Students with prolific MySpace™ and facebook™ social networks and who are currently attending high school within close proximity to one of the ice cream shop locations are encouraged to apply at www.iMixAmerica.com. Each of the brand’s nearly 1,400 stores may be matched with up to three high schools within their immediate area. Cold Stone will then select one contestant per high school from thousands of on-line applicants based on their answers to the contestant application questionnaire to represent their respective stores in the contest. Contestants will develop their own signature ice cream Creation™ that they will self-promote within their social network during each round of the competition. Based on the number of the number of votes their signature Creations receives, contestants will progress through the three competitive field-reducing brackets over seven months ending Dec. 31, 2008. Throughout the contest, ice cream lovers will vote for their favorite Creations on the contest’s website using a unique code that will be provided to them at the time of their purchase.
We are currently working in the first bracket: First Bracket («Like It») – August 11, 2008 through September 30, 2008 (All contestants to 125)
Generation Y, otherwise known as the MySpace generation, is typically a difficult demographic for marketers to reach through traditional advertising. Young adults in this group between the ages of 15 and 24 years old spend 242 minutes on average per month on MySpace alone. By creating a contest that is promoted through social networking sites, Cold Stone Creamery has the potential to tap into this tech-savvy generation that makes up a large portion of the brand’s customer and crew member population.
The iMix America winner will receive a prize package worth $30,000 including automotive, travel, electronics, and cellular products and services, which will be awarded in January 2009 at the Cold Stone Creamery headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz.
For more information about Cold Stone Creamery, visit the brand’s Web site at
www.coldstonecreamery.com. For more information about Kahala, visit the company’s Web site at www.kahalacorp.com.
