How Gondwana Collection Namibia Involved over 30,000 Users in a Photo Contest

June 15, 2014 by Thomas von Ahn

At just under 10,000 fans, Gondwana Collection Namibia, a Namibian tourism company, contacted us in May and asked us to create a like-gated Facebook photo contest that required entrants to like five partner Facebook pages before entering. The result was Ultimate Road Trip Photo Competition, involving more than 30,000 Facebook users.

The prize for each winner included a round trip flight sponsored by Air Namibia, a 14-day car hire sponsored by Caprivi Car Hire and Savanna Car Hire and 14-day accommodations at Gondwana Collection Namibia.

More than 700 pictures were entered and 33,342 users from all over the world voted for their favorite. In doing so, they shared the competition with their Facebook friends (an estimated 10 million people), making this a sensational marketing campaign for GCN.

Hitradio Namibia’s Wilfried Hähner, one of the partners in the Ultimate Road Trip Competition, was floored by the campaign results. “Incredible, I never expected such an overwhelming success.”

Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer | Viral Solutions LLC

Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100’s of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: photo contest, thomas von ahn, Viral Solutions LLC

About Thomas von Ahn

With more than 30 years of experience in B2B sales across various industries, Thomas has unique insight into both the offline and online sales sphere. It was during his time in the trenches that Thomas noticed a recurring theme: Though business owners are knowledgeable about their craft or trade, they often struggle to market and sell to their prospects. This realization is what prompted Thomas and his now business partner, Christine, to bring Viral Solutions to life. Since starting the company, Thomas has been able to assist countless business owners in developing a solid marketing plan based upon sound marketing strategy, then assigning the marketing tactics to a team of talented employees, and, finally, watching those actions unfold—his true passion.

Though Viral Solutions is on Thomas’ mind 24/7, he does occasionally take a break to cheer on the Green Bay Packers and enjoy his adopted home of Wisconsin. Much of his family also works at Viral Solutions, and this closeness with family and employees is the cornerstone of the Viral Solutions culture.