PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Laura Bracken
Company: Design Spike®, Inc. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Address: 522 W. First Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Telephone: 509.252.5060
SOCIALLY SPEAKING, SPOKANE’S PIG OUT IN THE PARK SQUEALED
If you listened carefully, the sounds coming from Spokane’s Pig Out in the Park were more than happy little grunts from sated diners. They were the sounds of an annual Labor day event that celebrates the community by offering a variety of tasty morsels and free music over six days in Riverfront Park. And this year, the noise was louder than ever before. That’s due, in part, to Burke Marketing coordinating a multi-pronged social networking campaign with Design Spike®, Inc. (“Design Spike”).
Spokane’s Pig Out in the Park is an annual event that caters to the diversity of the Inland Northwest and produces 82 free concerts, has between 48 and 55 food booths, opens three adult-beverage gardens, and currently runs for six days. The challenge was to create on-going “buzz” and excitement about the event in order to drive consumers to the food booths. Knowing the that the general audience is actively using social networking, the stage was set for a social campaign.
Design Spike began the campaign by creating a Facebook page and setting up Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Flickr accounts for Pig Out in The Park. Once the accounts were created, engagement followed in a systematic manner culminating in a veritable trough of information throughout the event.
Statistics show that Pig Out in the Park’s Facebook page went from 0 users to 3,434 active daily users in less than three months, collecting more than 36,875 daily news feed impressions in one day. Twitter gained over 100 followers in one day. Social networks were at their most active just leading up to and during the event. These numbers were achieved by aggressive social networking, which included having Design Spike employees on site, talking to patrons, creating live feeds, pushing content to various social channels, immediately responding to questions, and ensuring continuity between the social networking and website.
Furthermore, knowing that mobile devices were the leading source of traffic to the Pig Out in the Park website, a mobile website was created. The mobile website immediately increased traffic by 8,817 visits, of which 68.53 percent were new visitors. Additionally, a QR code (Quick Response code that is a type of matrix barcode, or two-dimensional code) was placed on all print and online advertising material driving traffic to the mobile website. Androids, IPhones, IPads, IPods, Blackberries and Nokias rounded out the top ten operating systems accessing the website.
In the current economic tide, where attendance to public events has visibly decreased by 17-35 percent, this year’s Pig Out showed a 17 percent increase in food sales, and a nine percent increase in adult beverage revenue. There were approximately 89,500 visitors who attended the event. Bill Burke, owner of Burke Marketing, the production company that produces Pig Out in the Park, said that this year there was “better response to the music than ever.”
“Being introduced to social media trends leads me to believe that we can reach a much broader market and still keep Pig Out a great event.” says Burke. “I love giving back to the community. And I love the sounds coming out of the park during Pig Out. A lot of satisfied customers.”
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Burke Marketing is a Spokane, Washington, based full-service advertising and marketing agency, specializing in community economic development, tourism promotion/marketing and large community event/live entertainment productions. Burke Marketing events are always family-oriented and normally are offered admission free, showcasing great food and incredible live entertainment. Burke Marketing events feature professional quality stage/sound/light production and feature local, regional and national recording artists. We are honored to say that in 2011 Pig Out in the Park, A Burke Event, was selected one of Washington State’s Top 10 Events. For more information, please contact: Bill Burke, Burke Marketing, 4720 S. Progress Court, Veradale, WA 99037, (509) 921-5579, (509) 879-0826, billme123@comcast.net.
Design Spike®, Inc. is a web design and development firm located in Spokane, Wash, specializing in creative, innovative, search-engine friendly websites that reflect the individuality of its clients. Design Spike is known for the development of web-based, custom-built, content management systems and for its leading edge in social media and networking. For more information, please contact Laura Bracken, Design Spike®, Inc., 522 W. First Ave., Spokane, WA 99201, (509) 252-5060, lbracken@designspike.com.
