Ben & Jerry’s Did It Right

I recently read an article about Ben & Jerry’s social media marketing campaign that caught my eye.  Ever hear of “Free Cone Day?” I participated in the event last year at their shop in Manchester, VT.  It’s when Ben & Jerry’s serves anyone and everyone with one, free regular cone of any flavor they choose on the first day of their open season. The tactic they chose to promote this event spread the message like wildfire across the U.S. through social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more: the huge component being the use of their hashtag, #FreeConeDay.

They ended up reaching over 10% of the entire population. Ben & Jerry’s goals were the following:

1) Engage a global audience

2) Drive awareness about the event and traffic to their stores

3) Fuel customer participation that would propel word-of-mouth and increase their brand reach

All it took was a paid promotion through Twitter. Once people saw the ad, they shared, and shared…and shared.  I find this story so particularly interesting because it shows how incredibly far a small investment in advertising can take a business. As a junior business student interested mostly in marketing, Ben & Jerry’s success is awesome and super exciting. Social media is hugely transforming the business world.  Can any of my readers enlighten me about some good marketing success stories? Thanks, and to those approaching finals right now like I am…good luck!