2012 Silver Best use of social media for customer acquisition

Client Beiersdorf – Elastoplast

How did the campaign make a difference? Creating a limited edition box of Elastoplast plasters helped reach out to a younger, previously untapped audience and drive a sales increase of nearly 11% in just two weeks.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? Onlinefire (part of the Eulogy! Group) saw an opportunity to get people engaging and talking about plasters by tapping into Example's No. 1 single, Stay Awake. It featured the lyric, ‘stick around like Elastoplast’. Onlinefire engaged Example and his fans by creating a limited edition, music-branded Elastoplast product, and incorporating a mechanic to incentivise sharing and drive engagement across target social media channels, as well as sharing the story via traditional consumer media.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? The first-ever music-branded plasters – featuring Example and his famous lyric and dubbed Examplaplast – were created in a limited edition of 150 numbered boxes, designed and produced for the campaign. Example bought in totally (he wasn’t paid a fee) and shared the news with his 800,000+ Twitter followers by sharing Twitpics and announcing a hashtag competition. Example encouraged the Twitter community to tweet using #Examplaplast for the chance to win a limited edition box. To create further online buzz, Onlinefire engaged key bloggers in the music, entertainment and consumer lifestyle spheres. Showbiz titles in national daily and weekly press were also contacted for as much editorial exposure as possible. Influencers were offered their very own limited edition box to showcase to readers and a series of exclusive fan competitions were secured online.

Results There was a 10.7% increase in sales within two weeks, compared to the campaign’s primary objective of a 2% increase.

Team Charley Hayes, Dave Macnamara