Despite being a local, family-owned business, Fabric Depot was often confused for a larger chain. An important part of the brand’s social strategy was to make it clear the brand was an active member of the Portland community. While watching the news the morning after “2018 PDX Snowpocalypse,” I couldn’t help but notice someone using an expensive quilting ruler to scrape the ice and snow off his car windows.
When you see perfect content out in the wild you have to capitalize on it! I quickly newsjacked the relevant content from the video to our page, creating a man-hunt giveaway to replace the surely damaged ruler. Sharing the news story helped remind followers that FD is 100% Portland, snowed-in right along with them.
A deep sense of camaraderie unfolded in the comments as people began tagging friends and sharing stories of loved ones mistreating rulers of their own, boosting engagement, and adding levity to a stressful time for the Portland populace. The post saw reach and engagement 4x higher than average across both Instagram and Facebook. Unfortunately, the quilting bandit was never apprehended.