T.G.I. Fridays buys Facebook fans to get more fans?

“Hey. What do we do with Facebook?”

“Not sure, run a contest?”

*fistbump*

“YES! But what kind?”

“Well, um... we get people to be a fan of Woody on Facebook to show he’s Friday’s biggest fan. 500,000 by Sept. 30th. Then we offer them a Jack Daniels® Burger or a Jack Daniels® Chicken Sandwich if they hit that number.”

“But that’s a half a million burgers. What if they don’t reach 500,000? Isn’t that just trying to buy a lot of Facebook fans? Why not just use USocial. And why are you speaking with ® marks?”

“Client wants us to. You got that email, right? And I wouldn’t call it buying though. More like integrating our traditional marketing message with a social networking component. If we used a service to buy fans, we wouldn’t be able to bill for extra TV spots. As for the half-million, no prob. See, here’s the beauty of it, if we come up short, Jack Daniels and Fridays still get the exposure, PLUS we save $2.5 million in $5 giveaway costs.”

“Kinda like the Denny’s Super Bowl promotion.”

“Exactly. And, after, we bump up projections on how much the free PR would’ve cost.”

“Sweet!”

*fistbump*