October 6 , 2009

Stella Artois social media contest cuts through Internet clutter with 90% interaction rate
Insider promotion gave users chance to Tweet live from TIFF and VIFF

As part of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) 2009, Stella Artois held a contest for “film buffs, culture junkies, party lovers and in-the-know individuals to apply for the job of a lifetime” to be the official Stella Artois Légère Insider.

The winner was given VIP access to events across Toronto where they provided TIFF updates through Twitter and post tweets on film reviews, celebrity scoops and where all the hot parties were.

The contest, called “Stella Artois Légère Unseen” used a fully integrated print and online marketing campaign to promote the contest, and their ClubStellaArtois.ca website hosted up-to-the-minute tweets and other information on TIFF and VIFF (Vancouver International Film Festival).

“We knew that our target audience was spending more time online and that we needed to do something that would cut through the clutter,” says John Robinson, Assistant Brand Manager for Stella Artois. “We started with an integrated website and to date we have built a fan base of more than 20,000 members.”

Stella Artois’ target consumers are males 25-39 who are ambitious, successful and have active social lives. Using social media tools like the Twitter contest, the goal is to drive exclusive, relevant and exciting content.

“Our users aren’t using traditional marketing mediums so we have to use online and social media in order to use our budgets more efficiently,” says Robinson, who credits better geotargeting capabilities for their most recent campaign success.

There were hundreds of applicants for the Insider contest and traffic to the Stella Artois site was high. It also recorded an impressive 90 per cent interaction rate.

“We have hundreds of new fans signing up on the site every day,” says Robinson. “We also use Facebook Connect on the site so that our users’ activities are mirrored on their Facebook walls. We’re one of the first brands to do this.”