You Won’t Believe WHO the AJC is Donating Their Former Building To!

The company I work for (Cox Enterprises) is just a good company in my eyes.  And it keeps getting better – even today.  Cox is donating the former AJC building to the City of Atlanta.

From an employee of Cox – I just want to say how cool this is!  Read the story:

 

 

Cox Enterprises donates former AJC building to city

By Rachel Tobin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cox Enterprises is donating The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s former downtown headquarters to the city of Atlanta, the city and company will announce Tuesday.

The donation includes the 72 Marietta Street office building as well as the newspaper’s former printing press building behind it. Cox estimates the nearly 6-acre parcel downtown is worth about $50 million.

Mayor Kasim Reed called it an “ideal location” to consolidate the city’s office space in the wake of the sale of City Hall East. Reed plans to put police and fire training academies in the buildings, use the auditorium for public meetings, create a gallery space that formerly was at City Hall East, and use warehouse and parking space. He and the company are scheduled to make the announcement at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“We’re thrilled to accept this generous gift from Cox Enterprises,” the mayor said. “The former AJC property occupies a unique location in the heart of downtown Atlanta, near City Hall, Centennial Olympic Park, and the proposed multi-modal passenger terminal.”

The building will save the city money by reducing what it spends on leases, he said.

The city expects the first year’s cost in the AJC building to be about $1.5 million, about half what the city spends leasing offices and properties around Atlanta, said Sonji Jacobs Dade, Reed’s spokeswoman. Over time, the city intends to fill the more than 400,000 square feet.

The city will have some retro-fitting and cosmetic improvement costs before city workers start moving in the spring, she said.

Jim Kennedy, chairman of Cox Enterprises, said the donation represents a continuation of the company’s long relationship with the city. “Through our local media properties, the history of metro Atlanta and Cox Enterprises are inextricably linked,” Kennedy said in a statement. “For almost 150 years, our companies have covered the events that helped shape our city, from Reconstruction through the Civil Rights era and beyond, and we will continue to do so.”

The AJC had occupied the building since 1972. The donation includes the nine-story office building on Marietta and the four-story printing press building between Fairlie and Spring streets, plus warehouse space and surface parking. The site is near the proposed transit hub in downtown Atlanta.

Cox Enterprises never listed the building for sale. In 2009, when the newspaper announced plans to move, city representatives called to inquire about the future of the downtown offices. The call set discussions in motion, which ultimately led to the donation, said Dale Hughes, senior vice president for legal affairs and strategic investments.

“We looked at a broad landscape of possibilities, and we always came back to the city,” Hughes said. “They had a need, and we had a solution. It’s been a great partnership and a way for Cox to invest in the growth of the city.”

The newspaper consolidated its print production to a facility in Gwinnett County in 2008, ending the need to continue printing at its downtown plant. And with workforce reductions the newspaper was occupying less than 30 percent of the complex.

In April, the AJC moved to a six-story office building in Dunwoody, near Cox Enterprises headquarters. Other subsidiaries are also nearby, including cable division Cox Communications, auto auction division Manheim, and AutoTrader.com.

Cox is constructing two, nine-story office towers on its campus to house the technology department of Cox Communications. The construction by Cousins Properties is one of the largest building projects in metro Atlanta.

Cox Enterprises is one of the region’s largest private employers with 7,000 employees. Nationwide, the $15 billion company has 66,000 employees.

A Passion For Animals Is Good for Business

What are you passionate about?

Turn that passion into an opportunity to grow your business and to help a cause!

Price Shopper Supermarkets in NY did a fantastic job supporting animals in need and bonding relationships with their target.  Here’s their case study: Pet Projects

Retailers Are Forging Emotional Bonds with Pet Owners by Hosting Cause Marketing Programs That Benefit Animals in Need

Despite channel blurring at retail, you’d be hard-pressed to find a cat or dog on a grocery list. But given recent cause marketing efforts, the idea isn’t so far-fetched.

