Sonata Watches launch a Facebook contest for its fans to create buzz for its latest watch – Tech1.

Sonata Watches, launched in 1997 by the Tata Group, is the largest selling watch company in India today. The brand has been present on Facebook from 2011 and since then has built a handsome community of 100K fans. It has now launched a Facebook contest called “Watch Mein Torch” for its latest creation ‘Tech1′.

Sonata Tech1

How to be participate in this contest?

The contest has been designed for it’s community so when you click on the app, you would be asked to like the page. The contest is a replication of the slogan contests, an age old idea of running contests by brands. The brand is now asking its fans to share what they would do with the torch that is inside the watch. And if you can come up with a great message then you can earn a brand new watch for yourself!

If you think you can be creative and give a smart reply then you would have to share it on the Facebook app. The Facebook app, which is a delight to the eyes, is a complete dashboard that has been aptly designed for the contest. You can not only submit your entry but view entries of other participants who have already given it a try and vote for them too. The app also displays the Terms & Conditions or the Official Rules prominently.

How cool is the Facebook app?

I think it is the season for good Facebook apps. Recently, we reported how smartly Vicks India had created an app for their Facebook contest. Similarly, Sonata Watches scores full marks in the app even though the idea for the contest could have been better if aligned around their tagline “Wait No More.”

The reasons why the app stands in the list of amazing apps are as follows:

1. Good design: The app has been designed well. It is simple, appealing and the cool dashboard style is good. I’m glad to see that the brand has built a dedicated app for the contest instead of running it on the wall. Fans get a chance to post their content easily and even see what other fans are saying. In doing this, not only you give the fan a much-needed experience but also buy more time from her as she spends it on the app.

2. Facebook guidelines: It is good to see that the app follows Facebook app guidelines and with that the brand has also obeyed the Facebook contest guidelines by concentrating on building a dedicated app.

3. Tested properly: Another good thing about the app is that it was tested well before being released. In the past I have seen apps that were launched without even a basic test performed. However, the app has some sections that should have not been visible such as the Find Promotions, Your Promotions, etc.

4. Viral features : You can’t make a contest viral but then Facebook has features like sharing it with your friends which is an effort in that direction. The app allows you to share with your friends and even invite your friends to play the contest. Preetham Venkky during his session at IndiaSocial clearly mentioned that Facebook apps should embed at least two virality features like sharing and inviting with friends circle.

How cool is the Facebook Campaign?

The Facebook campaign is not bad but as I said earlier the concept could have been more creative than the usual slogan-writing ones. The brand lives by the tag “Wait No More” and the content that is being shared is with respect to the tag line. For example one of the content talks about a 16 year old entrepreneur who is running global offices and since he has not waited why should we all wait. The brand could have easily created a contest around this idea.

Nevertheless, the campaign is creative in the way it is deciding the winners. The brand is not only taking into account the number of votes but a panel would be deciding the winner too. This way of deciding the winner removes malpractices to an extent and the fans are also happy.

So if you want to grab a brand new Sonata Tech1 watch, then make sure you do this before August 10, 2012.