You may not regularly run into celebrities when you visit your local Cumberland Farms retail location, but look a little closer because no matter which store you frequent, there is a rock star in your midst. This overnight sensation is known as Chill Zone – and it now has more than 82,000 fans.
Of course, the Chill Zone isn’t really an “overnight” sensation. It has been growing in popularity with customers since it was first rolled out several years ago – and why not? It’s the only place in the world that lets you mix up any drink you can think of, frozen or fountain, for just 79 cents any size. That’s
certainly worthy of stardom. In reality, Chill Zone beverages have way more than 82,000 fans. But the fans we’re talking about here are Facebook fans, who are responsible for the growing online buzz about all of the variety, value and fun the Chill Zone has to offer.
Last summer, 25 dedicated volunteer fans were made Chill Zone ambassadors, who helped to drive and create the content on Chill Zone’s Facebook fan page. That combined with weekly contests for a year’s worth of free Chill Zone beverages, picture contests and a Halloween costume contest helped drive the Facebook fan base through the roof.
“The campaign was so successful that Kbuzz, the advertising company that helped Cumberland Farms create, develop and manage the page was nominated for an advertising award and came in second-runner up among hundreds of other submissions,” said Dispensed Beverages Category Manager Gregory Lorance. “The rate our fan base grew as well as the amount of interaction that we see from our Facebook fans makes Chill Zone a standout in the Facebook community.”
The goal is to keep the growing momentum going – with the continuation of character collector cups and other merchandise items, like T-Shirts, which will soon be available – and to increase the fan base to 100,000 by the end of the year.
