Harris Teeter & iJustine in Charlotte, NC – The Story

June 23rd, 2010

Harris Teeter

As some of you may know by now, Harris Teeter (headquartered in Charlotte) has hired me on contract to assist them in getting going with social media. At this point, we’re just meeting together periodically to do the typical stuff, like building a social media policy and plan.

To their credit, the main marketing guys at Harris Teeter are wanting to get more involved in social media and new media in general. But like many companies, they are a bit hesitant and want to make sure they “do it right”. That’s normal. They have plans to get involved in Twitter, Facebook, etc soon. (Stay tuned for more on that.)

iJustine

For those of you that are not familiar with iJustine, you can check out her site here or learn more about her on Wikipedia under Justine Ezarik. But to say that she is a web celebrity is an understatement. Her primary YouTube channel has over 600K subscribers and over 111 MILLION total views.

The iJustine & Harris Teeter History

As Justine stated in her most recent video:

“ …every year, my family and I, we go on vacation to North Carolina and there’s this grocery store called Harris Teeter. And since last year, I started doing music videos in the store.”

Apparently, this year’s video is not her favorite as per her recent tweet. Yet, within 24 hours, it has gotten almost 90K views. (Then again, some of her others have gotten over 500K within a few days.) Also, last year’s video about Harris Teeter got around 275K.

iJustine’s Thoughts on Harris Teeter

Obviously, iJustine likes Harris Teeter. (At least she likes making fun videos there.) Last year’s video ended with a screen that stated in part…

I don’t know why I love this store but I do..

No this isn’t an ad
No they did NOT pay me to make this!!!

This video is in no way
affiliated with Harris Teeter at all.

Harris Teeter’s Thoughts on iJustine

NOTE: I am in no way a spokesman for Harris Teeter. Nor, am I authorized to speak in behalf of the company.

Yet, I can confirm her comments above that she is not associated with them in any way.

Also, I know that the top marketing people in Harris Teeter have enjoyed watching the videos. In fact, they find them rather amusing. Obviously, they are happy to get the extra attention to their company and the Harris Teeter brand.

I also know that they have tried to reach out to her in the past. They would still greatly appreciate an opportunity to talk with her to thank her.

What’s next?

Personally, I think it would be great for Harris Teeter to offer to sponsor her to come visit Harris Teeter HQ and/or a local Charlotte event of some sort.

(Hint: They seem willing.)

Are you reading this?

So here’s my message to iJustine:

If you are reading this, please let me know. Catch me on Twitter (DM) or any other way. I’d be honored to connect you with the good people at Harris Teeter HQ so they can express their thanks.

Charlotte is a great city. We’d love to have you visit us.

And here’s my message to Charlotte:

If you’d like to have iJustine come visit, please mention it to her on Twitter (@iJustine). Maybe we’ll catch her attention.

And for all you social media gurus:

I’d love to get some ideas from you. How would you recommend Harris Teeter reach out to iJustine and show their appreciation for the extra attention she is bringing to their 192 stores in the southeast?

Drop your ideas in the comments below. If we use your ideas, I’ll be sure to get you the credit you deserve.

http://www.HippoIM.com Corey Creed

Let’s hear it folks. Who’s got some good ideas out there?
http://socialfresh.com Jason Keath

Nice idea Corey. I remember seeing Justine’s Harris Teeter video. Funny stuff. Always great when a brand gets genuine, organic attention for doing things well.

Ideas for iJustine and Harris Teeter:
- Have a local give her a guided tour of Harris Teeter, explain Cheerwine, Carolina BBQ etc.
- Get her to work behind the counter? Could be fun. Or at least be a greeter and give out their sugar cookies. Back in the day HT use to give out their free sugar cookies from the bakery section, not a stand. And you would get to talk to a real person who greeted you and gave you a cookie. She would rock at that.
- Ideally though, I would just let her go wild in the store. She knows better than any of us what people like to watch.
Karen

Free never hurts. Offer her or her family a free shopping spree or certificate or if she’s not motivated by money, then offer a free certificate as the grand prize for a “contest” she does on one of her sites.
http://www.perspectiveim.com/ Ty Downing

To piggy back off Jason (if she comes):
* Live stream/Ustream out of HT’s Facebook her experience as a cashier, tours, cookies etc. (She loves video)

Also:
* Live stream/Ustream all day marathon out of HT’s Facebook inviting her to come visit?

Or: If she comes, have her check-in on Foursqaure at a certain location until she becomes Mayor. hehehe…JK..

C’mon iJustine, visit Charlotte!

Ty Downinig
http://www.TheJungleMap.com Corey Creed

Thanks for your comments. Several others have contacted me via e-mail and we’ve had some really interesting exchanges. It was nice to get personalized messages from some of the best minds in Charlotte, including Brandon Uttley, Lisa Hoffmann, Jason Keath & Scott Hepburn. Interestingly, Justine’s video has been online for about 48 hours now and it has about 200K views already. Once again, we appreciate the extra unexpected attention to my client.

