In the summer of 2012, Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse partnered with Sony Pictures for a promotion centered around the release of the blockbuster movie, “Sparkle.” It was the ideal partnership: Sony Pictures wanted to promote its new movie and Off Broadway Shoes sought to increase their social media and email fan base. With a limited amount of time and resources, Off Broadway Shoes needed assistance in creating the ultimate integrated marketing campaign.
Beginning with Off Broadway Shoes’ social media presence, social media marketing agency redpepper generated brand engagement through a custom Facebook tab that housed “Sparkle Spree,” an interactive game with paired with a sweepstakes full of giveaways and prizes for participants.
The sweepstakes and interactive game created an opportunity for extended interaction by encouraging organic engagement between the audience and brands involved. This strategy is often incredibly successful as consumers receive value from their interaction. In this case, the value was entertainment and the chance to win shoes, accessories, or a trip to the Sparkle premier in Hollywood.
Sparkle Spree engaged participants with Off Broadway Shoes’ merchandise by having them craft their ideal “Sparkle” red carpet outfit from an assortment of shoes and accessories within the store’s offerings. Contestants were motivated even further with reward coupons for sharing their outfits on Facebook, a tactic that resulted in an impressive 31% share rate.
The campaign garnered extreme amounts of traffic to Off Broadway Shoes, both online and in-store. Throughout the life of the sweepstakes, Off Broadway Shoes was the fourth-fastest growing Facebook page in the retail industry, gaining 20,000 new fans, 8,500 new email addresses, and 18.5 million Facebook impressions, not including other social media outlets.
As the Sparkle Spree promotion was wrapping up, the Sparkle red-carpet premier was about to begin.
With Off Broadway Shoes’ largest store and the movie premier both located in Hollywood, the perfect opportunity arose for an in-store event. Redpepper planned an in-store event, paired with guerilla advertising throughout the city that would further strengthen the connection between the film and Off Broadway Shoes.
Social channels were leveraged, such as Facebook and Twitter. But a few not-so-everyday tactics were used as well- like sending real people throughout Hollywood to get the word out. Everything from bike messengers to a team on foot, all of Hollywood would know what was coming. To take the concept even further, the street team placed single shoes on high-traffic sidewalks with the message “Hop, skip and jump” to Off Broadway Shoes for the matching shoe. People were stopping dead in their tracks.
Finally, on the day of the Sparkle premier, people poured into the Hollywood Off Broadway Shoes, where the last piece of the campaign took place: the chance to sing on stage karaoke-style for free shoes. Jordin Sparks, the star of Sparkle, even attended the party to sign autographs and meet with fans. The lines were long, the giveaways were huge, and the Sparkle Spree grand prize winner got her speedy shopping spree. The premier took place that evening, wrapping up a wildly successful integrated marketing campaign.
Tim McMullen is the founder and CEO of redpepper, an advertising agency that specializes in brand engagement through social media marketing.