Marriott Resorts Hawaii's "Tweet Yourself to Hawaii" Sweepstakes

OBJECTIVES
With Hawaii experiencing a decline in tourism in 2009 due to the economy, Marriott Resorts Hawaii (MRH) and McNeil Wilson (MWC) came up with a clever way to use social media to market both the destination and Marriott's hotels without spending a lot of money. The company had already established Twitter and Facebook accounts and recognized social media as an arena with a lot of word-of-mouth potential to reach consumers.

To cut through the noise and stand out in the ever-growing social media crowd, the agency created a Twitter-focused marketing campaign designed to get people tweeting about @MarriottHawaii. Called the "Tweet Yourself to Hawaii" sweepstakes, the contest gave away 25 all-expenses paid trips for two to Hawaii from the U.S. mainland. The goal was to promote Hawaii as a vacation destination, draw attention to Marriott's selection of Hawaiian island resorts, attract a number of potential customers and grow MRH's social networks to enable future communication and engagement. 

MWC and its sister division StarrTech Interactive (STI) worked jointly on the creation, execution and management of the "Tweet Yourself to Hawaii" sweepstakes, from concept design and strategy development to Twitter messaging and promotional events.

AUDIENCE
The contest ran from mid-August to mid-October 2009 and was open to all legal residents of the U.S., where the majority of Marriott Resorts Hawaii's potential customers reside. Keeping with the spirit of the contest, efforts were targeted to reach a social media savvy audience who had either email, Twitter and/or Facebook accounts. 

EXECUTION
Working together, MWC and STI developed a unique contest microsite - www.marriotthawaiitweets.com - where people could learn about the contest, read the terms and conditions, and enter via an easy-to-use entry form.

To brand the contest, the agencies created a Twitter-inspired mascot. Based on the blue Twitter bird, the team designed a similar bird graphic in the Marriott red color and with Hawaiian touches, such as flip flops and a lei. The mascot was placed throughout the microsite and on collateral such as press releases and stickers.

MWC promoted the contest with several tweetup events, beginning with a kick-off party at Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on the evening of the contest's first day. MWC invited 75 influential Hawaii Twitterers who could help generate and spread "buzz." MWC also coordinated similar tweetup events in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle to engage the social media communities in these key mainland cities.

While MRH ran the actual @MarriottHawaii Twitter account and Facebook page, MWC collaborated closely with them on Twitter messages and responses to questions. MWC also worked with sweepstakes sponsors Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Polynesian Cultural Center and Hertz to push the contest virally through their respective Twitter accounts.

RESULTS
The sweepstakes received 5,800 entries on the contest's launch date. Over the promotion's three-month span, the "Tweet Yourself to Hawaii" contest received more than 151,000 entries. The campaign resulted in a 1,092% growth in @MarriottHawaii Twitter followers and a 942% increase in Marriott Hawaii Facebook fans, establishing MRH as an active participant in the social media community.