Swiss village’s Facebook page has gone ‘Gaga’

THIS is a rather old PR example but one I certainly think is worth drawing attention to.

Last year, the small village of Obermutten — situated in the mountains, miles away from the metropolises such as Zurich and Geneva — had a population of just 78 residents.  So in a bid to raise their profile, they turned to facebook.

In a campaign that captured that viral potential that social media offers, the villagers promised that every person who liked the Obermutten facebook page would have their photograph added to the noticeboard in the centre of the village.

The success the campaign achieved took everyone by surprise, with over 18,000 people liking the page, making it more popular than other European hot spots such as Helsinki and Florence. The Grabunden tourist board also reported experiencing a 250 per cent increase in web traffic.

Above: Click the above (or here) to see a YouTube video covering the stunt

The village noticeboard soon became full, so residents had to start helping out and posting their pictures elsewhere to keep their promise.  All questions posed through facebook were answered and the creators of the campaign claim that at its height, four of out five people were interacting with it — a figure they claim was higher than the social influence of Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber.

Global coverage followed and those behind the idea claim that just 10,000 Swiss Francs were turned into the media equivalent of more than 2.4m.

Let’s just hope the solitary hotel coped…

 

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