I didn’t want a surprise party. No black balloons, streamers and oh-so-funny over-the-hill jabs. Instead, I wanted to experience my 40th birthday through the eyes of his friends and family…and wanted to use the power of social media to make it happen.

THE CONCEPT WAS SIMPLE:
On 11- 29 – 2013, people were asked to take a picture of what they saw at any one point in their day. Then, he asked that they upload the photo to their social media outlet of their choosing (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, blog, etc.) and include the hashtag #mayernik40. Photos could also be sent directly to me via email or text. These captured moments became a social media snapshot of Joe’s birthday celebrated with friends and family—and a handful of complete strangers.

A page on the Brandtatorship website was created to collect the submissions.  Visitors could view, tweet, share, comment, and see what others had posted throughout the day in real time.

THE RESULTS:
Visitors spent an average of over 5 minutes on the page. Site traffic on the brandtatorship.com more that tripled, spanning multiple countries and 51 cities across 17 states. Over 200 photos were submitted from all over the world, each picture telling a unique story. Far better than any present purchased on Black Friday.

After my birthday, all the photos were collected to create a commemorative poster that is now hanging in his home and our agency. The poster is two sided: the front features every photo submitted, and the back has the corresponding names of those that submitted and which social media outlet they used.

A digital version of the poster is also online.  Users can click on individual photos for a closer look or cycle through the gallery. They can see who submitted photos and how. Users can also share these photos through social media. Site stats outline trends from the submitted photos and provide additional insight into the poster.