Well That's One Way of Getting Social Media Attention

Do marketing gimmicks work? Won't those tactics just annoy consumers and lead to a decline in sales? There isn't an easy answer when the gimmick actually is a way to engage with consumers and make them part of the brand. One of my favorite movie theater candies is pulling off a great marketing gimmick that utilizes social media. Mike and Ike have a strategy that engages consumers by having them visit Facebook, but that is the beginning, because the user can then Tweet, Instagram, or Snapchat about the "campaign" which reaches even more users.

The big deal is that every box of Mike and Ike has either Mike's or Ike's name scribbled out. There is a "letter" on the back of the box explaining that Mike has gone off to have a music career or Ike has gone to pursue his graffiti art. The consumer is then prompted to go to Facebook.com/mikeandike to figure out and help persuade the missing party to come back to the candy brand Mike and Ike. There are posts and tags and YouTube videos that have been made by consumers to bring the two makers together. It is astonishing how well this strategy is working to gather followers and supporters. Not to mention the sales must be gaining from all the buzz. I'm actually enjoying some of the little candies while writing this post!

The Facebook page has over 970,000 likes and almost 4,000 people are talking about it right now as I'm blogging about it. There are icons on the homepage that users can click on to read about how the split occurred, games to be played, merchandise to be bought, a design contest for t-shirts, and much more. Making the page interactive ensures that consumers spend more time on the site and become more engaged in this campaign. There are also links to the Mike and Ike tumblr and their Twitter. This campaign is clever and hopefully is accomplishing brand recognition and an increase in consumers who not only find the candy yummy but the brand to be worth their support and loyalty. Other companies may not be able to pull this off like Mike and Ike but they could certainly learn from them on how to use social media in an engaging way.