• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 9, 2010

PowerMark designed a new Facebook page for NortonLive that went live Friday, and a discount code feature will follow this week. The code enables Fans of NortonLive's Facebook page to take advantage of special pricing and deals. Part of the campaign will focus on members ages 55 and above.

In the redesigned Fan page, the "What's Hot" tab became the default tab for the page. Specials are posted on the page, grayed out just enough to allow people to see the offer, without providing the ability to take advantage of the deal. Facebook members must "like" the page and become a Fan before redeeming any discounted services NortonLive promotes on the page.

NortonLive, a startup within Symantec, provides computer optimization services such as Virus Removal, PC Power Boost, Expert Install, PC Jumpstart, and Health Check Pro.

The grayed-out Facebook Fan page was not easy to design and implement. "Facebook doesn't offer a lot of service with the campaigns unless you spend $50,000 or more," PowerMark President and CEO Colleen Edwards says. "We opted not to spend that much, so you're stuck entirely with self-serve practices."

Without spending the minimum, benchmark and other types of data is not available through Facebook, unless the client purchases and integrates a third-party product, which makes processes more manual, according to Edwards.

PowerMark also embedded text on the page that search engines would index. Relevant keywords include "slow computer" and "computer problems" and "service."

Building out the campaign began with five paid ads that began to run earlier this year. PowerMark designed the paid ads to drive consumers to a unique landing page where consumers could download PC Checkup, a free tool and the first step to optimizing PCs. It evaluates the computer to provide a list of hang-ups and slowdowns.

The objective was to boost awareness for NortonLive Services and generate demand for PC Checkup. PowerMark used zany characters as the foundation for the campaign to quickly attract Facebook members.

Although "funny" is not typically associated with poor PC performance, PowerMark went with the humor strategy because Facebook creates a social "hangout." Members participate to connect with friends and have fun, something advertisers understand.

Demographic targets were broken into four age groups: 13 to 17, 18 to 22, 23 to 35, and 36 to 55. The most responsive group, 36-55, did not grow up with computers in their laps. This group is generating a particularly high download rate -- more than 387% higher than other age group targets. This is a high growth category on Facebook. It grew 330% from January 2009 to January 2010, representing about 30% of all Facebook members.

PowerMark used Facebook's pay-per-click-based campaign, rather than CPM. Click-through rate is an important metric for NortonLive. Through this metric, the 1% goal for downloads hit 13% rapidly. The agency has been testing minor copy changes and bidding to reach the high rate.