Holiday promotions that include a donation component are very popular with brands as a way to show that they’re giving back. This season one of our clients, PostNet, aims to encourage acts of kindness with the launch of the #PostNetMerrymakers campaign.
Now through December 31, people can enter for a chance to win a $5,000 holiday shopping spree that will be awarded in the form of a check. Participants need to fill out an entry form located here at the.
They are then encouraging participants to join them in spreading holiday merrymaking by sharing on social media one good deed that they have done, or promise to do, for someone else during the holiday season. For every good dead that is posted on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram that uses the hashtag #PostNetMerrymakers, PostNet will donate $3 to the winner’s choice of four meaningful charities, including JDRF; The ALS Association; United Way; and ASPCA. The maximum donation from PostNet is $50,000.
There are many posts so far which some are featured on the promotional page. Also PostNet has a “Merry-O-Meter” that shows the amount of money that is currently pledged toward the charity donation. No good dead is too small.
PostNet is the leading business-to-business franchise known for providing personalized, business-enhancing print, marketing and shipping solutions. Locally owned and operated PostNet locations offer full-service digital printing; direct mail; signage; document binding and finishing; graphic design; and ancillary business services, like private mailbox rental and more. They also offer professional packaging services and shipping with UPS, FedEx, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service. So the holiday season is a very busy time for them.
It is December, the last month of the year, and the holiday season is now in full swing. So for this month I’ll be writing here about holiday promotions that we’re working on as well as others that are of interest.
This promotion caught my attention just yesterday. Honda has always been known to run promotions that feature new and cutting edge technology. For their “Happy Honda Days” end-of-year marketing they are using Twitter’s new Instant Win feature. The Honda “Open The Cheer” Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes offers instant win prizes for retweets, which are Amazon gift cards and Apple Watches, with a grand prize drawing for a 2016 Honda Accord.
Participants can receive a gameplay into the Instant Win Game and a Sweepstakes entry into the drawing each day during the promotion period, which runs till December 29, by retweeting a Tweet sent by Honda. I retweeted their daily Tweet just now and immediately received a reply back that I didn’t win now, but I’m entered into the drawing to win the Honda Accord.
This #OpentheCheer program kicked off with a tweet on their Twitter page that included this cool video that encouraged people to retweet for a chance to instantly win a gift.
For every retweet, Honda will give $1 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. “Our goal for this campaign is to tap into the anticipation of giving and opening gifts during the holidays and Twitter’s Instant Win feature allows us to surprise our fans while helping to find a cure for children’s brain tumors,” said Susie Rossick, assistant VP at American Honda, in a statement.
The campaign was created by RPA and includes video elements from Brand New School and Instagram artist Jessie Bearden. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Twitter’s new Instant Win feature and hope I’ll be able to be involved with it soon.
My post today is relevant to this holiday since it is the eve of Thanksgiving . This is when we all should express what we are thankful for. I am personally blessed with many things to be thankful for, most importantly the good health of me and my family and our well-being.
However, today I am especially very thankful for our dogs. Our 12-year old Golden Retriever, Shadow, went under yesterday to have a abscess removed from his eyelid and his teeth cleaned at the same time. The look he gave me as I walked out of the vet’s room and left him with this stranger, would break any mother’s heart. He is very glad to be back home and sleeping it off quite well. I can’t help thinking that he is getting old and won’t be with us forever. This makes me appreciate the time I have with my dogs even more.
Here’s a Thanksgiving-themed promotion from Purina PetCare that is running now through Nov. 29. Purina is inviting dog owners to post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram why they are thankful for their dog. For every original post submitted that includes @Purina and the hashtag, #dogthanking, Purina will donate one dollar to the AKC Canine Health Foundation, up to $75,000, to help further pet health research.
On top of that, Purina plans to share some of the posted videos, photos and posts during the National Dog Show Presented by Purina on Thanksgiving Day on NBC. This show is a tradition that we watch after the Thanksgiving parade each year. Purina is promoting the initiative on its Facebook page, via its Twitter account and on Instagram.
