Ace Your Face

Ace Hardware is going viral this holiday season. With more than 4,600 Ace stores across the globe, the hardware company recently launched “Ace Your Face,” a viral campaign that allows consumers to send holiday greetings to family and friends...oh and coworkers too.

The online tool lets you upload a photo of you and your loved ones--be it family members or pets or whatever/whoever else you hold dear--to create customized holiday scenes. The eight settings feature kitschy group shots with matching snowman sweaters, winter sports adventures and Santa visits. And, it's amazingly simple to do...upload, zoom, rotate, voila! “Ace Your Face” was designed to be easily shared via e-mail, social media sites and blog links--thus the viral spread.

The marketing and advertising promotions for the campaign include direct e-mails to corporate employees and to members of Ace’s customer loyalty program; banner ads on social media sites, such as Facebook, and sites like AOL and Yahoo!; and paid search initiatives. To date, the “Ace Your Face” site has attracted nearly 60,000 visitors. More than 12,000 of those visitors created cards and sent them on to an average of two people each.

I have to admit, I like the catchy, rhyming name, but I wonder how much holiday cards will inspire people to shop at Ace Hardware? Perhaps just getting their name out there and being seen will be enough to remind shoppers that they have options on where to buy Dad that new toolbox/chainsaw/super-manly gift. Do you think viral campaigns work? Let us know!

--Jessie Bove

Photo: I Aced my dog's face.