FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
A DIY Company Takes a DIY Approach to Marketing and Wins Global Facebook Award
Reno, Nev. - July 01, 2016 - Late last month Facebook announced the winners of their 5th annual Facebook Awards which recognize excellence in marketing and advertising. Only 29 companies in the world were given this honor out of thousands of entries, and Jimmy Beans Wool of Reno, Nev. was one of only two small businesses to receive an award.
"We are absolutely floored," said Laura Zander, CEO and owner of Jimmy Beans Wool. "We still can't believe that we were able to compete with the likes of Subaru, Verizon and Forever 21 especially considering we don't employ and ad agency. All of our marketing is done in house."
Jimmy Beans Wool has already been profiled by Facebook as an advertising success story, but the company won their award for the video produced for their #iknitforeddie campaign. This spring, Jimmy Beans Wool partnered with Fox Searchlight Pictures to promote Eddie the Eagle, a film about the first British ski jumper to compete in the Winter Olympics in which knitting was a major theme and symbol of love. Jimmy Beans Wool collaborated with other companies and people in the yarn industry and posted a star-studded video that reached almost 3 million people and increased sales by 20 percent. "We couldn't be happier," Zander said. "For one cent per view, millions of targeted, potential customers viewed our video...And the best part? The conversions covered the majority of the cost of the campaign. Plus, we're getting closer to becoming a household name."
According to Zander this is the first time the yarn industry has partnered with a major motion picture, and she hopes it won't be the last time either. "In classic DIY style, our industry took A DIY approach to marketing a DIY campaign and won an award for it," Zander said. "By sticking together and supporting each other, it shows that our industry can compete with the best of them."
About Jimmy Beans Wool: Laura Zander aka "Jimmy" launched Jimmy Beans Wool with her husband Doug in Truckee, Calif. in 2002. The former software engineers from the San Francisco Bay Area sold coffee alongside yarn and knitting supplies in a tiny brick and mortar store (hence the Beans in the company name). The coffee side of the business faded, but the name stuck. In 2004, the company moved to Reno and currently has a 20,000 sq. ft. warehouse, 45 employees and an impressive online presence. Jimmy Beans Wool has been named one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the US by Inc. Magazine for more than 5 years running and currently does more than 8 million dollars in sales annually. Zander has been featured in Forbes and Octane Magazine and written several books. She has been invited to the White House, given a TED talk, taught celebrities how to knit at the Emmys and been invited to speak at Facebook. Jimmy Beans Wool strives to inspire their customers, vendors and employees to care, connect and create so that the industry, the craft and the business can continue to flourish and grow. For more information, visit JimmyBeansWool.com.
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