Degrassi talent with influence from Skittles’ own campaign.
A digital hub with prominent Skittles branding and color palette served as the focal point for the entire digital promotion. Co-branded media, pre-roll media in the custom video player and the homepage flash movie were all refreshed during the program to promote online voting.
While the program’s goal was to generate 1,500 contest entries and 150,000 votes for the top three fan-generated scenarios, the results vastly exceeded those benchmarks. Teens submitted 16,000 “What If...?” scenarios, which Degrassi producers narrowed down to 100. The top 100 were then posted into The-N’s Rank application, a tool that enables random head-to-head voting, and users’ votes determined the top three, which were produced and posted on the hub.
The passion of the users was evident, as almost 450,000 votes were tallied in just one week. Collectively, the three winning webisodes received more than 370,000 views. In fact, the webisodes accounted for 10 percent of the total The-N.com streams during the premiere week. Clearly, Degrassi fans cared about their show–and the Skittles digital promotion.
By tapping the power of social networking, Whirlpool successfully built a volunteer community to support Habitat for Humanity–a cause that connects the company with its business partners and its consumers on an emotional level. Through the 2008 Whirlpool Building Blocks Program, more than 300 volunteers completed nine Dallas homes in one week.
With no advertising budget, Whirlpool turned to social networking to drive awareness and engagement with its proprietary Building Blocks program. A new Facebook destination was created where volunteers could meet each other and exchange stories, photos and advice. During the build, Whirlpool uploaded photos and daily videos, along with interviews with volunteers and the families receiving the homes. The week-long building event was also broadcast at YahooLive.com, whose users could chat in real time. In addition, Whirlpool.com showcased multiple pages of content dedicated to Building Blocks, helping to drive employee and consumer involvement with the cause.
From June through December 2008, the Whirlpool program generated 15,090 Facebook page views and 1,127 video plays, while becoming the top-viewed channel on Yahoo.Live. More than 100,000 Whirlpool employees also viewed the content. Combined Facebook and Whirlpool.com metrics show that Whirlpool Building Blocks Dallas 2008 was the most successful event in the program’s three-year history, helping to cement a long-lasting bond between volunteers and the Whirlpool brand.
Recognizing the growing appeal of personalized products with their own style and personality, Sony created the VAIO My Graphic Splash PC Contest, inviting consumers to participate in developing a new line of limited edition notebooks and shape the brand through their own designs. The national program–which included both an online promotional microsite and an instore POS promotion at Sony Style–was capped by a press event with celebrity judges at Mansion, a trendy Manhattan lounge. Overall, the contest Web site drew nearly 85,000 unique visitors, and contest submissions exceeded the initial goal by more than 750 percent.