"Track Santa" Program Sets Records

Some brands will never become household names. Technology companies, especially in the business-to-business space are all too aware of this reality, as are many government agencies. With the right marketing campaign, however, this can all change. 

The North American Aerospace Defense Command's NORAD Tracks Santa Program is one such campaign. Although it began after a misprinted ad in a local paper in 1955, NORAD Tracks Santa exceeded its own records in the number of calls, emails and social media followers this year. 

• The NTS website, www.noradsanta.org, had 19.58 million unique visitors access the site from 234 countries and territories across the globe.
   
• The Facebook page topped 1.45 million "Likes", and the NTS Google+ page had 41,676 fans.  
   
• More than 146,307 people also followed Santa's progress on Twitter.
   
• Nearly 800 OnStar subscribers asked OnStar operators to locate Santa on Dec. 24, which is nearly 150 percent more than last year.
  
  
• The NTS site, featuring Bing and Cesium maps and other interactive games, also offered photos, videos and lots of fun facts about Santa and his reindeer throughout the month of December.

"Throughout the year the men and women of NORAD work hard to provide aerospace security for North America, but for this one night every year, we are able to help bring the magic of Christmas to children around the world," said CAPT Jeff Davis, Public Affairs Director at NORAD. "We at NORAD are honored to be a part of so many peoples' holiday traditions. Thank you to our many volunteers and corporate contributors for making this program possible, and we look forward to doing it again next year."