[video_popup width="805" height="454" video_link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK21MAvQ79I" video_image_link="https://www.tnooz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-18-at-10.26.37-AM-e1392740862198.png"]
Club Med is taking a different tack to launch its latest property, using social media to crowdsource development of the ski resort in the French Alps town of Val Thorens.
The all-inclusive brand has rolled out a seven-phase marketing campaign via Facebook which encourages fans to contribute to the development process for the Club Med resort.
The
Facebook campaign has three tracks, one to Discover the Resort, another to Join the Vote and one that outlines available Prizes for participation.
Beyond simply marketing the upcoming launch of the resort to the community, the voting functionality allows fans to select a series of components of the new experience. Here's what's gone on so far:
- Brand: Val Thorens Titanium versus Val Thorens Sensations.
- Design: Modern atrium versus climbing wall.
- Experiences: Mountain biking on snow versus ice driving.
The first two have already been decided, with the "Val Thorens Sensations" and a climbing wall in the atrium winning out; the third is ongoing for the next 30 hours. The remaining phases are kept greyed out to encourage longer-term engagement for those fans really into the crowdsourcing experience.
Club Med is offering up a 7-day stay at the new resort to participating fans, and the winners will actually be the first two guests to fully experience the resort.
The campaign not only targets current fans, but is also aimed towards attracting new fans with a fan-gating functionality:
While it's clear that there's a limitation to how much user interaction can actually go into crowdsourcing an enormous development such as a ski resort, the selective choice of specific items allows enough voice for fans to be engaged over time - that's the value of spreading this across seven distinct time periods until May 1, 2014.
In the release supporting the rollout, VP of Marketing for Club Med North America Jerome Hiquet had this to say:
Club Med welcomed almost 200,000 guests at its Alpine ski resorts last year and has launched this innovative platform in order to engage with discerning travelers and empower them to create their ideal ski resort. We greatly value our guests and want to ensure they are able to take part in this new generation of resorts.
With the resort opening in December of this year, it's vital for the brand to get out in front of the opening to ensure a place in consumers' travel budgets and to get those rooms booked.
Delivering a drip marketing campaign will contribute to significant buzz amongst Club Med evangelists, while also offering up a multi-month marketing campaign to fill up the social media pipeline with compelling, engaging and ultimately shareable content.