It’s estimated that as many as one million revelers gathered at Times Square in New York City to usher in the New Year. Nivea was once again the sponsor of this event. As one of that one million revelers, I wanted to comment on the impressive execution of Nivea’s effort.

Prior to New Year’s Eve, Nivea had set up photo booth at the American Eagle store. I didn’t realize how effective that could be, until I saw the line at the store of people waiting to get their photo taken! These pictures could then be sent to friends and family as a photo postcard of sort for people’s trip to NYC for New Year. That’s great viral marketing!

At Times Square itself, a very dedicated team of promoters blanketed the venue. There were blue balloons everywhere. Blue party hats, that came with a free sample and a BOGO coupon to a local drug store, were also passed out. As you may have saw on TV, it was a sea of blue. I know I wouldn’t forget that sea of blue any time soon. Nivea was also branded the countdown clock on the television broadcast on NBC. All together, I could only imagine the number of impression Nivea got. This hasn’t even taken into account all the photos that was taken by the revelers, and would now be share with friends and family all around the world. Those blue party hats went into the suitcase of many revelers and they would now be on display at homes around the globe.

But as with any great promotion, it was not a one time deal. Nivea is following up with a cause marketing campaign that encourages people to upload their kissing photo.

This was a great example of what a comprehensive marketing campaign could look like. Of course, I couldn’t truly evaluate how successful this campaign is because I don’t know how much it costed Nivea, and how much sale they got from it.

But, regardless, most businesses won’t have this kind of funding. However, something like this could easily be executed at a community level. But, take a lesson from Nivea and learn that sponsoring a major community event is only one element of an integrated marketing campaign. Find ways to involve your consumers before and after the event to make your message relevant and viral!