Social Media Research Source #4

"-FALKEN TIRE ANNOUNCES ITS LARGEST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO DATE, TIED TO PORSCHE 911 CARRERA GIVEAWAY." ENP Newswire 16 Mar. 2012. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 25 Mar. 2012.

This is an example of an interesting case study of how a company used social media in a marketing strategy.

The strategy involves the tire giant created a media strategy that tied-in with Facebook and the popular CityVille simulation and social network game, through which players compete on a Falken-branded racetrack and have an opportunity to earn a Falken themed racecar. In doing so, the company intelligently tapped into the 48 million-strong CityVille network.

'This is one of the largest promotions online,' stated Andrew Hoit, Falken Vice President of Marketing. 'The growth of this form of social media is just astonishing, and when you add in the inherent value of Facebook and its strong appeal of 'Likes,' this program reaches our loyal fans, as well as new eyeballs from consumers who may try our brand for the first time.

'We want to give our fans and CityVille players an opportunity to go online, 'Like' us and have an opportunity to win an incredible sports car,' Hoit added.

This is a good example of one of the more creative ways a business can create online engagement through the creation of a socially networked game, one which we could refer to if choosing to focus on social media as a marketing tool.