Purina has had the support of Olympic figure skater and fashion commentator Johnny Weir who helped kick off the campaign by thanking his dog Tema: “Tema is my little prince, and always there wagging his tail when I get home. He brings so much joy to my life, and I am so thankful for his companionship,” Weir said of his Japanese Chin. Weir will also appear on the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving day.
So I’m now going to create my post and share why I am so thankful for my dogs. If you’re a dog owner, please share yours as well.
I am celebrating 8 years of blogging this week. My first blog post was published on February 27, 2007, on Donna’s Promo Talk which was my first real experience into the new world of social media. As a marketing professional my blog was to be written for other marketers to help keep us up to date on the latest promotions, trends and legal issues affecting the industry. As time went on social media grew and so did my number of posts on the integration of promotional and social media marketing. After 690 posts, the main focus of my blogging still remains true to my original mission.
I decided to write my first two posts on one of my favorite brands, Dove. The first post was about the Energy Glow Contest Dove was running and the next one was about a consumer-generated contest for Dove’s Cream Oil Body Wash. This contest invited participants to create and submit a video promoting the product which Dove would then run the winning video during the broadcast of that year’s Oscars. Now I’ve picked up a few traditions over the years that I follow, one which is to write about Dove each year on my blog anniversary. So this year is no exception.
Both of those contests were part of Dove’s “Campaign For Real Beauty” which they first launched in 2004 which now makes the campaign over 10 years old. Each year Dove has kept the campaign new and fresh and they continue to promote the campaign’s original mission which is to widen the definition of beauty and nurture the self-esteem of young girls and women throughout the world. Dove claims that they’ve made progress, but still have a way to go.
This year Dove introduced the #SpeakBeautiful initiative which builds on their Campaign for Real Beauty but in a real social media way. “With #SpeakBeautiful, Dove is asking women to consider the power of a single social media post.” states Jennifer Bremner, director of marketing at Dove. “As a beauty brand … we believe it is our responsibility to inspire change for women on social media. Women today are 50% more likely to say something negative about themselves, than positive, on social media,” according to Bremner.
Dove started this initiative by posting this video featured below that also aired during the red-carpet coverage of Sunday’s Oscars. They’re inviting women to post on Twitter one thing that they love about themselves, or a friend, and use the #SpeakBeautiful hashtag. They claim that last year women sent over 5 million negative Tweets about beauty and body image and so now they’re asking women to join Dove and Twitter in this partnership for social change.
Dove’s video says that it “only takes one positive tweet to start a trend.” So they decided to take this one step further and tie it in with one of the most fashion-focused nights in television, the Oscars. As the stars hit the red carpet on Oscar night they encouraged Twitter users to go easy on the fashion and beauty advice. Dove ended up receiving nearly 30,000 mentions on social media, 91% of them positive, according to Amobee.
Using special technology Dove explained: “When a negative tweet is posted the technology sends non-automated responses to real women, which include constructive and accessible advice to encourage more positive online language and habits. Advice is coming directly from social media and self-esteem experts who are collaborating with Dove and Twitter to empower women to speak with more confidence, optimism and kindness about beauty online.”
I would like to thank all of you that have been readers and supported me over the years. I hope to continue blogging for sometime (and my coverage of Dove). My birthday celebration wouldn’t be complete without thanking my good friend and founder of the Lipsticking blog and BlogPaws, Yvonne DiVita, along with her business partner and husband, Tom Collins, for helping me get started. I’ll be joining them in Nashville this May as a speaker again for the 2015 Annual BlogPaws Conference. Check out the details about this great social media conference that includes many different sessions and speakers along with some adorable four-legged friends. If you’re interested in attending let me know and I can offer you a conference discount. Thanks again and thanks to all my old and new readers for sticking with me.
Holiday promotions that include a donation component are very popular with brands as a way to show that they’re giving back. This season one of our clients, PostNet, aims to encourage acts of kindness with the launch of the #PostNetMerrymakers campaign.
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There are many posts so far which some are featured on the promotional page. Also PostNet has a “Merry-O-Meter” that shows the amount of money that is currently pledged toward the charity donation. No good dead is too small.
