Dell, Microsoft Tune Up Facebook Music Promo
This summer Dell and Microsoft teamed up on a Facebook-centric viral game that offered to bring the band One Republic to play a free concert at the college that racks up the most game points.
Students could register for the “Be the Campus Rockstar” game by going through the Dell University Web site, a Dell portal for college-endorsed discounts on laptops, PCs and other equipment that is co-branded by Microsoft. From that site entrants could fill out the Facebook game sign-up, identify their school Facebook network, and start racking up points. (In fact, they get 10 points for just installing the application.)
The point system was designed to maximize the viral push. Players got a point for each unique invitation they sent to an eligible friend (over 18, enrolled in the U.S. in an accredited college) and 20 points each time a friend accepts that invite and installs the game application.
Players could also score 20 points by watching short videos about Microsoft products that were delivered to the Facebook app regularly, or 30 points for correct answers to a weekly multiple-choice trivia question about Dell products.
Finally they could earn a big 50 points the first time they clicked through the application either to the www.DellUniversity.com site or to Dell’s sponsored College Gaming League .
The school network that amassed the most total points by Aug. 31 won a free concert by One Republic, a pop-rock group that released their debut album in November 2007. The top 10 point earners from that winning school won a chance to meet the band backstage and an 8GB Microsoft Zune media player.
And the three biggest point earners from the game as a whole also got tickets to the concert and the backstage passes, along with travel and two-night hotel stays for two wherever the concert takes place, slated for early November 2008.
Weekly prizes during the game’s eight week summer run included a $1,000 Target gift card and an 8GB Zune for the overall point leader during the week, and $275 Target cards for the next nine highest scorers.
According to SoundScan Data, One Republic’s 2007 single “Apologize” is one of only two songs to have hit the 3 million legal downloads. One Republic has been touring this summer with musician John Mayer.
The “Be the Campus Rockstar” game was designed and is being managed by Mr. Youth, a New York-based agency specializing in marketing to consumers 14 to 29.
The agency says the contest benefitted from running inside the popular Facebook social network. “By bringing the contest within Facebook, the reach has been greatly increased through viral channels and peer-to-peer delivery of the message,” Mr. Youth managing partner Brandon Evans said in a statement. “Through a traditional microsite, 200,000 students participating in just the first five weeks would not have been possible.”
Related Topics: Social networks, Promo Trends, Viral Marketing, Web Promos & Sweeps
