AT&T and Toms Shoes tapped mobile social network Gowalla to celebrate the brand?s one millionth pair shoe drop.

AT&T?s objective for the two-pronged consumer campaign was to spread awareness among existing consumers and mobilize a new generation in the spirit of giving. Toms Shoes helped support the premise by giving a pair of new shoes to a child in need with every footwear purchase. 

?AT&T aimed to engage passionate mobile users who are early adopters of the latest technology, like Gowalla,? said Amy Engallina, senior marketing manager for AT&T corporate sponsorships at AT&T, Dallas.

?These users are constantly at the forefront of technology, and with this program, we were able to reward them with some great prizes while they?re taking part in celebrating this great initiative,? he said.

AT&T Sole Styler
Supporters were invited to design their own virtual pair of Toms Shoes at http://www.att.net/toms during the AT&T Sole Styler promotion Aug. 9-29.

Melissa Gillespie of Hoffman Estates, IL, was one of thousands to participate in this unique program, and she and a guest traveled to Argentina this September to participate in the millionth pair shoe drop.

Gowalla Passport Holders were encouraged to check in to various locations, including those that fell within the technology and apparel category listings, for a chance to win one of the many prizes that were being given away by AT&T.

These prizes included virtual and real Toms Shoes, AT&T smartphones and AT&T netbooks. 

Minara Seunsom from Addison, TX, won the chance to take part in the very special mission of helping Toms Shoes place its one millionth pair.

Social media marketing
Throughout the campaign, AT&T wanted to engage fans even more, and took to social media platforms to do so.

AT&T posted tips, reminders and even instructional videos featuring the Toms? CEO Blake Mycoskie, on the AT&T Facebook and Twitter pages to drive more fans in on the action.

?Toms is fortunate to engage a large audience ranging in age and demographics, all passionate about helping children around the world,? said Doug Piwinski, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Toms Shoes, Los Angeles.

?Through AT&T and Gowalla, our community is able to further engage and share the Toms story with more people.?

The program relied on word-of-mouth and the viral nature of social media, with no paid media supporting it.

Through brand engagement with a vocal, loyal and enthusiastic community, the program generated impressive results.

Results
Throughout the program with Gowalla, AT&T gave away 1,000 pairs of Toms Shoes, 250 smartphones from AT&T, five netbooks, and of course, the grand prize trip for our winner and her guest to accompany the team on the Toms Shoes One Millionth Pair shoe drop.

More than 1,000 people received one of the many coveted prizes. More than 5,500 people were entered to win the grand prize trip to Argentina for the Toms Shoes One Millionth Pair Shoe Drop.

About 25 percent of the people who were entered to win the grand prize and who won an item chose to share the news via Facebook and Twitter.

Additionally, more than 2,000 people checked into AT&T stores during the two-week period of the promotion.

More than 950 people who ?liked? posts related to the Gowalla, Toms Shoes and AT&T program on the AT&T and Toms Shoes Facebook pages through the program.

Also, more than 522,000 users reached via more than 700 tweets following their check-ins, according to TweetReach.com, along with numerous retweets.

Lastly, more than 1,400 views of the instructional video featuring Toms Shoes? Blake Mycoskie.

?Gowalla?s partnership with Toms Shoes and AT&T is one that not only provides a unique promotional and branding opportunity, but allows the Gowalla community to partake in a truly inspiring cause,? said a Gowalla spokeswoman.

Dan Butcher contributed reporting for this story.

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Commerce Daily
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