Threadless and Carnival Cruise Lines Win the Shorty Industry Award for Best Brand Presence on Facebook
Threadless and Carnival Cruise Lines were awarded the Shorty Industry Award for Best Brand Presence on Facebook at the 3rd Annual Shorty Awards on Monday, March 28, 2011 in New York City.
Threadless
Overview: Threadless is a community-focused online apparel store operated by the Chicago-based company skinnyCorp. The public can vote on new designs, and the best are sold online. Threadless approaches Facebook and all of its social media channels with the idea that Threadless should be like a friend you enjoy having in your stream: someone funny and interesting with cool stuff to share who likes you back and isn’t necessarily always trying to sell you something. Threadless poses questions to its Facebook fans, encouraging them to engage in conversation through comments. In order to make fans feel like part of the company, Threadless asked Facebook fans judge its office costume contest as well as the company’s pumpkin carving contest. Threadless also runs contest and sweepstakes promotions on Facebook. Public relations agency Attention PR assists Threadless with promotional efforts.
Impact: In 2010, Threadless received 150,000 new “likes” for the brand on Facebook. The retailer also put a customer support tab, made by Parature Inc., on its Facebook page so fans can access FAQ and submit new service-related questions. Company employees field the questions, and monitor key inquiry terms. By late fall 2010, the retailer had 180,000 Facebook fans.
Carnival Cruise Lines
Overview: Carnival Cruise Lines owns 22 ships and operates three- to 16-day cruises in the U.S., Europe, Caribbean, and other destinations worldwide. The company partnered with Buddy Media to launch a Facebook presence for the company, part of a streamlined effort to personalize the cruise vacation planning experience. The goal was to encourage customers to discuss their Carnival Cruises before and after the trips, post questions, and interact with the Carnival Cruising community. In addition to facilitating fan dialogue, the Carnival Facebook page provides details about cruises and vacation experiences, including vacation poll results, videos, and photos of tropical trips, highlights of the crew on the ship, and photos of the ships. Using the “Carnival Magic” tab, fans can view videos, interact with Carnival Crew members, and post feedback, all while sharing their own experiences with Facebook friends. Both Carnival and Buddy Media maintain the Facebook page.
Impact: Carnival Cruise Line’s Facebook page has more than 570,000 fans, and users have posted more than 14,000 photos. The page has also allowed Carnival to showcase Web-based features that their competitors don’t have, including features such as online discussions and videos with crew members.
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