Boston Market stirred up some online heat recently by inviting the public to enter a moviemaking contest. The 60-second video submissions showed what customers would do with the free time they
gained by picking up dinner at the chicken chain instead of cooking at home.
The short films had to include a Boston Market movie contest cup and be family-friendly. Prizes included a
trip to Hollywood and gift certificates to Circuit City (and, natch, to Boston Market). Consumers were led to MyExtraHour.com via in-store materials, videos on cable net Current TV, and banner ads on
CNET, Yahoo, and RottenTomatoes.
In eight weeks, the Web site averaged nearly 5,000 sessions per day, with almost 800,000 page views. Visitors voted on their favorites videos and
e-mailed them to friends.
“Some have received thousands (of votes), and from a marketer’s standpoint, that’s really exciting,” says Trey Hall, chief brand officer
for Boston Market.
Denver-based agencies Cameron Christopher Thomas Advertising and FL2 created the campaign.