 

Just recently, Price Chopper Supermarkets, Schenectady, N.Y., turned four shoppers into pet owners at Pet Day, part of Price Chopper Pet Month of September.

In addition to the chance to adopt a dog or cat, shoppers and their pets enjoyed a day of parking lot festivities at Price Chopper’s Niskayuna, N.Y., store. Highlights included:

• A rabies vaccination clinic set up by the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society to administer shots for $10 — less than half the regular cost.
• Discussions about pet medication led by a Price Chopper pharmacist and pet care tips from a local trainer and groomer.
• Freebies like goody bags filled with samples; customized pet photo magnets; the chance to win free Purina dog or cat food for one year; and raffles for baskets filled with Price Chopper’s Best Friends pet foods and products from sponsors Nestlé Purina and Yöghund, maker of organic frozen yogurt for dogs.
• A pet food drive benefiting the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society.

Price Chopper got behind other philanthropic programs last month, like the donation of $1 to the ASPCA for every new Facebook fan Price Chopper received; the donation of a pet service dog in partnership with Milk-Bone; and the sponsorship of the Animal Protective Foundation’s Fireplug 500 Walk for Animals.

“We have an appreciation for the important role that pets play in our customers’ lives,” said Price Chopper spokeswoman Mona Golub. “We created pet month as a celebration of pets and pet ownership.”

Price Chopper is making pets a priority at a time when supermarkets work to sustain sales captured from the pet specialty channel.

Looking to save money and consolidate trips, more cash-strapped pet owners turned to their local grocer for pet food and supplies a year or so ago. Food retailers hope to keep them coming back.

“Even though the pet market is relatively recession-resistant, it was not completely immune to the economic downturn so shoppers changed brands and switched channels,” noted David Lummis, senior pet market analyst for market research publisher Packaged Facts.

Since then, Price Chopper has increased its category presence by expanding its selection of natural and organic pet foods, and adding flea, tick and heartworm medications from brands like Frontline Plus, K9 Advantix and Heartguard Plus. Its stores now more closely resemble one-stop pet shops.

 

“The consumer is able get pet medications in the same place that they buy food and other supplies,” noted Golub.

That’s not where the similarities end. The retailer is taking another page from the book of pet specialty stores when it demonstrates for animal lovers that it cares about pets too.

“It’s a very good strategy for supermarkets since specialty already has the edge of ‘we care about pets, we’re all about pets,’” noted Lummis.

Cause marketing programs have become a popular way to form emotional bonds with pet owners since they’re relatively inexpensive.

“There is a lot of bang for the buck,” Lummis said.

Take for instance Bi-Lo’s Paws “Feed the Love” food drive, which makes available bags of private-label food for dogs or cats that can be purchased for $5 and placed in bins for donation to local food shelters.

Bi-Lo’s goal is to help reduce the number of animals being abandoned or sent to shelters due to an inability to cover food costs, so beneficiaries are the four-legged members of families who have a hard time keeping food on the table and in their pet’s bowl.

“When families suffer hardship there is a direct effect, not only to the quality of food the family pet receives, but the quantity,” said Darren Johnson, category manager for pet and baby at Bi-Lo, Mauldin, S.C.

 

All of Bi-Lo’s 200-plus supermarkets feature an endcap with the bags and signage explaining the program.

As an added bonus, shoppers who purchase and donate a $5 bag at one of Bi-Lo’s 177 stores participating in its fuelperks! program earn 5 cents off per gallon in fuelperks! Rewards. Normally, customers would have to spend $50 at Bi-Lo to earn that. Shoppers in stores that don’t participate in rewards program receive a coupon for $1 off their next purchase.

During the first drive, held for four weeks last February, 8,200 bags were donated.

“That was huge,” said Johnson.

So big, in fact, that the chain decided to host the promotion again last month.

After two weeks, it was on track to meet the number of bags sold in February, Johnson said.

