Harry & David tastes benefit of social marketing

Specialty gift retailer Harry & David is taking a visual and social approach to a holiday promotion.



Harry & David is hosting an interactive social media campaign called #TastetheHolidays through Dec. 31. Consumers who sign up for the campaign online and follow Harry & David on Instagram and/or Twitter can win a variety of prizes that include gift cards and baskets.



To officially register for the promotion, customers post a photo of holiday flavors or foods on Instagram and/or Twitter and tag their post using hashtags #TasteTheHolidays and #Sweepstakes, and also mention Harry & David in the post.



Harry & David will share their favorite photos from the entries throughout the duration of the sweepstakes and when the sweepstakes ends will randomly select four winners for the grand prize of $1,000 gift cards from all entries received.



"The holidays are a time of the year that appeals to all of our senses, but especially to our taste buds," said Lisa Bankston, director of digital marketing at Harry & David. "Through the Harry & David #TasteTheHolidays social media sweepstakes, we wanted to blend together two of our consumers' favorite things – food and social media. We hope our customers are having as much fun with it as we are."



Harry & David is intelligently leveraging the increasing popular visual aspect of social media in this campaign. Consumers are more likely to post or look at images, rather than text, on social platforms. However, the retailer is missing the opportunity to reap even more engagement by allowing consumers to select their own favorites and then vote on the top four.



By taking this aspect of the contest out of the hands of social media users, Harry & David is only getting a taste of what could be a very satisfying promotional meal.