People love their James Hardie Siding. But, home siding isn’t usually a trending topic on Facebook, Twitter or typical conversation. So, The Buddy Group and our promotions Buddies Vertical Marketing Network teamed up to help James Hardie build a little conversational buzz via the “Why I Love My Hardie Home” Video Contest.

The contest invited James Hardie customers to submit a YouTube video completing the phrase “I love my Hardie home because…” for a chance to win three months mortgage paid by James Hardie! The contest lived on the TBG designed microsite MyHardieHome.com and was publicized via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, online advertising, press releases and blog outreach.

Dozens of entries came in. But our favorites were from: quirky Bill, Cathy, Mike and the octuplets; Bob, who wears a fantastic t-shirt; Mccallfilms incredibly touching story; and, of course, the winner, Karla!

We are proud to say the promotion was a success on many fronts. Entrants shared their videos with thousands via social media and email. James Hardie employees gained better insights into their customers and how their actions help those customers. Not to mention, the contest resulted in press mentions that spread the word about James Hardie even further.

Best of all was seeing the photos from and hearing the story of Karla receiving her check for three months mortgage! We see successful analytics all the time, but there’s nothing like seeing the smile on the winner’s face!

So, thank you and congrats, Karla!

Buddy Squirrel Buddy Squirrel is The Buddy Group's man-about-town. He's a little skittish, so he is hard to spot. But, come to a TBG Happy Hour and you might just spot him sipping on some Acorn Ale.

This post is the author's opinion and not necessarily that of The Buddy Group™ (unless it's about ice cream - they never disagree about that).