Two Gather Engagement Marketing Case Studies

At Gather, we create engagement marketing campaigns that integrate brands into the conversations that take place every day on our site.  Here are a couple of Engagement Marketing examples - programs we’ve created that give our partners their own branded space, create unique and exciting opportunities for our members, and integrate the brands into the fabric of Gather.

First Response
URL: http://tellsyoufirst.gather.com/


Gather helped First Response create a Moms2B group to serve as a community for women trying to get pregnant and for those who are already pregnant.  The community became a place for women to share their stories, get expert health advice and find support from other women with similar experieces.  The group was branded with a First Response header, a group icon and 100% share of voice of all advertising that appeared within the group.  To drive engagement and spark discussion, Gather put together a comprehensive content plan for the group:

• Gather recruited an influential mom from the community, Erin Kane, host of The Manic Mommies, to act as group host and publish weekly articles about her experiences being pregnant with her two boys
• Gather recruited doctors from Harvard Medical School to publish weekly medical content about prenatal care.  The doctors also responded to member questions and became active members of the community
• Gather invited authors Judith Schuler, M.S. and Dr. Glade B. Curtis of Your Pregnancy Week by Week to host a live chats within First Response’s community
• Gather Invited moms to be and their friends to host virtual baby showers within the group
• Gather gave away copies of a set of Harvard Medical School books focused on healthy nutrition for pregnant mothers and babies.  The giveaway article created in-depth conversations about healthy eating for children and during pregnancy

To promote the group and all the activities, Gather included a comprehensive marketing plan:

• Marketing modules on the Gather home page and members’ My Gather pages promoted the group programs and special events
• Co-branded ad units ran ROS to promote the program and drive people to the community
• All professional and Gather-created content was published to other parenting, family, and health groups across Gather.  Footers promoting the Moms2B group were included to drive people back to the community
• Activities were promoted in Gather’s daily “Today” article, highlighting key activities on the site
• An email was sent to the Moms2B group each time a shower was hosted
• Content was featured on the Gather homepage
• To support it’s own efforts, First Response put a module on the homepage of firstresponse.com linking to Gather

First Response and Gather created a popular and trusted community where women who were already or trying to get pregnant could share or receive valuable information from experts and peers.  First Response first launched the campaign for three months in 2007 and then renewed for an additional three months in 2008.

Sundance Channel's The Green
URL: http://thegreen.gather.com/


For the past two seasons, Sundance Channel has had a community on Gather to promote The Green, television’s first regularly-scheduled programming destination dedicated entirely to the environment.  TheGreen.gather.com became a place for Gather members to discuss the environment and sustainability and to engage in discussions related to individual episodes of the show. The group was branded with a header that promoted the show and when ito tune-in, and Sundance Channel received 100% share of voice of all advertising that appeared within the group.  A key goal of the campaign was to drive tune-in for the show.  In order to do this we ran the following programs and activities within the community:

• Gather regularly posted discussion articles to The Green, which focused on topics that would be featured on Big Ideas for a Small Planet that week.  Members participated in meaningful discussions around these topics, sharing how sustainability practices affected their daily lives
• On the day of the show, Gather hosted live chats with environmentalists that would be featured on The Green that night.  Live chat guests included Simran Sethi, journalist; Tom Szaky, TerraCycle Inc; David Novack, Director/Writer of Burning the Future: Coal in America; Adam Gardner, guitarist of the rock band Guster.  Chats were promoted in emails to "The Green" group members and in weekly Gather newsletters. Chats were also featured on the Gather homepage
• Gather provided members with DVD screeners of Big Ideas for a Small Planet.  Members who watched the DVD’s posted reviews of the show
• Gather recruited an influential member to attend the NYC premiere for Big Ideas for a Small Planet and the Sundance documentary Garbage Warrior.  The member correspondent posted several videos, photos, and articles to the group, discussing the events
• Gather provided "green" gifts – organic clothing, recycled bags, and more – courtesy of Sundance Channel, to members who participated within the group
• All content was cross-published to other relevant Gather communities including those related to sustainabiliy, news and entertainment
• Members were able to share their own relevant content within The Green community, making the brand a go-to source for all topics related to the environment and sustainability

Sundance Channel originally signed on with Gather to promote the first half of the series' first season in 2007 but quickly extended their program to cover the entire season.  They also renewed with Gather in 2008 to promote Season 2.