Byline: Paul Beebe
Sep. 21--Globe-trotting septuagenarians Clarence and Margaret Waterfall are the victors in Delta Air Line's travel contest, winning a million frequent flyer miles and a slew of redeemable points from Hilton Hotels.
The Ogden couple got a telephone call from Delta early Tuesday, telling them the video of their visit to Dubai in the Persian Gulf two weeks ago amassed more votes from viewers than one shot for their remaining rival, the Awesomest Brothers team of Joel and Stephen Levinson.
"It was really awesome and such a surprise. The last video of the Awesomest Brothers was so superb and well-done that we thought, well, we don't stand a chance," Clarence Waterfall said.
The Waterfalls will fly to Atlanta on Monday for a party Delta is throwing for all five teams that competed in the carrier's SiteSeer Challenge this summer.
The teams' first destination was Budapest, Hungary. Following a round of voting for their videos posted on Delta's Web site, one team was eliminated and the remaining rivals flew to their next destination, Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a second round.
Subsequent trips to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Dubai eliminated more teams, until the Waterfalls were the only contestants remaining.
"It's just astounding. I'm still giggling," Clarence Waterfall said.
The Waterfalls will give some of their points to their three sons and their wives. Sometime next year, the entire family will take a trip together, he said.
The contest was Delta's first big step into online marketing, where advertisers use the Internet to spread the word about a product or service instead of traditional modes like newspapers or television. In this case, Delta was pushing the message that it has shifted heavily into international flying since filing for bankruptcy two years ago. The airline emerged from bankruptcy last April.
"In the end, between Round 1 and Round 4 voting, the number of votes almost doubled. So that just shows the power of viral marketing over time," said Mark Krolick, Delta's managing director of marketing.
The final was more than 100,000 votes, a number that Krolick said made him "extremely happy," since Delta had no idea how many people would take the time to view the videos online and cast ballots.
By the end of the contest, 14 videos were made. Krolick said Delta may show them onboard its aircraft by the end of this year. It is evaluating whether to make them available as podcasts at www.delta.com/siteseer.
Now that the contest is over, the Waterfalls, both 76, plan to relax by going on three cruises between Oct. 10 and Nov. 18.
"It was a 50-50 chance, and somehow we came out on top," Margaret Waterfall said.
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