Zipcar wraps up first 'The Ultimate Ziptrip' social media contest

Zipcar, Inc. recently wrapped up its first 'The Ultimate Ziptrip' social media contest, awarding Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Jason and Elizabeth Hart an all-expenses paid trip to San Francisco. The Hart couple entered the Facebook contest with almost 5,000
other Zipcar fans, and after a month of voting, they were declared the winners of a trip to their chosen Zipcar city.

Reaching out to over 80,000 Facebook fans, Zipcar encouraged their members to tell them in 750 characters or fewer what they would do on an all-expenses paid trip to one of the 16 North American cities where Zipcar operates. The contest garnered responses from nearly 5,000 fans, which Zipcar narrowed down to 50 semi-finalists. Those semi-finalists were tasked with creating videos to support their cause. Three finalist videos were chosen and posted to the Zipcar Facebook page, and after nearly 1,000 votes, the Hart couple from Cambridge, Massachusetts was determined the winner of the contest, winning by just a single vote.

"I didn't even know Jason had entered the contest until we were semi-finalists and he suddenly announced that we'd have to make a video over the weekend," said Elizabeth Hart. "We were thrilled to make the finals and completely shocked when we found ourselves in the lead. The most insane part was the last 30 minutes when all of a sudden we were in a dead heat race! Everyone we know is now claiming credit for the winning vote, but when you win by a single vote, every vote is the winning one."

Through the duration of the contest, Zipcar's 'The Ultimate Ziptrip' Facebook tab was viewed over 53,000 times and the contest was shared by over 2,500 people. As a result of the initiative, Zipcar acquired an additional 9,200 Facebook 'likes' and continued to expand its social media network.

"We're thrilled with the results of our first Ultimate Ziptrip contest and were very pleased with the high levels of member interaction it provided. We know that our members are tech-savvy, heavily involved in social media, and love to travel, and we thought this contest would be a great way to engage with them," said Rob Weisberg, Zipcar's Chief Marketing Officer. "Our members went above and beyond in the videos they created, and really showed their passion and enthusiasm for the Zipcar brand. The Harts have been Zipsters since 2006 and we're excited to award them a trip to zip around San Francisco."

Posted in: Cab/Hire,Contest,Facebook,Global Social Media,International,San Francisco,The Ultimate Ziptrip,Zipcar