Ernest Hemingway is one of history’s greatest writers and adventurers. Unfortunately, the Hemingway Foundation, a museum dedicated to celebrating Hemingway’s life and work, had a problem: most of its visitors are over 50. Needing a way to increase awareness among young people who don’t know and don’t care about Hemingway, we appealed to them in a way that they would be sure to notice: by offering to help make their boring, everyday Facebook status updates more interesting.

We created the Hemingway Status Hijacker, a Facebook app that gave users the ability to have their posts taken over by Hemingway. Once people opted in, they received a bevy of Hemingway status updates, iconic photos, and check-ins on his or her wall, all written as if they were 'hanging out' with Hemingway on one of his adventures. From fighting bulls professionally with Ernest Hemingway to sailing the high seas of Cuba on Ernest Hemingway’s boat, each post enabled the user, and anyone who saw the post, to learn more about history’s greatest renaissance man.

Additionally, the Hemingway Foundation page was tagged in every post, making it easy to learn more about the Foundation and plan a visit.

But in order to truly be successful in our efforts to reach young people, a great idea wasn't enough. Because there was a budget of exactly $0 for the campaign, a truly grassroots, pass-along PR push would be needed in order for this idea to resonate with young people—otherwise, they’d never even see it.

After the initial one-day push, the app will continue to be live for the foreseeable future. Periodic mentions from press outlets and pass-alongs from users have kept the app relevant, visible, and newsworthy, even after the initial launch.

With no paid media support, getting attention for the Hemingway Status Hijacker was entirely in the hands of old-fashioned pass-along efforts. Luckily, pass-along did, in fact, occur--in a big way.

In just one week, the likes on the Hemingway Foundation Facebook page increased by 45%, with the largest increase between the aged 25-34 demographic. Total reach for the Foundation for one week increased by 7200%, with the largest increase between the aged 25-34 demographic. The first week averaged more than 2300 daily posts, with over 6000 posts made in that week. The Hijacker received numerous press mentions from a wide range of industries, from literary to the business world, and awareness increased beyond all expectations.