Coinstar likes Facebook for customer contest

Coinstar is closing in on its one billionth transaction and using the occasion as the basis for a contest to drive engagement on Facebook.

The premise of the contest involves guessing the location of the city where the one billionth transaction will occur for the opportunity to win $1,000. Those interesting interested in submitting a guess have until June 13 to do so but must first like Coinstar on Facebook to access the contest details. Coinstar said it will be able to determine the location of the one billionth transaction because its 20,300 coin-counting machines are electronically connected to a central network.

In the company’s 23 year history, Coinstar said it has processed roughly 650 trillion coins weighing 4.6 billion pounds and valued at $37 billion. In addition, Coinstar said since its inception a charitable program called “Coins that Count,” has raised more than $72 million to support organizations including The American Red Cross, The Ronald McDonald House, The Humane Society of the United States and others. The Facebook one billionth contest also includes a charitable component. Coinstar plans to donate $10,000 to Seattle-based Childhaven, a nonprofit focused on child abuse and neglect.

"We have spent more than two decades helping people transform what they have into what they want," said Jim Gaherity, president of Coinstar. "We're proud to celebrate this milestone by supporting the mission of Childhaven, and are looking forward to continuing to help people, coin by coin."