Sharpie says HELLO to One Direction – Bronze

As anyone who has had a look through a high-schooler’s doodle-ridden notebook can attest, teen girls love expressing themselves creatively. And many teen girls also love the boy band One Direction, aka 1D. Marker manufacturer Sharpie decided to give this target audience plenty to doodle about by tying a promotion to 1D’s first-ever North American tour.

The three-phase campaign started with a contest to win signed 1D swag. To be eligible, fans simply had to submit a hand-drawn sign saying “Hello” to Sharpie’s Facebook page, which served as the hub for the sweepstakes.

The second phase gave participants the chance to win 10 tickets to see 1D in concert, complete with transportation on Sharpie’s private jet, by submitting a UPC. Ellen DeGeneres announced the promotion on her popular talk show; Sharpie spokesperson and popular Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande and influential blogger iJustine appeared at a kickoff event in New York; and teen celebrities such as Olympic gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas and reality-TV personality Kylie Jenner mentioned the giveaway on Twitter.

The final phase included a dynamic billboard displaying the submitted “Hello” signs and a surprise ticket giveaway, both in Times Square. To keep the momentum going, Sharpie asked fans to continue sending hand-drawn signs via Twitter; these also appeared on the billboard, and each participant received an email with a picture of her sign on the billboard as a souvenir—one she could easily post on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media.

Though the campaign ran for just three weeks, it generated 949 million impressions, including 483 million from Twitter and 290 million via Facebook. The number of Sharpie’s Facebook likes and Twitter followers each increased 5%, and its email database grew 10%, adding 14,000 addresses. Sharpie received 15,000 “Hello” signs during the first phase of the program and 33,000 UPCs during the second phase. And no doubt Sharpie was involved in the drawing of untold “I <3 Harry” and “1D 4ever” doodles nationwide.