The Mezamashii Project | Mizuno Leverages WOM and Social Media to Get Runners to “Join the Quest for More Brilliant Running”

Running hurts. It’s no secret. From elite athletes to newbies, everyone knows running hurts. When the pain seeps in, the mind races with excuses to quit, to give up, to feel less… but we runners power through it to get to the other side, where the euphoric “Runner’s High” is waiting, patiently, to remind us why we keep at it.

All runners experience the pain no matter how long they’ve been doing the sport – there are bad runs, tough workouts, goal races that leave your lungs strained and legs heavy. But there are also amazing runs – adventurous jaunts that make us crave the next time we’ll experience the “Runner’s High.”

It’s those runs, and the blissful sensations that take over when the pain stops, that drive runners to keep lacing up our shoes day after day. We’re all seeking that elusive high.

Enter Mizuno’s new campaign: The Mezamashii Project. Aside from being a fun word to say, mezamashii means “brilliant” in Japanese. It touches on the concept of something being “eye-opening,” awakening a sense of awe and inspiration in your surroundings.

Mizuno says ”a more euphoric, ‘mezamashii’ running experience is out there…” and the brand is encouraging the running community to join the quest to find it.

The short video below does a great job of introducing, and showing, mezamashii running:

With this new initiative, the company is hoping to change the way people try on and eventually purchase running shoes.  On the campaign microsite, a pop-up window greets visitors who click the “request an invite” prompt with this message:

“We are on a quest to deliver more mezamashii – more ecstatic, electric, wind-in-your heart running. So instead of spending millions of dollars on advertising to talk about our shoes, we’re putting our money where your feet are and putting our shoes on runners’ feet.”

Mizuno believes its shoes are the vehicle needed to bring about more mezamashii running – so much so that it is giving away thousands of free pairs of shoes to runners, banking on the “try-it-and-you’ll-love-it” approach to marketing. In doing so, the company is hoping to build a community of running enthusiasts who will receive inspiration, early access to product launches, and invites to exclusive events.

In the absence of a major advertising campaign to promote and support the project, Mizuno is relying on word-of-mouth and social media to spread the word. They’ve tapped influential running bloggers to kick off the project as founding members, who not only receive a free pair of Mizuno shoes but also have the opportunity to give away shoes to their readers.

I have to commend the team behind this campaign for creating stunning assets that can be easily shared via social media channels. There is inspiring imagery (that I expect we’ll see going viral on Pinterest soon) and short, nicely executed videos.

In addition to relying on runners to launch the project on their own social channels, Mizuno is using its official YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter profiles. There is also a Pinterest account, but there isn’t much content there yet.

Knowing there are always runs that are going to hurt, the message of this campaign is a great way for runners to remember just how amazing the sport can be. We runners get it:  we’re all on that quest for the brilliant run, for that “runner’s high.” It’s what binds us all together, right?

1. What do you think about the mezamashii project video?
2. What do you do when you’re in the middle of one of those “tough” runs?

Oiselle Hosts “Totally Trials” Contest to Get Runners Pumped for U.S. Olympic Team Trials

With the trials for the 2012 U.S. Olympic track team coming up this weekend, many running-focused companies have capitalized on the buzz surrounding the big events happening in Track Town USA, forming partnerships and sharing creative ways running enthusiasts can participate even if they aren’t trying to climb atop the podium that leads to London.

Oiselle, a smaller women’s running apparel company based in Seattle, Wa., hosted a great contest earlier this summer that helped drum up excitement for the trials as well as the brand itself. Called “Totally Trials,” the contest invited pairs of running buddies to submit applications detailing why they should be chosen to attend the U.S. Track Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, OR to cheer on the elite athletes.

The winners received airfare, accommodations, tickets to a big party featuring M.C. Hammer (um, awesome?!), Oiselle swag, and, of course, passes to the trials themselves. That is a pretty amazing prize package that provides more than enough incentive to develop a creative contest entry.

One aspect of this contest I especially liked is that the company selected winners based on creativity and merit – no additional popularity element, such as number of votes or comments, played a role in the decision. There are obvious pros and cons to including crowd-sourced votes in contests, but I think excluding this element worked in Oiselle’s favor because it created one fewer barrier to entry, most likely resulting in more submissions.

For example, I know I don’t have a huge blog or Twitter following and I dislike asking my friends to vote for me in contests. When I see promotions that take votes into consideration, I almost never participate because I doubt I can wrangle up enough supporters to overcome more popular influencers. While I still passively engage with these contests, it is rare that I would take the time to put together an entry of my own.