The benefits for Bi-Lo are substantial since each $5 bag contains multiple store-brand products. Paws dry cat food, 3.5 pounds, and two cans of Paws wet cat food, 13.2 ounces, are included in the cat bag, while Paws dry dog food, 4.4 pounds, and three cans of Paws wet dog food, 13.2 ounces, can be found in the dog bag.

Though the drives are temporary, greater corporate-brand penetration and sales lift are longer lasting.

“The Paws brand continues to grow, even when the ‘Feed the Love’ food drive isn’t going on,” Johnson said.

Future iterations of the campaign will likely include digital coupons and social media vehicles like Facebook and Twitter to help reach a larger audience. Bi-Lo is even considering a customer/pet look-alike contest.

“We’re trying to take it to the next level and create excitement,” Johnson said.

 

To help amplify its messaging during Pet Month, Price Chopper also tried something new: the promise of a $1 donation to the ASPCA for every new Facebook fan it received.

More than 3,000 new fans joined its following for a total of over 36,000.

“That is substantially more than we’ve gained during previous months,” noted Golub. “We have a very active Facebook fan base.”

Price Chopper’s Facebook followers are so engaged that exclusive coupons offered via the medium have redemption rates that are significantly higher than average, according to Golub. During Pet Month, Facebook offers included free Sergeant Skip’s Flea and Tick Shampoo and Pup-Peroni for $1.

The chain’s dedicated Facebook team kept fans engaged by asking them to do things like submit their favorite pet stories. Over 100 shoppers responded.

“We use the feedback we receive on Facebook to improve the shopping experience,” said Golub.

Although a popular component of cause marketing campaigns, Facebook and Twitter are just the tip of the iceberg, noted Sarah Kerkian, insights supervisor at Cone, a Boston-based consultancy.

When it comes to reaching audiences with a robust set of information, marketers are exploring the use of quick response (QR) codes and geo-location technologies that are compatible with smart phones.

“We’re seeing companies as well as non-profits try to reach consumers when they’re making a purchase and giving them the opportunity to hear more about a cause,” Kerkian said.

Videos of animals in need could go a long way toward prompting sales of items tied to donations that will benefit them.

“There is such a deep sense of compassion where animals are concerned. In fact, some data has shown that people are more likely to help a neglected puppy than starving children,” Kerkian said.

 

(Source: Supermarket News, 10/04/10)

Firehouse Subs Uses Radio; Recieves Immediate And Ongoing Dividends

Can you tell me who started Firehouse Subs?

Even though I’ve had my share of subs from Firehouse Subs – it’s the radio commercials that I’m most familiar with.  They stand out because the two founders (2 brothers) voice their radio commercials and have told their story over time in their radio messages.   And by the way – they do make wonderful subs!

So – this story from the NY Times doesn’t surprise me at all.

What Firehouse Subs Learned

Radio Ad Campaign Pays Immediate — and Ongoing –Dividends

A recent case study published by The New York Times chronicled the advertising woes of Firehouse Subs, a fast-food chain that experienced sinking sales in the depths of the recession.

The article recounted how the chain stopped collecting its 2-percent-of-sales fee for local advertising and gave the money back to franchisees in the hope that they would do their own marketing. But the local effort fizzled and sales continued to drop, prompting Firehouse to change course and hire a new ad agency to develop a series of Radio spots.

The resulting $8 million campaign required franchisees to dig deeper. Not only did Firehouse decide to resume collecting the 2 percent fee, but it asked its franchisees to double it and pay 4 percent for local advertising. Two-thirds of the chain’s franchisees agreed and the Radio spots started in their markets in September 2009.

The result?

“It turned us around on a dime,” said Don Fox, Firehouse’s chief executive. “We immediately went to positive sales for the entire system.”

In the weeks after the campaign, the comparable sales of Firehouse Subs went from negative 5.8 percent the previous year to positive 2.4 percent. In markets where the chain broadcast the Radio ads, sales jumped by more than 10 percent.

