By Neil Glassman on June 30, 2010 11:30 AM

Case Study: Detective Series Kills and Converts with Facebook App

10-06-29_200Glades Beneath the latest programming tools, the glamour of TV and the alligators, a Facebook contest for an upcoming A&E series embeds some solid marketing strategies. This promotion for “The Glades” provides guidance for social media marketers about techniques that don’t necessarily require huge budgets to be successful.

The contest is rather straightforward. To enter, one grants the application permission to access his/her Facebook account, answers a question based on a one minute clip, enters an email address and chooses to “like” the show if not already selected. The prize is a walk-on role on the show as part of a trip to the Fort Lauderdale area.

What’s done right?
Have the contest as a key part of the pitch “We designed the sweepstakes around entrants interacting with show assets,” said a spokesperson for the show. The video and quiz are changed weekly for five weeks, creating a content funnel to help potential viewers learn a little more about the show and the characters each week.”

Keep it interesting or keep it short The contest is for a community with a “rolling enrollment,” as opposed to being presented to a fixed target population. New participants are welcome, while the weekly entry option could motivate entrants to return if they want the prize or enjoy the game. If this contest was aimed at a static audience, a lengthy participation window would have been of little benefit.

Don’t orphan the contest There is much content on the page to capture the interest of visitors. The page is a destination, as opposed to just someplace to enter a sweepstakes

The prize values the brand How many contests have you seen with an iPad as a prize? Don’t the contest sponsors make something of value to their customers? In this contest, the prize connects directly to the show’s brand.

Partner The prize is provided by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Collaboration moderates costs and provides additional promotional options.

10-06-29_560Glades

Of course, all is not perfect. The triple requirements of granting access to the application, liking the page and entering an e-mail address may seem a bit intrusive to some. Awareness of the sweepstakes is from the tab and wall posts. If one lands on the wall tab – and one can – the sweepstakes may be missed, along with the opportunity for the brand to more deeply engage.

In the two weeks since the contest launched:

20% of the community of currently over 30,000 has interacted with the show assets in the contest application

10% of the community has completed an entry

33% of those who completed the contest application opted in to post the contest entry to their profile – with no automation on the post-to-profile option, users has to manually check the post box to share

Are there any revelatory innovations here? Not really. It’s the rare campaign that breaks new creative ground and the primary goal for marketers should be for the campaign to be successful, not memorable. And many companies don’t have the huge budget of A&E – Facebook presence is only one element of “The Glades” campaign, with those other facets likely to be pushing visitors to the page. Whatever your resources, with the right mix of strategic elements, a Facebook contest – and not just the antagonist in the pilot episode – can be a killer.