November 29th, The Black Friday 40th Birthday. A truly social occasion.
Last year Joe's 40th birthday fell on Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving. He didn’t want a surprise party. Instead, he wanted to experience his 40th birthday through the eyes of friends and family, and he wanted to use the power of social media to make it happen.
On 11 - 29 - 2013, people were asked to take a picture of what they saw at any point in their day. Then, were asked to upload the photo to a social media outlet of their choosing and include the hashtag #mayernik40. Photos could also be sent directly to him via email or text.
A page on our agency website was created to collect the submissions. Visitors could view, tweet, share, comment, and see what others had posted throughout the day in real time. Visitors spent an average of over 5 minutes on the page. Site traffic more than tripled, spanning multiple countries and 51 cities across 17 states. These captured moments became a social media snapshot of his birthday celebrated with friends and family—and a handful of complete strangers. Over 200 photos were submitted from all over the world, each picture telling a unique story. Sparking over 1400 points of interaction via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and more. Far better than any present purchased on Black Friday.
After his birthday, all the photos were collected to create a commemorative poster that now hangs in his home and our agency. The poster is two sided: the front features every photo submitted, and the back has the corresponding names of those who submitted them and which social media outlet they used. ]
A microsite was also created to feature the digital version of the printed poster. Users can click on individual photos for a closer look or cycle through the gallery. They can see who submitted photos and how, and can review the conversation. Users can also share these photos through social media. Site stats outline trends from the submitted photos and provide additional insight into the poster.
The Black Friday 40th Birthday. A truly social occasion. 11+ 29 = #Mayernik40
Watch the case study here.
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