Better yet, Firehouse held on to the gains after the Radio campaign ended. According to Mr. Fox, year-to-date comp sales are up 5 percent for the system. In markets that employed the Radio advertising, comp sales have jumped from negative 6 percent a year ago to positive 11 percent — a 17-point swing.

For Mr. Fox, the case study is a lesson in being true to the company’s identity. “You cannot abandon your core strength as a brand,” Mr. Fox said. “Stay the course with your strengths and don’t compromise.”

In a brief interview, Mr. Fox addressed some of the concerns raised by Times readers who commented on the case study:

Q. Are you happy with how things turned out?

Mr. Fox: It actually exceeded our expectations. Of course, nothing is ever certain when you embark on a decision like this. We knew a lot was riding on this in the sales results we hoped to achieve but also in our relationship with franchisees.

Q. Are you getting a return on investment that makes the advertising campaign worthwhile for the corporation and franchisees?

Mr. Fox: Yes, absolutely. The basic math with the return on investment is with the additional 2 percent investment, they need to raise sales at least 6 percentage points. Our return, in the Radio markets in particular, has been well above that. In Atlanta for example, they’re running 18 percent positive over last year. When you combine that with their negative trend a year ago, the net increase is well above 20 percent. Those numbers speak for themselves.

Q. Some commenters suggested you waited too long to make this move. Do you wish you had acted sooner?

Mr. Fox: Hindsight is always 20-20. It was a difficult decision at the time because you’re looking at the external factors of the economy and some of those need some time to manifest themselves. We had a very good relationship with our prior agency so we wanted to give them an opportunity to work through some solutions for us. It would be difficult to look back on it and imagine acting on it sooner with less information. And I think it would have been more difficult to get the change implemented with our franchisees because we wouldn’t have had enough of a track record at that point. We needed to give them enough time to take a shot at it and reach the conclusion on their own that they couldn’t effectively move the needle.

Q. Some people have suggested that putting local advertising in the hands of franchisees was doomed to failure because they don’t have the experience or resources to do local marketing on their own.

Mr. Fox: I wouldn’t agree it’s doomed to failure. We’re a brand that started with no advertising. We had a history of building our sales through a combination of operations excellence and local store marketing. That’s all we had available to us, and we increased sales year after year. So we know we can do it.

If we moved the needle sufficiently with local store marketing, I would have been prepared to say to the franchise community we’ll keep doing this indefinitely.

An important part of this process was the fact that the executive team of the company spent so much time talking to and listening to the franchisees. We spent almost that entire year side by side with them doing the local store marketing, not only to help them do it more effectively but also so we could see firsthand just how it was being executed and the results. When we made the decision to pull it back, it wasn’t a decision made solely sitting here in Jacksonville, but it was borne from our experience of being out in the field with the operators.

There was some commentary from folks wondering about the support we provided during that period and whether it was too loose. We managed that very closely, making sure all the materials used by franchises were approved by us. We were very conscious of the brand image. They had a slate of tactics to pull from. It was a little more controlled than some readers would have assumed.

Q. Is there still a place for local store marketing?

Mr. Fox: Absolutely. Our franchisees know that local store marketing is still an embedded part of our business strategy. Our promotion of catering relies almost entirely on the franchisees individual efforts to go out and market business to business. Also, local store marketing is very important in terms of site awareness; for example, using sign wavers on the street. It’s not unusual for a sign waver alone to generate sales increases of 10 to 15 percent. We’re in a battle for share of stomach and the average person doesn’t have a clue where they’re going to eat lunch on any given day until they’re within minutes of making a decision. When you’re competing against different restaurant concepts with tens and hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on advertising, it takes a guerrilla tactic like that just to break through the clutter and make traffic turn in to see you.

