New Cities Foundation

Integrated Nontech: Runner-up

Campaign: DeusM social media campaign

New Cities Foundation is a nonprofit Swiss institution dedicated to improving living conditions in urban centers of emerging nations. Hoping to drive registrations for its summit last May, the organization enlisted UBM DeusM to field a grassroots campaign on major blogs and social networks. A dedicated editor and social media agent posted questions and polls on Facebook; uploaded documents to SlideShare and Scribd; and worked to build the foundation's Twitter following. Urban-themed blogs and communities such as Sustainable Cities Collective, Untapped Cities and Urbanophile were targeted for discussions and posts.

With a small staff working across multiple channels, the monthlong campaign drove a 20% increase in conference registrations. Facebook “likes” tripled. Twitter mentions rose almost fivefold, and content on SlideShare and Scribd was viewed more than 20,000 times. Targeted Facebook advertising and conventional media releases supported the effort; the formal conference release was picked up by 247 outlets.