The Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day are two things we don’t usually put together. This year, Target is changing that. The popular retailer has created a unique charity campaign combining the hype of these events with the power of social media. Target is crowdsourcing its Facebook fans, and the entire online community, by giving them the chance to spread $1 million among five different charities – with a twist.
The “twist” in this new campaign is where the Superbowl and Valentine’s Day come into play. Instead of simply voting, users are asked to vote for their favorite charity, then create and send a unique e-card through Target’s Facebook fan page in order to have their vote counted. The app, called the “Super Love Sender,” will be active for two weeks, ending on February 14th, spanning both the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day.
In creating the e-card, users select from a variety of football and valentine themed e-cards, which include videos of football players in quirky, entertaining song and dance situations. Some options allow senders to personalize the e-card even further, by selecting what kind of dances the players will do. To personalize the card further, users can upload a photo of the e-card’s intended recipient, which becomes part of the video as well. The final e-card includes the selected video theme, as well as a personalized written message. In between wishing recipients a Happy Valentine’s Day and encouraging them to watch the Super Bowl, the football players also encourage the card’s recipient to create their own e-card and donate to their favorite charity as well. Each card sent equals one vote, and users can send up to 10 cards each day.
Target launched a similar campaign called Bullseye Gives last spring, which followed a similar format. Last year, Bullseye Gives allowed users to allocate $3 million among 10 charities. The campaign brought in more than 290,000 votes, with the highest number of votes (and portion of the $3 million) going to St. Jude’s Research Hospital. This year, Target has narrowed down the list of charities from 10 to five, focusing on charities with an educational emphasis. The charities users can vote for this year include: Kids in Need Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The Salvation Army, United Through Reading Military Program, and the United Way.
“At Target, we continually look for unique ways to interact with our guests and provide them with the opportunity to participate in our charitable giving,” said Laysha Ward, president, of community relations for Target, in a news release issued Monday. “We designed Super Love Sender to be a fun, interactive and viral giving campaign that has the power to positively impact the educational programming of these five deserving charities.” As one of the most popular brands on Facebook with more than 835,000 fans, Target’s Super Love Sender is sure to get a lot of use.
Digital crowdsourcing has allowed individuals and brands to bring communities together in fun and creative ways. Other companies using the crowd for good include Pepsi, Chase, American Express, and even Google. Target has found a way to appeal to their customers by embracing charitable giving in a unique way. Though Target has always had a focus on Community Outreach, their crowdsourced campaigns help bring these efforts to the forefront and involve thousands of people who may not have been aware of it before. Not only are they helping raise awareness for good causes, but bringing positive brand association to Target, too. Target is one brand that will undoubtedly continue in charitable causes for years to come; their creativity in social media will only help them become more successful with each new campaign.
http://sparxoo.com/2010/02/03/targets-new-facebook-superbowl-valentines-day-promo/ Target’s New Facebook Superbowl / Valentine’s Day Promo
Tara Lane | Feb 03, 2010 accessed February 28th 2011
(JOELY)
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