Q. How will this experience shape future strategy?

Mr. Fox: Our main thought right now is we need to continue hammering away on the same messages we’ve been putting out in the marketplace for the last year. Our mission at marketing the brand really boils down to two things: Making people aware of us and enticing trial. We know when we get somebody into the restaurant and they have a chance to experience it, we’re going to keep them as customers. Fortunately, with this advertisement campaign we’ve been able to get that trial without coupons or discounting. So much credit goes to the Zimmerman Agency for this. We’re continuing Radio and continuing to refresh the spots.

(Source: The New York Times, 09/29/10)

Do Not Separate Mobile Stratergy From Online Stratergy

Your marketing strategy is your marketing strategy – whatever “vehicle” you choose.  i.e. The Gap Black Skinny Jean campaign from 2006.  Remember the ads – with Audrey Hepburn?  The used the same strategy in their TV Ads, Print, Direct Mail, and everywhere else!

Of course, now the advertising landscape has changed.  The game has changed; consumers have much more power now.  Social marketing & mobile marketing are now in play.  But the one thing that hasn’t changed – is your marketing strategy is your marketing strategy.

This article from Mobile Commerce Daily is a reminder of keeping your marketing strategy focused with tradition media, digital, mobile and social … Enjoy!

GRAPEVINE, TX – Retailers should not formulate a separate strategy for mobile but rather focus on reaching consumers wherever they want to interact with their brand across all channels, according to a keynote address at the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org conference.

How consumers buy continues to evolve, and while most retailers still struggle to understand how traditional media, digital marketing, mobile commerce and social media will work together in tandem for best results, there are many and surprising digital opportunities unfolding around shopping and buying.  Consumers have never been so powerful, and they have never been so connected.

“Many retailers ask ‘What is our mobile strategy versus what is our online strategy?’ and that’s bad,” said Mitch Joel, Montreal-based president of Twist Image and author of “Six Pixels of Separation.” “They have to rethink what it is to be a connected consumer.

Read the rest of the story here

Role of Traditional Media In Social Media Campaigns

If you build it … they will come.

Not in the case of social media.

Here’s an article that talks about the power of using traditional media to promote a Facebook or Twitter account.

I don’t know about you – but I don’t have time to search in Facebook or Twitter for all the brands and promotions that I DON’T know I need/want … yet.  But, If I heard about it in a traditional ad – radio, tv, newspaper – then the chances of me getting closer to a brand has just increased!

Facebook may have enough users to be called the third largest country in the world, but a very small portion of their citizens are visiting your client’s little corner of the territory.  Your advertisers need a social media travel agent to entice the citizens of Facebook and Twitter and Foursquare (and all those other continents within the social media world) to visit their pages and become fans and followers (and maybe buy a souvenir or two.)

According to Facebook’s own statistics, they have 500 million users (about 30% of those users are within the United States.)  Their average user has 130 friends and is connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events.

Yes, there are a lot of Facebook members. But there are a finite number of openings within their individual social and business circles.  Just because a business creates a page on Facebook or an account on Twitter doesn’t mean the members of those sites will all line up to become a fan or follower (or perhaps even become aware of its existence!)

Businesses creating these social media presences on their own and in their free time are also hobbled in growth by their own social media connections.  If their marketing person creates a Facebook page and invites all of their friends to become fans, that’s only (according to Facebook stats) 130 people they’ll be inviting — and of course not all of those invited will choose to become fans.

Full Article.

Perdue Employs Local Branded Entertainment- MediaPost

Perdue Farms, a national brand taking it local by using relative content with a focus on a local tie-in with breast cancer-fighting organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure is “very happy” with campaign results!

This is a great example of how we can localize messages … This is a terrific idea!

Perdue Employs Local Branded Entertainment

By Karlene Lukovitz

A new Perdue Farms effort is demonstrating that branded entertainment — most often associated with national scale — can be employed on a local level to connect cost-effectively with targeted audiences and support retail partners.

