Winners Analyzed How Online Influencers Impact Brand Awareness in Swisspers® Sleep Naked Social Media Campaign
Gainesville, Fla., – “Swisspers® Sleep Naked Social Media Campaign: A Case Study Exploring the Role of Online Influencers,” has won the Institute for Public Relations’ inaugural award for its 2014 Social Media Case Study competition based on the quality of evidence, usefulness and value to the practice of public relations. Michele Ewing, Associate Professor at Kent State University, Shawn Engler, Marketing Manager for U.S. Cotton, and Heidi Moderelli-Frank, Vice President and social media strategist at Marcus Thomas, will receive a cash prize totaling $1,750. Their study analyzed how online influencers can increase brand awareness and motivate an audience to purchase an unknown brand in the Swisspers® Sleep Naked Campaign.
The award-winning paper sponsored by the Institute for Public Relations Social Science for Social Media Research Center, analyzed how the company raised awareness among women to “Sleep Naked” by removing their makeup before bed using the Swisspers® cotton rounds, and how this movement sparked an online trend about an unfamiliar brand in a category of undifferentiated products. Swisspers® enlisted celebrities, including the Kardashian sisters and the 2013 “Bachelorette” to post their own photos demonstrating make-up removal techniques with the cotton rounds. The topic began trending on Twitter.
“This award recognizes the value of PR professors and professionals collaborating to gain insight about use of social media with engaging audiences in conversations about a brand,” said Michele Ewing, Associate Professor at Kent State University. “The more academic and professional communities can work together to research social media strategies in PR practices, the better we can prepare students and serve clients.”
The full case study is set for publication in the next issue of the Research Journal of IPR to be released in the next few weeks.
About IPR:
The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) is an independent foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations™. We focus on research that matters to the practice, providing timely insights and applied intelligence that professionals can put to immediate use.
The IPR Social Science of Social Media Research Center (SSSM) is a comprehensive, interactive database of information about the impact of social media on public relations. Delving deep into the science of human behavior and social media use, it features research on best practices, measurement and benchmarking.
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Contact:
Sarah Jackson
352-392-0280
associate@instituteforpr.org
