Download They`re the Little Elves That Could

They're the Little Elves
That Could
By Jonathan Lemmonier
Robert Christner
Nicole Cecchini
Were You Elfed?
• 26.4 Million people visited office Max’s
holiday web site
– that’s alMost 1 in 10 aMericans who were
exposed to the coMpany’s viral Marketing
strategy
– Almost a tenfold increase from the previous
year, the first year this marketing
strategy was introduced
• The website allows visitors to paste
friends and relatives faces onto
dancing elves.
The Elves are
Multiplying!!!!
•
123 Million elves were created
this Holiday Season
– Up from 11 million The Previous Year
The time people spent on the
ElfYourself website if added up
would have totaled
2,614 years.
“a digital phenoMenon”
• The site REappeared ONLINE in
October 2007
• By December the site ranked 55th
among the most visited websites
• santa’s little helpers ended up
actually helping to increase
awareness of the Office Max
Company
Building Brand Awareness
• Ranking 3rd in the industry, Office Max
was looking to differentiate its’ brand
with this marketing strategy
– “we were looking to build our brand, warM up
our iMage. we weren’t looking for sales….we
were trying to differentiate ourselves
through huMor and huManization.”
– Bob Thacker, Sr. V.P. Marketing and Advertising for
Office Max
viral Marketing let’s your
Customers do THE Work
• Viral Marketing can be a cheaper solution to a
coMpany’s advertising needs
– Less then the cost of a T.V. ad, which may run
anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000
• “the proof is we’re still talking about it”
– Pete Blackshaw, exec. V.P. of Nielsen Online Strategic
Services
• The effect of Viral Marketing extends beyond
the consuMer’s initial exposure
– In the case of ElfYourself, the website
was passed on among millions of friends
and family, carrying with it the Office
Max brand name.
Keys to Viral Marketing
• Make it personal
• don’t discount older audiences
• Offer fun
References
leMonnier, John. “they’re the little
elves that could,” advertising age,
Jan. 21, 2008. <http://adage.com/
digital/article?article_id=123226>.