Perdue’s first foray into local branded entertainment, created and implemented with New York-headquartered advertising agency RJ Palmer, focused on a local tie-in with one of the brand’s key, ongoing causes, breast cancer-fighting organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure. (Perdue has contributed more than $275,000 to the national organization over the past two years.)

The brand worked with Boston CBS TV affiliate WBZ to create a video segment for local half-hour lifestyle show “What’s In Store,” which aired on Channel 38 in prime time on Sept. 8 and also following the late news on WBZ on Sept. 11.

The segment, designed to help publicize the annual Susan G. Komen Massachusetts Race for The Cure on Sept. 25 in Boston, as well as build awareness and usage for Perdue Perfect Portions, features volunteers from the national organization’s state affiliate talking about why they volunteer and how Perfect Portions help to simplify their busy lives.

The segment also shows them using the product and regional ingredients like maple syrup and cranberries to prepare a recipe that was created specifically for the Boston area by Perdue executive chef Chris Moyer (grilled orange glazed chicken breast topped with a cranberry relish).

These women — who have families and jobs and still manage to volunteer — “personify” the busy moms for whom the boneless, individually packaged Perfect Portions product was created, points out Perdue Senior Marketing Manager Bobby Joe Walters.

The recipe area on Perdue’s site has seen a notable bump in use — particularly among the 25- to-54-year-old women who comprise the product’s core target audience/user base — since the segment aired on TV and the video, along with a link into the special recipe housed on Perdue’s site, was posted on Sept. 8 on the “What’s in Store” area of WBZ’s site, according to Frances Page, VP, director of entertainment media for RJ Palmer.

In addition, Perdue’s sales team has had enthusiastic response to the effort from retailers in the region, who appreciate the media support and targeted outreach to local consumers, she says.

Purdue, whose retail products are sold in the Eastern half of the U.S., is “very happy” with results thus far, confirms RJ Palmer CEO Peter Knobloch, who adds that local branded entertainment concepts are very likely to be employed in other Perdue markets going forward, with elements such as social media likely to be added to the mix along the way.

Page — whose professional background includes media planning/buying and branded entertainment production/development for clients including American Express, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Campbell Soup, Johnson & Johnson and Pizza Hut — sees growing opportunities in regional branded entertainment for many types of products and services.

Local TV affiliates’ now-sophisticated production capabilities enable high-quality executions, and these marketing programs allow a brand to speak “very directly, and in a very relevant way” to local audiences, as well as to provide targeted support for retail partners in a region, she points out.

Like national executions, local branded entertainment efforts demand meticulous coordination, the executives note. For example, in addition to working closely with the national Komen organization and the state affiliate, Perdue and Palmer recruited an extra volunteer mom for their segment taping, knowing that unanticipated events might crop up in these busy women’s lives. That forethought paid off: Despite two last-minute child-care and medical emergency situations, the taping went off as planned, reports Page.

Four Ways to Increase Qualified Leads

Most business owners I work with are always looking for qualified leads and if you ask any sales department – they’ll shout, “We need more qualified leads!”

In order to get qualified leads today, you have to use a different strategy than you did in past years.

Why?

The qualified leads you’re looking for have new habits – and you need to know as much as you can about their habits – so you can find them and snatch them up before your competitor does!

Here’s a fact:

• Did you know that Yahoo reaches 73% of all online users in the
  ORLANDO-DAYTONA BCH-MELBRN, FL  DMA according to comScore

I have the ability to find your core target’s habits, and then with all the different mediums I have create  a plan together for your business to increase your qualified leads!

This story below – Four Ways to Increase Qualified Leads is exactly the things I talk to my clients about.  It’s about quality not quantity.

And please read number 2 – it’s a major pet peeve of mine.  If you ask someone to come to our site because of a compelling offer or content – make sure when I go there I LAND on that page.  This can make it or break for me.  I don’t have time or desire to search on your site for it – Make it easy for me!