For a smaller brand like Oiselle that is trying to build its consumer base and increase brand awareness, getting people to put in effort creating an entry means you’re getting them to really think about and connect with your company and/or products. This makes it more likely contest participants will become a consumers or, at least,  brand supporters.

Most of the entrants made videos, which they uploaded to YouTube and promoted on their own social networks. This helped spread the word about the contest and generated organic coverage for Oiselle.

image credit: Oiselle blog

As the adorable photo above states, now it’s almost time for the trials. The winners are getting ready to spectate (AKA “fine-tuning their cowbells”), and I’m excited to follow along as they broadcast the events live from Track Town USA. Again, similarly to what nuun accomplished with its blogger team for the Hood-to-Coast relay, Oiselle now has two eager, influential women on its side to create compelling and engaging content that will be shared widely, sustaining the momentum the original contest generated.

1. Are you looking forward to watching the Trials this weekend? Will you be following along online?
2. Do you like entering contests where voting is a consideration or do you prefer merit-based ones?

Memorial Day Weekend: Saucony Fun Run and Lessons From My First Bike Crash

This long weekend served up the perfect mix of “doing nothing & doing something,” leaving me refreshed and ready to tackle a busy summer. My two highlights from the weekend were a Saucony-sponsored fun run with my local running store and my first biking accident (I’m okay!).

Yesterday, I kicked off the Memorial Day holiday at 7 a.m. with a Pacers fun run around D.C.’s National Mall. Starting early allowed us to beat the heat and the tourists. Our group leader planned a route that would take us past many of the iconic memorials and monuments, bringing a somber reminder of the real reason we had a day off yesterday.

Before we started the run, we got to hear from Jeff Caron, Saucony’s DC/VA field rep who partners with local running stores to plan lots of great events like yesterday’s outing. Everyone had the opportunity to try some Saucony shoes on the run, and I, of course, had to sport the lime green and hot pink Kinvara 3s.

The brighter the colors the faster you run, right?

These community events continue to have a positive effect on consumer engagement by doing two important things (among others): 1. they give the brand personality and 2. they allow product testing in the natural environment.

It’s no secret that I love events like these, mostly because it shows there are real people behind big brands. Yesterday, Jeff’s passion for Saucony and the sport really shined, making our group feel a little bit more connected to the company. Additionally, after the run, Jeff connected with many of the runners on social media channels, which will help sustain the relationships he built and allow Saucony and running-related communication to happen naturally and easily in the future.

Since I’ve gotten more involved with the running community (instead of just being a solo runner), I try to take full advantage of events that allow us to test out shoes and other products so I can make better informed purchases.  Going for a full, outdoor run is so much better than doing a quick, forced jog around a store.

“Finding Our Strong” Outside the Lincoln Memorial

I currently run in the Saucony Kinvara 2 and have been eager to try the newly-released Kinvara 3. Being able to try the updated model during yesterday’s 6-miler proved the shoe still fits my foot well, even with the updates. Now, I can safely say that I will buy the new version at some point in the near future (what a marketing success story!).

After such a great start to my morning, I knew I wanted to keep the fun going. My friend and I decided to bike on the Mt. Vernon Trail out to the waterfront in Old Town, Alexandria and back.

We made a couple stops on our way home and were approaching a 20-mile ride when someone abruptly swung open his car door into the bike lane. With no time to react, I slammed into the door head-on and flew off my bike, landing in a heap on top of the bike in the middle of the street. Luckily, I had been wearing a helmet and no cars were driving down the road… otherwise it could have been much, much worse.

In those few moments immediately after the crash, I could only think about the intense pain in my hip and what it might mean for my running. At first, I was unable to get up or move. Looking back, I now realize this was because of shock, but it is still a terribly frightening position to be in as all the horror stories I’d heard about cycling accidents flashed in my mind. I tried to figure out just how badly injured I was, and after a few moments, I could stand up with the help of my friend and the driver.

As soon as I realized I’d be okay, I felt such relief, mainly because I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t run. Is it sad that’s what I worried about first?

I tried my best to assure the driver that I was fine – he was really, really worried – and we checked out the damage to the bike. The poor bike sustained much more damage than I did, but that’ll get fixed soon enough.

The driver made a comment that stuck with me. He said, “We really take the bike lanes for granted. I’m still not used to them, and I need to always, always check.”

It’s so true – bike lanes aren’t common in a lot of places and it’s easy to forget they exist, which can lead to preventable crashes and accident.

Today, I am very sore and quite bruised, but mostly, just feeling lucky and blessed. You can bet I’ll always wear a helmet and will be much more observant when on a bike and when opening car doors. I hope this will remind everyone out there to do the same!

 

 

 

Two Months Post-Launch: “Refuel – Got Chocolate Milk?” Campaign Is Off to a Strong Start

Growing up, the “Got Milk?” campaign seemed to be everywhere. I loved flipping through magazines and seeing which celebrity or pop culture icon had been featured sporting a milk mustache in the newest ad. Long touted as one of the most famous commodity advertising campaigns, I often wondered if it could be topped, or would we be asking “Got Milk?” for another 20+ years.

Based on a refreshed campaign launched this March, it looks like consumers can add one more word to the iconic slogan – now we’ll be wondering, “Got Chocolate Milk?” As part of an initiative to tap into the $3.3 billion sports-drink industry, America’s Milk Processors are urging athletes to “Refuel with Chocolate Milk” after workouts.

I’m a prime candidate for this campaign because I’ve always said that I tend to crave chocolate milk after a long run. This goes back to my days as a high school track runner. For a long time, people called me crazy for wanting milk after a tough workout, but now there’s a campaign that proves I’m not alone!

The advertising collateral for “Got Chocolate Milk?” is capitalizing on celebrity athlete partnerships and a new slogan, “My After.” Videos, commercials, and print ads  featuring athletes such as Carmelo Anthony, Dana Torres, and Chris Lieto tap into existing fan bases while also validating milk’s ability to be considered a sports drink among consumers.

CHRIS LIETO, Professional Triathlete, Ironman

Notably, the campaign isn’t only using celebrity athletes to reach its target audience (athletes aged 18-34), and is also leveraging key influencers such as coaches and trainers to help build communities of “chocolate milk refuel champions.” This seems to be done well, especially on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, where fans and followers seem engaged with the content the team is sharing.

The team behind “Got Chocolate Milk?” is excelling at creative relevant, practical, and informative content for all online channels. There is a nice mix of sports and nutritional information, resources, and entertaining looks at celebrity athletes to capture attention.

As an athlete, I enjoy the articles and posts shared on the Got Chocolate Milk? Facebook and Twitter profiles, specifically third-party articles that support the science and research behind using chocolate milk as a post-workout recovery drink. On the Facebook page, fans submitted their “after” stories for a chance to win swag and other larger prizes, and a social voting and sharing component kept the community involved with campaign messaging.

Strategic partnerships with brands such as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Race Series, Ironman, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and Lifetime Fitness are right on the mark in terms of enhancing the campaigns credibility and increasing awareness among the target audiences. When I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA half marathon earlier this spring, the Refuel team had a strong presence at the expo and the finish line. Plus, I loved getting a bottle of chocolate milk immediately after finishing the race!

Over the last couple of months, the “Got Chocolate Milk?” campaign has taken off and I’m eager to see how it progresses and whether the momentum on social networks continues or fades. Personally, I’m hoping it continues so I have proof I’m not totally crazy when I reach for chocolate milk instead of other more traditional sports drinks after a hard run.

How to Win Friends and Influence People [at SXSW]

This past week, I attended the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas for the first time. I had the opportunity to assist a large global company host a number of activations on the ground at SXSW which showed me a lot about how brands can break through the noise at such a large conference to leave a lasting impact on consumers. It also taught me a bit about myself and how I can attempt to stay focused on running and training even when there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day.

Below, you’ll find a couple of insights I gained from my time in Austin (aside from the fact that Austin truly has amazing breakfast tacos and BBQ).

For Brands:

1. Don’t Be Intrusive: This piece of advice is twofold. First, when meeting someone for the first time, try to establish a relationship before you begin selling. While assisting one of my clients who serves as the Director of Social Media and Digital Communications for a very large company, I often felt like a bodyguard who had to protect her from people spouting out pitches on why their app/product/agency/etc. should be used. Second, if you are a large brand who hopes to capitalize on the buzz surrounding SXSW, do not interrupt attendees’ conference experience with activations that A) don’t make sense or B) don’t tie back to your company or product.
2. Solve a Problem: One of the best ways to leave potential customers at an event as large as SXSW with positive impressions of your brand is to find a way to solve their problems that reflects back on your product or company. Companies that do both of these things well – solve problems while allowing consumers to have experiences with their products – will come out as winners. At SXSW, I saw a lot of organizations trying to solve users’ problems (with free food or free charging stations), but I honestly can’t remember who was handing out free breakfast tacos on the corner or who had the jacket that could charge mobile devices because there was never a true connection between the company and the freebie
3. Provide Value: A lot of companies head down to SXSW to build relationships with influential social media users. There are many ways to do this, and a lot of times they involve lots of free products. That’s fine, but try to think creatively about how you can fulfill a need in a thoughtful way. While in Austin, I overheard my clients chatting about how they’d like to meet other in-house social media managers. With their permission, I organized a dinner that brought together social media directors and community managers from several large organizations. This proved to be a big success – the conversation lasted for three hours as everyone discussed ideas, challenges, and successes they’ve seen in their roles. Both the clients and the other attendees were very happy to leave the dinner with several new connections.

For Staffers:

1. Try to Maintain Parts of Your Normal Routine…: Traveling always throws off my routine. Add in traveling for a massive conference where I’d be working long hours and I knew the only way to maintain some sanity would be to keep some aspects of my regular habits in place. I decided to focus on two things: running in the mornings and getting in as many fruits and veggies as possible. Everything else went out the window: personal social media activities, reading, cross training, strength training, and yoga. Luckily, I made a running buddy who kept me motivated to wake up early and go running in the rain. Trying to keep up with everything I normally do would have been disastrous, but having two tasks to focus on allowed me to stay on track with my training plan and my health while still giving 100% to my work tasks.
2. … But Be Flexible: Big conferences are notorious for crazy schedules, which can get even crazier if you are working the event. With my OCD tendencies, I often find myself stressing when my normal routine is disrupted. However, before heading to Austin, I prepared myself for this inevitability. Sure enough, last-minute meetings and events and deadlines popped up, causing me to rearrange my personal schedule. The day for my long run changed three times, I switched my rest day twice, and changed the time I woke up daily. And… I survived.
3. Follow-up: SXSW, at its core, is a networking event. Even if you’re staffing an event and never step foot inside a panel or party, you will be connecting with lots of people from a variety of industries. If you meet anyone who you enjoyed speaking with, be sure to follow-up once the dust from Austin settles. Don’t rely on the business card exchange – I received many business cards that simply got misplaced as I ran from event to event assisting my clients. Now, I’m hoping many of those who I met will reach out via email or on social channels. I recommend following people on Twitter and sending a quick @reply to remind them of your conversation, adding them to specific Twitter lists (I immediately created two new ones), trying to connect on LinkedIn, or sending a quick email with your contact information. Also, in your introductory email, please don’t pitch the person. This is your chance to start a relationship and the fastest way to ruin it is to reach out with the sole purpose of pitching your product, service, or need for a job.

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These are just a few takeaways I had after leaving Austin, but there are many others. What do you recommend for both brands, staffers, and attendees heading to large conferences and events such as SXSW? How can they make the most of their experience and leave the largest impact?

runDisney Heavily Promotes Princess Half Marathon Online, Builds Community Along the Way

A week later, I’m still riding high on finishing my first half marathon. By the time these feelings finally wane, I’ll be gearing up for my next race – the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half on St. Patrick’s Day.

After posting what might be the wordiest race recap in the history of race recaps, I don’t want to bore my readers with more thoughts about my experience with the race. Instead, I’d like to take a look at runDisney’s digital marketing campaign for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. (Note: these are my own opinions and observations as I did not interview anyone for this article.) 

A company like Disney has significant marketing budget to throw behind race promotion compared to other, smaller organizations that put on races. Therefore, it’s no surprise that I’m generally impressed with how runDisney used social media to build awareness for the event, drive it to sell-out status for the fourth year in a row, and – most importantly – foster a sense of community among runners and spectators on various social channels.

Facebook

Before I even thought a half marathon could be in my future, I “liked” the runDisney Facebook page to stay updated on events, announcements, and participate in the community of runners who also love Disney. The team does a great job of updating the page on a regular basis with relevant content and news, but also posts status updates the foster conversations about active lifestyles, running, and training. When I finally registered for the race, this Facebook page became my go-to source of information regarding the race and to get ideas for my training plan.

What I really enjoyed about runDisney’s page is that that it’s become a true social community. Fans use the Wall to communicate openly with each other, sharing tips and asking questions. Fans quickly answer others’ questions thoughtfully and correctly. When you’re on the page, you notice a real sense of community as you see strangers offering words of support and encouragement as people post their accomplishments to the page.

