On 29th April 2011, people from all over the world came together for The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, both at Westminster Abbey in London and around the World on Facebook. iPlatform has been invited, by Royal Appointment, to produce an app for the happy couple so they can track the blessings of their loyal subjects and other well-wishers from around the globe.
Royal Wedding Stories was launched a week before the Royal Wedding on the official Facebook Page of The British Monarchy, marking the first time in history that a wedding will be experienced online, worldwide, and with thousands, perhaps even millions of friends.
Anyone, anywhere in the World can tell their story and thanks to a fully integrated Bing Map the international distribution of well-wishing Facebook users can be fully visualised and recorded. Not only that, but the stories can be categorised by location so people can like, share and comment on those from their neighbours to amplify the stories in their area - this makes the whole thing more fun and interactive for the user.
Facebook was placed at the centre of a campaign that utilised all possible platforms, including Twitter, national newspapers, Youtube, and even Flickr. The Royal Wedding Stories app saw more than 35,000 visits following its soft launch, with over 1,000 photos being uploaded. The massive growth of this app caught the media’s attention, and by the Royal Wedding day the application had accumulated over 187,770 visitors. Over 12,000 stories were created, bringing nearly 250,000 visits to the Page in less than two weeks.
Users have the option of uploading a photo to personalise their blessing (as well as recording this day in history!). This is also the first time iPlatform enabled “HTTPS” for an app, going forward with Facebook’s vision of a continued commitment to security. Will and Kate themselves can use the app to track their popularity across the globe or to view the blessings from familiar places. Perhaps the Prince wants to check out the blessings from old University friends in St. Andrews in Scotland, or former pupils in Tortel, Chile where he spent part of his gap year.
The majority of users come from the United Kingdom, followed by Malaysia, India, and the United States. Gender-wise, 59% are female and 39% are male. 18 to 24 year-olds make up the largest proportion of well-wishers, at 26%, followed by 25 to 34 year-olds at 21.5%. The app proved effective in targeting the appropriate age group of fans and users, creating an event that truly spanned the globe. Unlike the wedding coverage of Prince William’s parents, social media has enabled its worldwide audience of 2.5 billion people to watch what they want, when they want, and post comments along the way.
Whether you are joining the crowds in central London, or having a party in Singapore, the Royal Wedding Stories App will allow people to be part of this historic event by sharing their experiences with others on Facebook. To access the facility, Facebook users will need to go to www.facebook.com/TheBritishMonarchy and then select the ‘Royal Wedding Stories’ tab. Users will be able to access the app until 6 May 2011.
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