• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 11, 2014

Kellogg's Rice Krispies and the Taste of Home magazine brand have teamed to create a live holiday experience and a sweepstakes designed to drive mobile and social connections with consumers.

The brands created a "Gingerbread Boulevard," featuring three life-size gingerbread houses, in New York City's Madison Square Park. 

The brand unveiled the gingerbread installation, and distributed holiday treats and a Rice Krispies holiday recipe, during the park's traditional, family-oriented, tree-lighting celebration on Dec. 9. 

During that event and the two weeks that the installation will remain in place, people touring the houses in the park (which attracts an average of 300,000 visitors per week) are being encouraged to text to vote for their favorite gingerbread house to earn a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize. They're also being encouraged to use the hashtag #TOHBLVD to share about their gingerbread experiences.

Consumers who can't visit Gingerbread Boulevard in person can view the houses online and vote for their favorite on a landing page on TasteofHome.com. The page also features the holiday recipe from Rice Krispies.

Both brands are driving awareness of the sweeps through their social media assets, including Taste of Home's Facebook page (which has nearly 3 million "likes"), Joe Losardo, executive brand director of the multiplatform Taste of Home brand, tells Marketing Daily.

Holidays, recipes and sweepstakes are all favorites among Taste of Home's multiplatform audience, which includes the magazines,  and 60% of its site's traffic comes from mobile users, according to Losardo.