Twitter

While there is no official runDisney handle, the @DisneySports account is used to share news and updates about Disney races. Leading up to race weekend, the profile pushed out numerous runDisney-related Tweets to keep runners informed. However, I didn’t find the Twitter channel as effective of a resource as the Facebook page.

One aspect of the runDisney Twitter strategy I did like is that the team promoted the #runDisney and #princesshalf hashtags, resulting in heavy usage throughout the weekend. While on the road to Orlando, I tracked these conversations on my phone to get an idea of what people were saying about the Expo, traffic, and the race, which help keep me better informed about the event in real-time.

At the start line of the race, the emcee told runners to use the #runDisney tag. Once I crossed the finish line, I had fun going back through the #runDisney stream to look at photos and Tweets other runners had shared during the race (I still don’t know how they Tweet and run at the same time!). It was fun to send and receive congratulatory notes from other runners who finished their first half marathons or achieved personal best times. Like on Facebook, runDisney used Twitter hashtags to foster the community, which left me with even more positive feelings about the race.

Blogger Engagement via FitFluential

About 2 weeks before the Disney Princess Half, I noticed a few of my daily must-read running bloggers posting that they would be running the race, staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and attending several special events on behalf of runDisney. This came about through FitFluential, an organization that introduces fitness brands to relevant online influencers.

As I’ve said before, blogger engagement – when done well – is an effective means of social marketing. I enjoyed the FitFluential  group’s runDisney coverage and think it helped improve my experience as well as built awareness among their readers about what a full Disney race weekend could look like (and cost).

In addition to reviewing extra events like the Pasta in the Park party and The Race Retreat, these women used their blogs to share little tips and tricks I never would have known otherwise, such as that Disney hosts free first-come, first-served meet-up runs with Olympian Jeff Galloway that are announced on the Disney Parks blog or that the family 5K events aren’t chip-timed (um, no way will I be paying $50 for a race that doesn’t include official times!).

Heather, one of the FitFluential bloggers, organized an independent meet-up the day before the race that allowed bloggers, social media enthusiasts, and readers to all meet in person. This event apparently went well and, coupled with the runDisney/FitFluential partnership, showed the importance of bringing the online offline when developing an active and engaged community.

The heavily integrated social media campaign that runDisney executed for the Princess Half Marathon succeeded so well because it didn’t focus solely on pushing out content. The marketing team used social channels to build a community of engaged people with similar interests and then provided them with various ways to communicate with each other, making for a better overall experience during the race weekend.

Personally, I already can’t wait to cross the finish line of another runDisney event.

I swear this race photo is totally relevant to this post… because… I found out that official race photos were online on Twitter and then posted my photos to Facebook to share with my friends.  See, social media marketing in action… or something like that.

If you ran the Princess Half, did you follow along on social media?

Case Study: Broad Street Run Registration Complaints Hijack Facebook Page

Facebook proved again this week to be a top spot for people to express concerns, share complaints, and demand answers when issues arise. When runners encountered major delays while registering for the popular Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, PA, yesterday, the official Facebook page took quite a beating.

How did the team monitoring the page handle the surge of customer service issues? I’d say they did better than most:

Throughout the day, the admins explained the situation, responded to numerous comments left on the Wall, and shared updates about the registration process and website issues. I am also impressed no one is complaining that negative comments have been deleted or removed, which is a knee-jerk reaction many brands have when faced with a deluge of angry posts.

Though, I did encounter one area for improvement involving the default settings of the Facebook wall.

As I tried to register for the race, the site seemed unreasonably slow. Turning to the Facebook page for answers, I could not easily find the Broad Street Run’s administrator comments. I began to doubt whether organizers were using Facebook to provide updates. After sifting through hundreds of angry comments, I finally found info that the page had shared about the registration process. While trying to find official updates, I read a lot of the negative reactions to the race organizers. This left me wondering if I’d made the right decision in signing up for the run.

