Challenge:

John Deere launched "Project Can Do". The primary goal of John Deere Project “CAN DO” is to raise awareness for the essential role farmers and ranchers play in producing safe, healthy and abundant food for a growing world population.

Method:

John Deere will construct a model combine using canned food. The cans (about 300,000) will be donated to a local food bank.

Consumers are encouraged to participate on Facebook using the “design a can app” which allows users to create a virtual can with their own custom label. Fans can also watch live video feeds of the build, view photos, learn about the farmer, get to know the combine, share posts and tweet about all of it.

Impact:

In the past 7 days, the John Deere Facebook page has acquire over 29K new fans. (Pagedata)

If John Deere were my client:

"Can Do" is a creative idea with mass appeal. The added layer of "doing good" is noteworthy trend that seems to be effective in gaining fans, if not converting customers.

The brand is doing a lot of things right to further engage consumers. I especially like the video content and the "live feed" of the construction of the combine. By taking a holistic approach, they are building further opportunities for exposure. For example, the brand plans to enter the model combine into the Guinness Book of World Records. This provides an opportunity for PR and media coverage, especially in the local community.

While the Facebook page does a good job encouraging fans to share with friends on Facebook and Twitter, they could have furthered their exposure by using a hashtag like #projectcando to help make tweets easier to find and follow as well as leverage trending topics.

I'd also consider a plan to continue the relationship with your new fans once the promotion is over. How many of the 680,000+ Facebook fans are potential John Deere customers? How will you reach them and what will the messaging be? A visit to the website reveals that there is no newsletter sign up. I would recommend creating one. Email is a powerful way to stay in touch with an engaged audience. Segmentation can help support regional dealerships and sales.

Learn More:

John Deere Uses Social Media to Feed the Hungry  via @marketingpilgrm