As an update, I have gotten no word from her. I probably won’t. I hope she at least gets our expression of appreciation, even if she decides not to reach out to us. Oh well. We tried.
Mickie Ezarik

Hi Corey
I am Justine’s real mom aka imom! Her grandmother just sent this to me, and I just wanted to thank you and also apologize that Jus has not responded to you yet. She really does intend to, and everyone in the family has been after her to do so. She is busy, but she also works on a delay that sometimes takes a year or longer to kick in! She is difficult to explain, and was a challenge to raise! We all love the store and I do all the shopping there when we are on vacation. I do not allow Jus to stay with me, because it does get embarrassing! After receiving the letter from C.Corbeil,she said she did call the work number and left a message, but did not hear back. Hopefully, she will contact you today – probably on twitter! Feel free to contact me at the email above. Thanks again!

http://www.CoreyCreed.com Corey Creed

I hope you enjoy your summer vacation this year as well.

http://www.TheJungleMap.com Corey Creed

Hello iMom! Thank you very much for your comment. We realize that Justine is busy and hope to hear back from her on her schedule. No problem.
Thanks also for your positive comments about the store. It’s a good company to be working with, for sure. I know they appreciate your business.
By the way, you sound like a wonderful mother. The way your comment is worded above sounds exactly the way my mom would write. You can assure the family that we realize that “Jus” is busy and will be happy to hear from her whenever she can. Thanks again.
http://www.twitter.com/ScottHepburn Scott Hepburn

Thanks for reaching out to me for feedback, Corey.

I think the note from Justine’s mom (Hi mom!) reveals the tricky nature of these types of publicity opportunities. While a celebrity endorsement can bring a lot of eyeballs, celebs are a bit of an x-factor — in terms of what you’ll get, but also in terms of their busy schedules.

From a customer engagement standpoint, how would/could Harris Teeter follow this publicity with on-going interaction with customers? Drawing customers into the conversation is iJustine’s strength — will HT have other “personalities” (a.k.a., employees) ready to interact with customers when they get there?

Good post and discussion as always, Corey.
http://www.TheJungleMap.com Corey Creed

Thanks Scott. You raise some good questions. Good things to think about.
Chris Harrington

CC – Perfect time for me to get by your office. I’ve been thinking about Harris Teeter and what they should be doing for a couple of years now. Too much to post so I’ll catch you IRL. Congrats on the new business and nice post.
http://www.TheJungleMap.com Corey Creed

Thanks Chris. I’ve been meaning to get with you as well. I will drop you an email.
Helen Grayce

Corey Creed,
Hi, this is iJustine’s Gramma here and I am thinking that our family is coming to the area for the 4th of July Parade and hoping to see the Harris Teeter float, because Justine and her two sisters, Breanne and Jenna to make YouTube videos and be participants in the parade. Any thoughts how to collaborate HT with them, I haven’t mentioned anything to the girls, but it would be great to put something together…. just a thought. Hope things are going good for you and I will drop a few tweets and visit your Facebook page. Not much time but who knows what will happen.
We could go viral, yay!

Grayce tweet as gargirl

http://www.CoreyCreed.com Corey Creed

I am sure the good folks at HT would love to hear from you.

Feel free to email me directly at Corey@HippoIM.com and I can connect you with them.

Helen Grayce

Hi there, I have forwarded your response to her and await a reply if I get one. LOL

grayce in PA

http://www.CoreyCreed.com Corey Creed

Glad to hear from you, Grayce. I hope you have a wonderful vacation with the family. My wife and I just got back from Hilton Head Island last week. Drop me an email if you are down that way. We have some incredible restaurants we enjoy. Feel free to have Justine or anyone email me if they’d like to connect somehow. It’s my pleasure. Of course, I know you all are busy and enjoying vacation, so no pressure.

Helen Grayce Ezarik

Hi Corey, Glad you enjoyed your vacation in Hilton Head, we did get there one year and visited the Lighthouse and a beautiful statue of a woman pouring water from a carafe onto herself, got some pics somewhere….
The parade does not seem to be happening, but feel sure the music video will take place at HT, we are all excited to see that come to fruition, we have a good time crabbing and the girls kayak in the bay and watch the finished videos. That area is awesome, each year I post a past vacation home that we have stayed at. I need to do that tonight. We will be at the parade as it is right out our front walk.
Respectfully,
Grayce in PA
Grayce Ezarik

http://www.CoreyCreed.com Corey Creed

Sounds wonderful. Enjoy your time with the family. I’m sure you will. Please let Justine know that we always enjoy her work. She’s one smart lady with a strong following.

Office 2007 License

zb I admire you and thank you for trying to wake people up with all the great information you are putting out there.