Social media in the marketing mix

Pub quiz on Twitter

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Bushmills South Africa is giving away a classic 1969 E-Type Jaguar in a competition supported by an interactive site, www.bushmills.co.za, where browsers can not only increase their chances of winning, but also join the Bushmills pub quiz once they have found and clicked on the Twitter bird.

To stand a chance to win the car, consumers must SMS a unique code given with each purchase of a Bushmills product. They are then directed to the Bushmills Village microsite, designed to illustrate the heritage of the brand in an entertaining way plus provide a chance to win a second competition entry and spot prizes.

Reportedly, the first quiz of its kind in South Africa using micoblogging site Twitter, it will take place on the second and last Friday of September 2009. Entrants stand the chance to win Bushmills hampers if they answer the questions correctly. Followers must already have their own Twitter account and be over the legal drinking age of 18 to join the pub quiz.

Brandhouse has developed and is managing the campaign in conjunction with The Jupiter Drawing Room, Global Vision, Nota Bene and Atmosphere Communications. Dom Bothner, brand manager for Bushmills, explains "The campaign makes clear parallels with the craft of classic cars and the meticulous whisky making tradition of Ireland's oldest distillery. The appeal of an aspirational prize and a strong vein of Irish humour that runs through the campaign will help expand the brand's already loyal fan base."

Promotions will be supported by a fully integrated campaign featuring online, print, radio, TV, public relations and in-store materials. Awareness at point of sale will be driven by posters, coasters, neck cards, entry cards and table talkers.

Tenth birthday giveaways

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Digital Planet, one of the largest and oldest e-commerce stores in South Africa, announced the launch of its 10th birthday campaign, yesterday, Wednesday 9 September 2009.

Visitors who RSVP at http://birthday.digitalplanet.co.za/ receive a goodie bag which includes vouchers and discounts, as well as inside information on all the store's specials before anyone else.

Throughout the month, there are more than 20 prizes including notebooks, iPods, printers and MVIX players. There are various competitions in which visitors can participate: Facebook; Twitter; and a Digital Planet Fun Times campaign where visitors are encouraged to take photos of themselves with the Digital Planet logo and submit it to funtimes@digitalplanet.co.za. Photos will be uploaded to the Digital Planet Facebook Fan Page and the winners will be announced in the first week of October.

This campaign was conceptulised in-house by the Digital Planet marketing team: Marketing director Simoni Keet, brand manager Karyn Lovesay, website controller Kaveshri Nair, product manager Sybrandus Wiechers, pricing manager Jared Kisten, designer Catherine Versfeld and online marketing jack-of-trades Sarveshen Govender.