Senior Prom, everyone remembers how important it was during high school. Wherever you grew up, everyone wants to have a prom to remember. The age-old questions of "Who are you taking?", "Which band is going to play?", and "How are you going to get there?" live in the minds of every high school senior when they think about prom. Dell, Microsoft and our agency teamed up to create a contest that gave one lucky high school a prom to remember.
The Contest
The Dell SuperProm Contest allowed one high school senior to win a tricked-out prom for their high school. For six weeks, high school seniors submitted 30-second videos about why their school deserved a SuperProm. Dell Lounge users voted on the videos, and when the votes were tallied a winner was chosen.
How Successful Was the Contest?
The Dell SuperProm contest was primarily conducted on a microsite, but also used Facebook & Twitter to announce updates about the contest as it was underway.
1. Engagement and Creativity. Contest entrants submitted their 30-second videos to the microsite, and the only requirement was to showcase why your school deserves a SuperProm. Allowing users to submit and vote on their own videos was an opportunity for them to showcase their creativity.
2. Incorporation of Social Media. The microsite was the main hub for the contest, which hosted the videos and votes, but the contest also posted updates on Facebook and Twitter. Alerting Facebook and Twitter users extended the reach of the contest into social networking, thus encouraging microsite visitors who may not have heard about the contest otherwise.
3. What About the Numbers? The six-week contest amassed some pretty eye-opening numbers, which proved the engagement and excitement the contest brought.
- Visitors to the site: 216,205
- Total pageviews: 1,600,811
- Facebook likes grew by 17%
- Twitter followers grew by 4%
4. School Spirit. The contest was centered on high school students talking about where they are from and why their school deserves a dream prom. The topic of prom excites every high school student, and the possibility of becoming the “coolest kid in school” is a great reason to submit a video.
5. A Contest for Students, Run by Students. High school students submitted their videos on the microsite and also voted on the videos they thought were most deserving. The idea of allowing the users to decide on the winner required engagement and commitment.
The End Result
Every student wants a prom to remember and incorporating multiple platforms for a contest increases access across many different channels. The winning school, Cupertino High School, won a prom that included musical guests Common and Lil Jon. Their winning video centered on a project named Kenya Dream. In 2007, while freshmen, the senior class at Cupertino High School adopted a school in Kenya and had a goal of raising $100,000 to better the lives of the students.
The Dell SuperProm contest was a win-win situation, as it spread the news of Kenya Dream & won a dream prom for the students. The Dell SuperProm touched the hearts of many students and was truly a contest to remember.