• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, July 7, 2011

McCormick brands Grill Mates and Lawry's have launched multiple social media initiatives to capitalize on grilling season.

The brands' fans are already big on using social media to share their grilling passions and expertise, says Jill Pratt, VP marketing U.S. consumer products for McCormick & Co., adding that the new engagement activities may also "ignite a little friendly competition."

The Grill Mates brand, which includes grilling seasonings, marinades, rubs and grinders, kicked off its efforts with an interactive billboard takeover in Times Square prior to Memorial Day (May 26-28). In a "Tweet to Grill" campaign, fans who tweeted #grillmates during the three days earned a chance to see their Twitter profiles inserted on a huge grill image on the NASDAQ and Reuters signs, and on a live feed on the brand's Facebook page.

Prior to the July 4 holiday weekend, Grill Mates launched a Foursquare-based "Grill Mayor" campaign. Objective: Identify an honorary mayor of Hunt Valley, Md., where Grill Mates and Lawry's are produced. The winner's awards: a golden spatula and all of the elements needed to host the "ultimate backyard barbeque."

In addition, Grill Mates has created a Facebook app that lets its fans aggregate "likes," comments, posts and photo tags from friends to create personal "Grill Circles"-- the folks that are the fans' perfect grilling mates or guests.

Meanwhile, Lawry's, whose products include marinades, seasoning mixes and spice blends, is helping mom gather the family with a "Digital Dinner Bell." The free custom Android app coordinates Facebook and SMS messaging and phone calls, and provides recipes that can be shared via social networks. The bell tones are keyed to represent the flavors of the meals, including Mexican, Italian and Asian. To publicize the dinner bell app, beween June 29 and July 1, those who tweeted #lawrys earned chances to have their faces shown on a Lawry's interactive dinner table featured on the Times Square billboards and broadcast live on the brand's Facebook page.

Finally, Lawry's has recruited 6,000 brand fans/advocates to spearhead a word-of-mouth campaign throughout the summer. The advocates are charged with hosting parties, getting friends to bring Lawry's Marinades and Seasoned Salt, and posting the photos and reactions on Facebook.

The agencies for the integrated campaigns include R/GA (digital and social media), Weber Shandwick (public relations), the Sawtooth Group (advertising) and BzzAgent (word-of-mouth).