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A Clever Use Of Facebook
August 21, 2008
San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino has launched what is probably the cleverest use of Facebook that I've seen from a hotel to date. The resort is offering 35 free nights to any guest who writes about the property on the Facebook application iGo iWrite and then has the entry published in a hardbound book.
Sorry, I should back up. iGo iWrite is an application that lets users write about a great vacation experience, and the best of the submissions (as voted on by fellow users) are collected and published as a coffetable book.
Interestingly, the resort isn't even requiring that the published review necessarily be a positive one. There is a fairly major catch, however: to win the 35 free nights (spread over one week a year for five years), the aspiring travel writer must first book the resort's US$1,182 "Vacation 2.0" package. The three-night package does include free Internet access, at least.
Big-picture impact of the book aside—I can't imagine a ton of people will buy the book, beyond the people whose content appears in it—what a brilliant idea by the sales and marketing folks at the San Juan Marriott. It's a way to generate some genuine Web 2.0 buzz, without actually spending a dime on Web programming or advertising. Even if nobody books the package, it gets people talking about the property for basically no cost. And if someone actually wins the 35 free nights, the publicity will be well worth it.
Kudos to creative marketing.
Posted by Adam Kirby on August 21, 2008 | Comments (1)
In response to: A Clever Use Of Facebook
Jess Wonderin commented:
This will be the start of "check book" journalism Web 2.0 - a great idea for awhile until we reach the BS point where budding H.S. Thompsons overwhelm the value of "facebook" and it becomes the travel version of FreeRepublic . . .