RPU: Marketing by Marrying Old Media (Traditional) with New (Social Media)

“My marketing doesn’t work like it used to.” Lately, this is a common complaint but only because it’s true. The way consumers get their information and how they want to be talked to has changed. Not to sound like a stuck record but a great deal of this is due to Social Media.

That being said, just relying on Social Media to market your campaigns may not be the best idea either.

What you might want to do is a clever mix of both, as RPU is doing with their Public Power Week awareness campaign. They are using traditional media, like TV, Radio and Newspaper, to push people to their social media, giving potential followers a reason to like them once they are there. The number one reason people like you on Facebook is to get discounts and free stuff. So that’s exactly what they are doing.

3 Major Elements Comprise the Campaign
1. It’s Public Power Week (Oct 2-8th) – Goal is to Raise Awareness about Public Power.
2. There’s A Free Event – At Cascade Meadows on Saturday, October 8 to Raise Awareness about Public Power, complete with kid activities, displays and energy experts on hand.
3. There’s a Contest – To Give Away a Household of CFL’s (energy efficient bulbs) to 10 lucky RPU customers.

RPU is using Facebook as the primary vehicle to run the contest. Traditional media (TV, Radio, Print) is being used to direct people to the Facebook welcome page that tells them about both the open house event and has a link to the contest. The contest link then redirects them to a simple entry form. Of course, RPU has been sure to learn and follow the Facebook rules when it comes to running a contest by doing thing like prominently posting official rules.

The campaign just launched and already entries are rolling in, customers are engaging by providing their own energy tips, some may even attend the open house on October 8th and hopefully, they will build a nice list of followers on Facebook for the long haul.

Congratulation to RPU on building a clever and cohesive plan that incorporates traditional media with social media.