SALT LAKE CITY — Costa Vida sent a one-day-only offer for a free sweet pork Big Kahuna Burrito on Feb. 17 to its 80 fans on the social media site Twitter. Within hours, the virtual coupon had been forwarded using Twitter to more than 15,000 people, with more than an estimated 42,000 Costa Vida messages delivered that day online and through mobile phones.
Dubbed the Sweet Pork promotion, Costa Vida required customers to have the electronic coupon on their mobile phone, which drove more than 2,500 people to one of Costa Vida's 21 locations for a free sweet pork burrito.
The promotion was created as a kickoff to Costa Vida's online community program, designed to communicate with and reward existing members, as well as encourage new Costa Vida fans to sign-up. Mobile phone Twitter followers of Costa Vida jumped from 80 fans to more than 450 in one day.
The Sweet Pork Burrito promotion was designed to test the effectiveness of leveraging social media Web sites like Twitter and Facebook in brand building and in driving restaurant traffic. The promotion was so successful, Costa Vida had to send multiple Twitter updates with instructions for how new Costa Vida Fans could redeem the one-day coupon for a free sweet pork Big Kahuna Burrito.