So, let’s recap:

• I tried signing up for the race and realized the site seemed very slow
• Wondering if others had similar issues with the registration process, I turned to social media and visited the Broad Street Run’s Facebook page looking for official notifications
• When I got to the page, the default view for the Wall featured many negative comments from other runners
• I could not easily locate official updates from the page owners
• I doubted that the Broad Street Team was even providing updates through its Facebook page
• Getting inundated with negative reactions to the race, I began to question my decision to register

With so many upset runners flooding the Wall, the team behind the Broad Street Run should have changed the default settings of the Facebook page so that people automatically saw only official status updates. This allows Facebook users (both fans and nonfans of the page) to quickly receive official information and stay informed, especially with how quickly updates disappear from the News Feed. Should anyone want to read comments from others, there is an option to switch the view to “Everyone:”

This is especially important to consider knowing that over 425 million Facebook users visit the site using a mobile device. Using the iPhone Facebook application, it is very tedious to scroll through Wall updates from both consumers and the page trying to find official news.

In both web browsers and mobile applications, if a page chooses to show its updates by default, only those posts that the page makes will appear unless someone manually switches the view back to “Everyone.”

Normally, I recommend brand pages default to comments from “Everyone” since Facebook is a community platform that thrives on engagement and conversations, but sometimes it is more important to provide updates to users rather than featuring the social conversation taking place on the Wall. In this case, sharing news about the registration process and status of the website should have taken precedence, especially when the page was doing a great job keeping people informed through consistent posts.

What do you think about how Broad Street Run’s Facebook page handled the issues yesterday? Would you have changed the default settings of the page?

Pretzel Crisps Uses Super Bowl Social Media Buzz to Engage with Twitter Users

Like most people who work in the communications industry, I spent last Sunday night analyzing the commercials and campaigns that ran during and in conjunction with the Super Bowl. Posting many of my thoughts to Twitter, I kept wondering what companies would do to follow through after the big game ended (in a heart-crushing, devastating way for me…)

I kept latching on to the ideas of follow-through and engagement because so many companies featured social media channels in their ads: Facebook URLs, Twitter handles, hashtags. In my opinion, far too many brands forget that social media is supposed to be, well, social. Conversational. Engaging. Two-way. A dialogue.

What’s the point of throwing up a hashtag on a multi-million dollar spot if no one from the company is going to follow-up with people who used it, who asked questions, who tried to connect? Sure, it’s great to get a hashtag trending for a couple hours on Twitter, but what else can be done with that conversation stream the days after the game aside from throwing it up on a microsite or Facebook tab?

Using social channels and tracking conversations, brands can truly make an impact that results in a aquiring new customers, building brand loyalty, and increasing awareness. An event as popular on social media as the Super Bowl (peaking at 12,333  Tweets Per Second at the end of the game) provides countless opportunities for brands to find compelling ways to engage with consumers.

Somehow, I luckily got to experience this first hand thanks to the company Pretzel Crisps. On Monday, I received an email notification from Twitter that Pretzel Crisps had mentioned me. The pessimist in me wondered what sort of spam I had just received from this company I’d only vaguely heard of before, so I headed over to Twitter to check out the message. They responded to one of my Tweets about Super Bowl ads in a pretty clever way:

Obviously, being a smaller company, Pretzel Crisps didn’t advertise on Super Bowl Sunday, but the team didn’t let that stop them from reaching out to people chatting about the ads. Taking the engagement a step further, @PretzelCrisps offered the Fleishman-Hillard DC office some of the product to try.

After a couple of DMs, the team told me to expect some pretzels a couple days later. I figured they’d ship me a box of sample packs and that would be the end of it.

The company surprised me again.

A little after lunch time on Wednesday, I received a phone call that someone from Pretzel Crisps was waiting for me at the front desk. Slightly surprised, I walked to the receptionist desk to find two Pretzel Crisps employees with bags and bags stuffed with snacks. They politely introduced themselves and I hounded them with questions about the campaign – growing increasingly impressed with how they are running it. Basically, a team of three people are monitoring Twitter regularly looking for people mentioning that they are hungry and not sure what snack to eat. The Super Bowl provided them with tons of engagement opportunities and I have to admit they definitely followed-through:

The FH team raved about Pretzel Crisps all day and left them lots of love on Twitter. As a team, we concluded that original Pretzel Crisps + Nutella = amazing combination everyone should try.

Due to the simple “surprise and delight” factor, I am now a complete convert and brand loyalist. For the past few days, I’ve been singing the praises of Pretzel Crisps to anyone who will listen… making this marketing initiative extremely successful.

Most impressive, though, is that the engagement didn’t end when the team walked out the door earlier this week. Today, @PretzelCrisps gave my office and me shout outs for #FollowFriday – a nice touch that showed the company wanted to sustain the relationship beyond Super Bowl Sunday.