Officemax want you to elf yourself….
No they don’t mean it offensively, they literally want you to turn yourself into an elf using their viral microsite ElfYourself.com
This page allows you to upload a headshot of yourself or your friends and then transplants your face onto the dancing body of an elf.
Completely HILARIOUS but also proved to be an extremely effectual SM campaign for Officemax. When first launched in 2007 the page received over 36 million hits and contributed to at 20% increase in web traffic at Officemax.com
It was so successful they have set it up as annual campaign… editing the backing clip each year to entice people back to the site.
I think it’s a great example of SM – capturing people’s attention through a funny gimmick. Especially when your boss super imposes their own head into the website and sends it your entire department as a Christmas eCard (yup… happened to me last year).
Its off season, so you cant elfYourself at the moment… but I found a good one for all you Harry Potter fans out there ☺
That sounds like fun! Something so simple and what a following. Would be interesting to know how little it cost to set it up. Talking about return on investment...
ReplyDeleteI find it a bit strange though that it's only used for 1 season, clearly people are engaging so why introduce 3 other seasons as well?
A simple idea that keeps coming back every year. Giving the customers branded entertainment, great value! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI think using the idea of only one season keeps it fresh, if there is something for all seasons the novelty will wear off. This way there is still some buzz about it, not just an every day thing.
ReplyDeleteRoss
Damn, so wanted to elf myself and my mates?! No idea what OfficeMax is though (it's okay Rossouwe you don't need to google it for me)
ReplyDeleteI work for Officemax and I still have no idea why they don't make more seasonal versions such as Halloween, Easter and Valentine's Day. I believe the main reason is the company's increasing focus on corporate and government contracts, and officemax doesn't see the benefit of a campaign like this for them...
ReplyDelete@Hubba - wait till Christmas and totally use it for your ecard.... so worth it... people at my work went crazy with it...
ReplyDelete@Craig - ElfYourself appeared to have an ROI for Officemax in terms of increasing its traffic, but I do understand that it doesnt necessarily reach that corporate market, I totally agree with @Wags, it retains its excitement value by being only a single season campaign.... I think if they took it to the next level and made it an ecard or have some sort of incentive for companies (ie: circulate this many and receive 10% off ??) they have huge potential to reach that market!