Toms holds Shaq meet-and-greet for Snapchat followers
Footwear and sunglass manufacturer Toms Shoes held a virtual meet-and-greet for Snapchat followers when basketball player Shaquille O'Neal arrived at headquarters to pick up his own pair of shoes, grabbing more followers on the photo-sharing platform and generating positive brand sentiment.
The shoe brand teased the event through its various social media pages, without mentioning the celebrity that would be making an appearance. Toms simply mentioned the shoe size or Mr. O?Neal, leveraging a chance to directly engage with fans and gain increase its following across social media platforms.
"Marketers must go where their customers are, and for Tom?s, a brand catering to the Millennial generation, 18~34 year old, Snapchat is the place to be," said Michael Becker, co-founder and managing partner, mCordis, Sunnyvale, CA. "The Millennial generation uses social media, apps and messaging, including over-the-top messaging clients like WhatsAp, KiK and SnapChat, to interact with themselves and media and if the brand does it right, they will interact with brands too.
"Or, even if the audience does not engage, at least the brand can generate brand awareness," he said.
Cross-social promotion
Toms Shoes shared images on Instagram and Facebook featuring the basketball player?s hand along side a pair of shoes with the text ?which size 22 star stopped by Toms HQ today, follow us on Snapchat to find out username: Tomsofficial.? Through twitter the brand shared a picture of only his torso with the same pair of shoes and same text.
Many fans of Mr. O?Neal were able to guess that it was the famed basketball player. The announcement caused many consumers to take to Snapchat and add the brand to get in on the fun.
A few videos featured the taller-than-average player being playful with the Toms? employees such as picking them up, signing autographs, balancing shoes on his head, comparing the merchandise to the size of his hand and various content of him featured around the office.
Snapchat success
The event allows Toms to showcase their products endorsed by a big name celebrity. Showcasing the content on Snapchat allows for the brand to create a more personal marketing effort, and followers feels as though they apart of the event.
Express? use of its public Snapchat account completed a similar effort and fostered two-way communication between the brand and its loyal fans, which could bring other millennial-friendly retailers to the fray, especially once they discover the potential for receiving customer feedback on new styles (see more).
Also, fast food chain Sonic Drive-In played into the social media discussion surrounding Snapchat's past update by leveraging fun facts and personal conversations across several channels in a continuation of the brand's lighthearted personality (see more).
Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer
Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer