As I’ve engrossed myself further in the social media and web marketing world I am consistently surprised at how difficult it is to find great examples of how companies are combining social and traditional media.  It has become a personal challenge for me to find these examples and then track down someone who is willing to talk about the details.

One of the places I turn for great examples is MarketingProfs. A few weeks ago they published a case study about Grasshopper, a company that provides virtual phone systems for small businesses.  In early 2009, Grasshopper, who called themselves GotVMail at the time, realized they were in need of a makeover that would better communicate their advanced technology and dedication to entrepreneurs.

Let’s see … a telecommunications company (yawn) with a bland name and a boring (sounding) product. It was obvious why they wanted to change their image, and changing their name was only the beginning. What enfolded beginning with their launch on May 4, 2009, was neither boring nor bland and garnered an unheard of response rate of nearly 95%.

THE 5,000 CAMPAIGN

CHALLENGES

  • With several new service areas being launched, they needed to make sure it was clear they would continue to focus on the empowering entrepreneurs.
  • Direct mail is notorious for being expensive and very often ineffective since it is so difficult to break through the clutter.
  • They needed to find a way to make sure their message not only hit their initial mailing list but continued to spread virally among entrepreneurs.

SOLUTIONS

  • They enticed 5,000 influential politicians, business leaders, journalists, authors and bloggers in the U.S. with a FedEx package containing 5 chocolate-covered grasshoppers. The package challenged each recipient to eat the grasshoppers AND invited them to visit the Grasshopper website.

    Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers packagingChocolate Grasshopper Closeup

  • Grasshopper created a video themed around the question, “Do you remember when you were a kid … And you thought you could do anything?” The answer to this question is conveyed through slowly building music, inspirational copy, and clever illustrations that make it appear as a public service announcement rather than a branding video.

  • The chocolate-covered grasshoppers and video created a buzz that allowed Grasshopper to then contact news outlets across the country and entice them to take the challenge as well.

RESULTS BY THE NUMBERS (May 2009)

  • 130,000 YouTube views
  • 1,461 Tweets
  • 1,999 blog posts and news articles
  • 8 mentions on national TV broadcasts
  • 93% increase in visitors to the “How It Works” page of their website
  • 14 user-generated videos
  • 51 user-generated photos

For additional details, as well as photos and videos of recipients enjoying the grasshoppers, view their full case study.

Thank you to Jonathan Kay (Twitter: @grasshopperbuzz) for sharing details of the campaign.

Photo Credit:  Titanas