The Situation
Einstein Bros. Bagels wanted to go beyond just having a Facebook presence—the company needed to come up with a creative way to:

• Significantly grow its fan base
• Encourage retail visits and product purchase and
• Establish a long-term communication channel to new and existing customers.

The Solution
Einstein Bros. Bagels partnered with social marketing company Context Optional to create a special coupon for Einstein Bros. Bagels' fans on a custom-designed branded Facebook page tab. The company promoted its free bagel and schmear offer via targeted Facebook adverting and configured its page to display promotional information to non-fans first, increasing new user engagement and ‘fanning.’ To further improve conversion with new visitors and turn them into fans, the company required that become fans of the page prior to displaying the offer. All visitors were able to share the promotion with friends, widening the social net.

The Results
The custom application, combined with the appealing offer and an advertising push, generated impressive levels of fan growth. The company quickly gained over 400,000 fans, including more than 250,000 in a single day. The program was so successful that Einstein Bros. Bagels is engaging its audience with custom fan-gated offers for the remainder of the year.

Case Study Category: Generate Buzz or Work with Social Networks
Client: Einstein Bros. Bagels
Agency: Context Optional
Budget: N/A
Date of Campaign: January 25, 2010 –