On to the article from Media Post …

2 Ad Students Make A Pilgrimage to Dream Job

The Pilgrimage to Crispin Porter

Have you heard about it?

It’s two ad students who have a dream.

Rather than just sending out a resume … they are doing it their way by using their creativity & passion.

I love it.

Most college graduates think because they send out tons of resumes and have a degree they are “owed” a job.  It doesn’t work this way.

I love the idea of what these two ad guys are doing … They want something and are using their talents to show us how much they want it … all while using the hottest tools in the digital space so we can interact with them.

Santiago and Victor – I wish you the best in your adventures  … let your creative juices flow on your way to land your dream job.

Outback, Red Lobster and Starbucks Offer “Experiences” … What the Local Restaurant Owner Can Do to Compete for Business.

What’s in it for me?

Is a question you should be asking yourself when you’re putting together a marketing plan … What’s in it for my customer?

The days of a free b-day dessert at a restaurant isn’t keeping your customer’s attention anymore.  Now, larger chain restaurants will offer customers an experience for their repeat business.

Can local restaurant owners compete with a chance to fly to Australia to see Tim McGraw perform from Outback Steakhouse?  Or trips to New England or the Florida Keys brought to you by Red Lobster?

I say YES!  And here’s how you do it … where the national chains can’t compete …

Offer “experiences” in your local community.

• Register to sit a VIP area at the largest Central Florida Fireworks Display where your restaurant caters dinner
• Become a location drop off for our Teacher Supply Drive
• And how’s your website?  Send your customers there to read about your wonderful chef and the chance to have him create a dinner for you and your friends that’s private and a menu that’s selected by you

These are just a few ideas that I hope help … as the large national chains start to offer “experiences” you can do the same, but with your own local flair.

Here’s the story from the Wall St. Journal and what to be looking for from the national restaurants.

Scoop It Up with Samples Using Social Marketing

Wondering how to use social marketing?  Here’s a success story from Ben & Jerry’s.

Sweet Treats for a Tweet

Jul 23, 2010 8:57 AM, Patricia Odell for PROMO

From her desk in midtown Manhattan, a woman tweets out a message to Ben & Jerry’s: Can they have the “Scoop Truck” stop by her office so she and her and her friends can get a free sample of some of its new flavors?

Sure thing. A short while later, the truck pulls up in front of the building, and the woman and her coworkers step out for some free ice cream.

The truck was in New York this June and July on a sampling tour that used Twitter as the only vehicle to let people know where the truck was and to ask consumers to direct the vehicle to its next destination. The tour handle @benjerrytruck had built up about 3,000 followers by mid-July.

The original plan was to leave one weekday open for the spontaneous stops, but by the end of the seven-week tour about 50% of the stops were those requested by consumers, said Jay Curley, integrated marketing manager for Ben & Jerry’s in the U.S.

Tweeting built impulsiveness into the campaign. During the World Cup game between the U.S. and Algeria, a tweet went out saying that Ben & Jerry’s would drive the truck directly to the first person to tweet back a picture of him/herself wearing a U.S. soccer jersey.

“It’s pretty impactful,” Curley said.

So impactful that a measurable sales uptick was recorded in the New York market, along with strong media impressions and social media stats that were impressive. The outgoing tweets got back between five and 100 responses.

So an original one-market tour is now in Boston, this time using Facebook as the main messaging center. The truck is making specific stops at community events, parks, offices and beaches, but it’s also letting its 1.3 million Facebook Fans know to request their own destinations.

Twitter still plays a role in the Boston promotion, as does Flickr—where Ben & Jerry’s posts photos of all the happy ice cream eaters and the truck, and then tweets out for followers and fans to come take a look.

“We have had regional sampling programs running over the years, but this is the first time we have really deeply used social media to promote and run one,” Curley says. ”Because it was uncharted territory, we did it just with Twitter in New York to simplify the process, and then went on to open it up to more social media platforms.”

So will Boston be the last stop?

“We’ll see,” Curely said.