The Avenue Affordable Luxuries Facebook Contest

The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that 2008 holiday retail sales declined 2.8 percent – representing the first decline in holiday sales since the NRF started forecasting and tracking the numbers in 1995.  To entice consumers, retailers not only offered deep discounts and unique shopper perks, but also turned to cost-effective online engagement and marketing tools including social media. 

In line with this, Cousins Properties’ The Avenue®, an outdoor lifestyle center with locations through the southeast, launched a Facebook page and reached out to c21’s interactive practice area, c21i, to expand The Avenue’s “fan” base during the 2008 holiday shopping season – which at the time was just three weeks away. 

c21i knew that 35 percent of adults have a profile on at least one social networking site, and Facebook’s fastest growing audience is those ages 25+.  These demographics fit seamlessly with The Avenue’s target market.  c21i leveraged the social nature of shopping and the viral component of Facebook in working with The Avenue to develop an Affordable Luxuries Facebook contest, an extension of the company’s holiday themed advertising campaign, which featured gifts priced under $25, $50 and $100.  The hyper-local contest offered exciting prizes, including 250 cosmetic bags and a $500 grand prize package.  Each Facebook fan’s interaction with the page (posting to the Wall, uploading a photo, commenting on a photo, etc.) counted as a contest entry – encouraging ongoing interaction and engagement.

In just three weeks, the number of fans increased from 90 to more than 1,300 – exceeding The Avenue’s goal of 1,000 fans.  Fans posted 211 comments on The Wall and uploaded 89 photos.  Of the 250 cosmetic bag winners, 70 percent were not members of The Avenue’s VIP shopper program, indicating that The Avenue reached a new audience through its Facebook page.  In the three weeks following the contest, there were more than 50 new Wall posts and nearly 100 new fans, signifying that interest and engagement remained high even after the contest.

c21i promoted the contest with e-mail marketing, media relations and online event listings, and obtained exposure of the contest and the Facebook page through:

• blog postings on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Best of the Big A and WXIA-TV’s Mom’s Like Me media coverage in Town Loafer and Up in Cumming magazine (pre-contest), as well as Fayette Neighbor, Peachtree City Citizen, Fayette Front Page and dBusiness News (post-contest)
• event listings on MetroMix, Craigslist, Atlanta Buzz and the Appen Newspapers Web site