This summer, Friendly's Restaurants tapped Michigan-based Valassis to craft iScream, an interactive campaign that fused mobile, video and user-generated content. With nearly 4,000 responses and
increased brand awareness with the targeted 13- to-25-year-old demo, the campaign effectively created a link between the nearly 75-year-old Friendly's brand and the Web 2.0 generation.
For the iScream campaign, consumers were encouraged to "show their love for Friendly's ice cream or life itself" by posting original photos and videos to the www.iscreamfriendlys.com microsite.
Participants could win such prizes as iPods, digital cameras, and computers--or even a $10,000 Apple shopping spree, and they could submit content via mobile phone (by texting to a shortcode) or
through the Web site directly. The campaign ran for 11 weeks and wrapped in August.
According to Todd Nissen, Valassis National Account Director, 1 to 1 Solutions, at least 75% of the
submissions that came in were high-quality and effectively integrated the Friendly's brand.
"The first batch of submissions had us worried, but they got better over time. By the end of the
program they got phenomenal--on brand and exactly what we were looking for," said Nissen. "It's a wonderful thing as a brand to see a lot of people literally screaming your virtues."
On
demographics, iScream also delivered, as some 64% of all entrants came from the teen and young adult group that Friendly's was targeting--with an even greater majority (71%) of mobile entrants in the
13- to-25-year-old age group.
Valassis scored maximum teen and young adult penetration for Friendly's by promoting iScream across direct mail, TV, online and OOH channels--even using guerrilla
marketing tactics.
"We targeted events that kids would be at and had iScream t-shirts, flyers, prizes and gifts," said Nissen. "There were a number of offline components driving people to the
Web site--even table tents inside the restaurants."
Nissen added that as a result, a large number of entries were actually shot while participants were eating at a Friendly's. "You could tell
that a lot of people were seeing the table tents with the short code and then taking pics or videos using their phone."
Friendly's Restaurants had previously partnered with Valassis for print,
direct mail and other online campaigns, but had been brainstorming ways to tap the younger market for almost a year.
"Friendly's had a wealth of positive brand equity, but we're talking about a
nearly hundred-year-old brand," said Nissen. "They wanted to find that elusive, younger target and make it seem really hip, cool and relevant to them."
But the effort didn't just mark Friendly's
first Gen Y-focused initiative--iScream also illustrates the kind of digital projects coming out of Valassis' 1 to 1 Solutions division--the direct marketing giant's mobile and Web strategy shop.
"We started about five years ago, and now we're one of the fastest-growing parts of the company," said Nissen. "More and more of our clients are coming to their news sales reps saying, 'How do I get
an online presence?'"
For a company that's synonymous with traditional marketing staples like newspaper-delivered coupons, the success of the Friendly's campaign is the equivalent of an
interactive advertising slam-dunk.
"There's a lot of budget being moved to online promos and media, so if we had only one product we'd be in tough shape," said Nissen. "Really, as a fully
integrated media company, we've taken a position of being completely channel-neutral."