• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 5, 2013

To celebrate having recently reached two million Facebook fans, and thank all of its fans, Arby’s has launched a “Fan of the Week” program.

Consumers who use a dedicated app on Arby’s Facebook page to upload pictures of themselves eating at an Arby’s location will be entered in weekly random drawings that determine a designated Fan of the Week. Each weekly winner gets a $25 Arby’s gift card, and his or her photo will be posted that week on Arby’s Facebook page.

To kick off the new initiative, Arby’s tracked down a woman who happened to be  designated its two-millionth customer when she walked into her local Denver, Colo., Arby’s  back in 1970. 

Arby’s recently video-ed Donelle Norblom (age 13 then, and still an Arby’s customer) as she “liked” the chain’s Facebook page, and designated her as its “original two-millionth fan” and its first Fan of the Week. (The video is featured on Arby’s’ YouTube channel.)

In addition, Arby’s will reward all who can prove that they were friends with Norblom during 1970, by uploading photos of themselves with Norbloom taken during that year to the brand’s Facebook page, with a $25 Arby’s gift certificate. 

According to Bob Kraut, SVP of brand marketing and advertising for Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., Arby’s added more than 1 million Facebook fans in less than a year.