Ahoy landlubbers! Buddy Media is pleased to announce our latest application – The Bud Light Party Cruise!
The newest addition to our portfolio is a perfect example of the innovation and creativity that have positioned us as the one-stop source for big brands interested in broadening their relationships with their consumers into the world of social media.
Anheuser Busch was seeking an interactive, social media application to support their annual Bud Light Party Cruise promotion (an offline promotion where winners won an all expense cruise). They wanted to create a virtual community of winners, that could serve as the official “pre-party” destination for winners to locate, interact and engage with fellow cruisers. A place to share photos and stories before and while on board, and eventually maintain contact with their new friends via a centralized Bud Light VIP community.
We knew Facebook was the perfect environment for such an application, but a problem still remained. How do we build an application for an inherently social platform while restricting access to all but a few chosen users?
The answer? We developed a entry page accessible to all Facebook users, but in order to get on board the Party Cruise application, winners need to enter a secret promo code given to them by the folks at Anheuser Busch. The code grants winners VIP access to the application, where they can mingle with other lucky contestants. Users can find each other by searching the “Cruiser Locator”, an innovative feature that integrates Yahoo! Maps with each user’s Facebook profile location.
Winners won’t have to worry about their VIP access being revoked once the cruise ship drops anchor at the final destination. The application is designed to allow cruise buddies to stay in touch and share memories long after they’ve washed the final grains of sand and salt out of their hair.
We really wish that we could share this application with the world, but it’s VIP access only. All others will be thrown overboard.
