If you live in Vancouver you probably noticed a surge in buff, international men and women roaming its fair streets – that is, of course, if you haven’t been hiding out under a nicely air-conditioned rock. The 2009 World Police & Fire Games, the world’s second largest sporting event, took the city by storm. Athletes from over 15 different countries including Sri Lanka, Greece, Iceland, South Africa, Philippines, Russia, and Trinidad & Tobago strutted their stuff right here on Vancouver’s home turf – an incredible feat in our recuperating global economy. This year, the Games posted a record number of participants with 10,577 athletes gracing over 60 events held at 40 plus venues across the Lower Mainland. Why the record-breaking figures? Some savvy Facebook marketing by Soya may have something to do with it.  Soya Marketing helped the 2009 World Police and Fire Games bring its brand alive online.

Need a lively example of how social media can build  real-life relationships? Look no further than the 2009 World Police and Fire Games Facebook page created in February which boasts over 4,150 fans joining in on the discussion from virtually every angle. The page take its aesthetic cues from the WPFG website with interactive content neatly boxed into different sections for quick and easy access. Fans can ask each other questions, comment and offer opinions, share likes and dislikes, and exchange rich content like photographs and video – all interactively and in real-time. Another interesting feature of Facebook marketing is that sharing in the WPFG experience is not limited to those physically in Vancouver; people around the world have joined in the fun and offered their support, contributing to the unfolding dialogue without missing a beat.

The significance of creating a Facebook community for the WPFG is that it translates directly into increased visibility, accessibility and connection.

For the WPFG, its first-ever foray into social media helped turn this into its biggest, most successful games ever.

Our client from Park Royal Shopping Centre, Cindy Papa, recently moved to gorgeous Kelowna. Prior to her move, Cindy led Park Royal’s marketing department for many years. Under her direction Park Royal was one of the first shopping centre’s in Canada to start using social media.

Here’s an interview with Cindy about the Park Royal strategy.

Q: Why did you start using social media as part of your marketing strategy at Park Royal?
A: We started to use social media to reach our back-to-school demographic. This is a difficult demographic to reach with traditional marketing. We are not moving away from traditional marketing – but we are adding social media into the mix. We want to see how the two work together.
Q: What would you say to someone who is hesitating to try social media marketing?
A: You can experiment with a whole new way to reach customers. We have not been working in social media for very long but the results we have seen to date are good. What you’re accomplishing is setting up dialogue and interactive communication. This is an excellent compliment to traditional media.

Q: Why did you choose Soya for your social media strategy?
A: Soya came recommended by our creative director. Upon meeting with Soya, I found them to be informed, respectful of our perspective and our position with our customers.

Q: What did you value most about working with Soya?
A: Very quick turnaround. They delivered on what they said they would and they were flexible to work with.

About Soya Marketing

Soya Marketing is a new kind of PR agency. Soya helps companies boost their brands on Google using social media story telling. Clients include: 2009 World Police & Fire Games, Blast Radius (a member of the Wunderman network), SmartDesign Group and the Dalai Lama Center for Peace & Education.

Check it out. Soya is featured as a social media marketing leader in the October 14-20 issue of Business in Vancouver magazine. Here’s the story.