This is smart.  How to handpick potential evangelists.

Saturn knows they have good cars.  They know that if they get them in front of the right people, people will love them.  Saturn was looking to engage people on a more tactile level with the cars.  In addition they wanted to promote its product integration partnership with a new TV show that targets Saturn’s core audience.   So Saturn decided to hold over a thousand of the parties using third party vendor with a lareg, Houseparty.com who have a large opt-in list and the resources to orchestrate several house parties simultaneously.

Houseparty.com provides an opportunity for their members to host parties easily with perks: they can get free stuff, sneak peaks, best offers, etc. and members can apply to the parties they are interested in.   The catch?  Hosts are chosen based on their responses to online questions.

Saturn screened over 10,000 host applicants and chose hosts on the basis of social influence (such as what their social and online behavior was, whether they blogged and if so, how often, etc.,) as well as choosing people from an identified demographic.

Saturn tied the house parties to the premier of the TV show as well as providing party packs that included unique gifts, discounts and brand themed party games as an enticement to the guests.  In addition they loaned out about 350 Saturn vehicles to use during the party.

Saturn issued pre and post surveys to the groups, asked hosts and guests to double opt-in to received further communication, and monitored blog responses.

Some of the results as reported by Marketing Sherpa:

“We were able to reach an entirely new audience for Saturn, and expose them not only to our vehicles, but to the overall Saturn experience,” says Lisa Gilpin, Saturn Advertising and Media Integration Manager.

Five Saturn vehicles were purchased as a direct result of the Saturn house parties. About 233 people went to a Saturn dealership to test-drive a vehicle.

- The house parties inspired 2,911 blog posts and 3,303 photo uploads.

- 78% or 11,258 hosts and guests opted-in for future communication from Saturn.

- Total reach of the house parties, including blog readers, was 814,050 people.

40% of the house parties lasted three hours, which translates to three hours of one-on-one immersion in the brand.

Other stats:

- 89% of party hosts said their opinion of Saturn was favorable in the post-party survey, while only 47% rated it as favorable pre-party.

- 81% of party guests said their overall opinion of Saturn was either “better” or “much better” as a result of the party experience.

- Guests’ familiarity with Saturn increased by 38% as a result of the house parties.

- Guests’ likelihood to test-drive a Saturn increased by 25%

“Our goal was to have this group become advocates for our brand, and based on both quantitative and qualitative measures, we absolutely accomplished that goal,” Gilpin says. “We would definitely consider another party.”