#IWantOne

I work in marketing. I am a sucker for a pretty package, a cheesy tagline or a commercial that makes me feel. I get what they are doing and I love it.

This week my colleague (Heyyy Elizabeth) shared how she tweeted to the cyber universe about her new fitness efforts. @FedEx tweeted back and asked to send something to keep her motivated followed by #IWantOne. Long story short, she ended up getting a box of awesome things.

I was giddy. I was in love with the campaign and wanted to be part of the magic. So I grabbed my phone and threw out a tweet.

A few hours later @FedEx wrote me back. Three days later I came home from work to a big box.

It felt like Christmas but better. It seems like now days we give specific lists and you have a good idea what’s hiding under the paper. This was a mystery box from a stranger. Amazing!

Inside I found:
A note from FedEx
Two crutch accessories
– black bag that hooks to my crutch
– cup holder so I can walk and haul beverages
Soft throw blanket
Pebble Watch

I totally felt teary. A stranger purchased these things for me. They took the time to know me. My profile mentions loving gadgets. My latest tweet whines about the cold.

Yes, it was someone’s job (an awesome one I might add) and I know it seems too good to be true.

This campaign appears pretty zipped up, there’s little press talk, just a community of people who have received amazing gifts filling social communities with chatter. This “chatter” is priceless.

A younger generation now has an emotional connection to a company and happily follows them on Twitter. They told their story to everyone under the sun. And then they turned around and shared the story with people they know. The lucky box recipients of #IWantOne now follow each other, creating a community of FedEx-ers sharing their good fortune. When the day comes when one of us needs to ship something – odds are very high this community will drive to FedEx over UPS.

I like to think there is a group of marketing folks at FedEx giggling. Feeling like Santa. Running to their boss with off-the-charts analytics. I salute you. I am very grateful for the thoughtful gift. I’m sending you back a box full of hugs (sans the fur balls). I’m sold.

For any of my fellow crutchers, I’ll test out the bag and cup holder in days to come. The watch is already on my arm. I have happily spent the night testing every watchface app out there, researching cute skins and begging my husband to text me. It was an incredible way to end a wild work week and the frigid month of February!

Go on Twitter and check it out. You could be next!