Loved Best In Show?
You'll Love University House's Twist on Facebook

University House (UH), a nationwide luxury student housing provider, wanted to establish a Facebook presence for its brand to connect with college students on their terms. Each UH property had already created an individual Facebook presence to interact with residents on a local level, so UH had to provide a strong value proposition to entice residents to become a fan of the brand.

UH engaged c21's interactive practice group, c21i, to launch its social media presence and grow a loyal fan base to gather unique insights.

Since UH's properties already had a captive audience on Facebook, which has nearly 100 percent penetration in the college-age market, cultivating that audience was key. c21i developed a Facebook page that would not compete with the properties' rent reminders and event announcements, but instead would provide a forum for property reviews and stoke the Gen-Y love of competition through innocent property feuds.

c21i developed the UH "Best in Show" contest to launch the page. Contestants uploaded videos of themselves performing their top talent, which included everything from a serious classical music performance to an entertaining pogo-stick tour of a campus. The UH Facebook community voted for the top talent by posting to the Wall, commenting on the video or using the "like" feature - actions that would appear in the fan's Facebook "news feed," adding another viral layer to the contest. To encourage participation, the grand prize winner, as determined by popular vote, received a $500 VISA gift card, and one contest participant was randomly selected to win a $250 VISA gift card.

The contest was promoted through e-mail marketing to residents and "hot prospects," on-property collateral posted by community Mavericks (UH residents and brand evangelists), and via each property's Facebook page (which reached both residents and non-residents).

During the Best in Show contest's one-month duration, the UH Facebook page gained more than 800 fans. There were 600 unique "Best in Show" votes, with many fans taking multiple actions. The contest established engagement benchmarks, active fan demographic insights and spurred UH to use its Facebook page as a platform for exclusive quarterly promotions, as well as an extension of its annual offline promotions.

Are you looking for a way to move the needle with your social media campaigns? Whether it's custom social applications, a manageable social media launch plan or promotional ideas, c21i can help. Contact Marlena Reed, vice president of interactive services, to get started.