Saturday, December 13, 2008

Kmart enlists bloggers for PR

Sears / Kmart are really starting to impress me with their social media savviness. A sponsored social networking campaign enlisting the help of six well-known bloggers is yielding big buzz for Kmart and encouraging consumers to give the retailer another look during the critical holiday season. Kmart gave each of six influential bloggers a $500 gift certificate to go on a shopping spree in the store and then blog about their shopping experiences in any way they saw fit (no censorship).

The campaign appears to have been a success. One post by Chris Brogan was typical. Under a header stating "This post is a sponsored post on behalf of Kmart via Izea. The opinions are mine," Brogan started by admitting that he hadn't "stepped foot" in Kmart since it was "merged with Sears" (acquired by Sears Holdings). He then described the fun he and his kids had browsing and picking out their items. Within the post, Brogan noted that he was surprised to see that Kmart had "upped their name brand game" and now carries high-end brands like Dyson and Craftsman. He also noted being pleasantly surprised at the savings on purchased items--not just through special holiday sales, but through the chain's everyday pricing on some items.

Sears / Kmart also have an interesting social networking community on Sk-you.com.

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