chicago auto show 09
Car Nuts Grasp Social Media
The Chicago Auto Show drove into high gear this past Friday at McCormick Place, the largest auto show in North America. Before the first person crossed the threshold to lay their eyes on all that gleaming sheet metal, there were over 2,000 fans on Facebook conversing about their eager anticipation of America’s favorite love affair, the automobile (and derivatives). The truly devoted fan who didn’t attend the “First Look for Charity” black tie affair on Thursday could follow the evening’s events via Twitter. And if that still isn’t enough, the Chicago Auto Show web site provided web cam access onto the show floor to witness all the glitz and glamour.
The Chicago Auto and Truck Association is the engine behind all this activity and I have to say, has done a great job keeping their status transparent and making the Facebook page and conversations quite fan-atic. Jennifer Ferm, PR guru for CATA, is juggling her time between keeping the web site up-to-date for the media and consumer, keeping the enthusiasm high on Facebook, and tweeting her walk-through on the auto show floor.
Jen says the reason for the social media activity “is to reach out to a different audience than we have targeted in past years. This group was created in October 2008, and already has more than 2,000 members.” There are about 70 fans on Twitter. Perhaps these are low numbers in comparison to the 1 million plus that attend the show each year, but they are the active ambassadors she can count on to virally spread any tidbit tossed their way. Jen has engaged her friends and followers with contests like a Pepsi can promotion “to create a contest for members to post a picture of their Pepsi can with the CAS discount so they could receive two free tickets.” She also had a photo caption contest as a means to seed tickets into the marketplace prior to opening day.
As a car nut myself it’s been fun following the lead-up to the show, but now its time to go.
