Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Captures the Moment with PhotoTouch
From May 27 to July 9, 2010, thousands of people were treated to a unique spectacle in eight cities across the country, which included two model cows and a giant pint of chocolate cookie dough ice cream.
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream’s “What’s Inside Tour” invited Americans to take a peek at the values behind the company. With a 7.5-foot Ben & Jerry’s ice cream container turned on its side and a scale model of a dairy farm built inside, the company knew its campaign would be a major draw for foot traffic. It wanted a fun and unique way to not only engage consumers on site, but also keep the momentum going after the ice cream was gone.
The company enlisted the help of PhotoTouch, a turnkey photo-marketing solution that combines photographs and social networking. The PhotoTouch system offered Ben & Jerry’s a way to expand beyond simply offering visitors free ice cream. They would now be able to share the memory of standing in the dairy farm with their friends, both online and off.
The PhotoTouch system works by taking a picture with a digital camera that instantly uploads to the internet and sends the person being photographed an email letting them know their photo is ready for viewing. Each photo not only featured a Ben & Jerry’s branded photo border, but the customized emails also included specific login information for the Ben & Jerry’s website where visitors could view, download and share digital versions of their photos online and through social networks such as Facebook. Since visitors supplied an email address to have their picture taken, the company was able to easily capture visitor data and contact information.
Thousands of Photos
During the eight-city tour, Ben & Jerry’s took more than 3,300 branded photos, resulting in more than 12,000 visits to the company’s website to view them. More than 4,500 photos were sent via email and more than 4,600 photos were shared on social networks.
“Our use of the PhotoTouch system not only helped to streamline the photo taking and giveaway process, but it also provided us a fun way to interact with our fans online after they leave,” said Jay Curley, integrated marketing manager at Ben & Jerry’s.
Housing the photo login area on BenJerry.com has ensured that all consumers who log in to view the digital version of their photos are driven to a site where they can learn more about the values that go into Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, including Fair Trade ingredients and rBGH-free dairy from family farms. The PhotoTouch tool is created, customized and maintained by PhotoTouch’s in-house web and technical support team.