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Facebook promotion leads to increased brand interaction over the holiday season.

SAN DIEGO,CA – January 19, 2010 – During the 2009 holiday season, Mindgruve, a digital media firm based in San Diego, CA, launched a social media promotion that combined two popular holiday games – Secret Santa and White Elephant Gift Exchange – with a social media element. Through this effort, they were able to engage a large audience as well as provide them with a variety of gifts and discussions during a time when most agencies shut their doors.

Mindgruve posted an image of 16 wrapped presents on their Facebook page, along with a custom “Social Santa” tab explaining how the promotion would work. Any “fan” of Mindgruve could tag the gift they wanted with their name for a chance to win it.

“Our goal was to do something smart, simple and fun that encompassed our personality and philosophy. I think we achieved it perfectly with Social Santa. We engaged a large number of our peers and spread a little holiday cheer. The response was outstanding,” stated Mindgruve President, Chad Robley.

Mindgruve set the contest in motion through email as well as updates on their Facebook and Twitter pages, keeping fans abreast of the action. As people began to participate and discuss the promotion online, the popularity of the contest grew virally, increasing traffic, commenting and opportunities for interaction.

After one week, random winners were chosen and announced via email. To extend the campaign further, Mindgruve posted the unwrapped gifts with their respective winners and allowed the community to continue discussing the prizes, which ranged from old VHS tapes to gift cards to an iPod Shuffle.

As a result of the campaign, Mindgruve doubled their Facebook fans, sustained a multi-week surge of interaction through commenting and tagging, and participated in a series of meaningful engagements with their audience. Mindgruve looks to continue innovating internally and for clients with social media as it plays  an increasingly prominent role in consumers’ lives.