Greg Heaslip felt like taking a holiday.
The security guard works for Arcadia group, the retail giant behind Topshop, BHS and Dorothy Perkins.
He sent his request by email to his manager. Seems pretty straight forward except what happened next led to Greg drawing attention from huge marketing brands across the world along with a free jaunt to Sin City.
When Greg’s boss replied, the email was inadvertently sent to thousands of Arcadia Group employees. And that’s when the power of the social media surged into action...
An Arcadia employee, Kimberly Jaina, appears to have been the first to get on Twitter...
The tweet with the most impact of the #givegregtheholiday Trend, was published by @laurajferran: http://t.co/OgI0YclffI (14 RTs) #trndnl
— Trendinalia UK (@trendinaliaGB) May 22, 2014
What started off as an in-joke among Arcadia employees...
An email chain at work is hilarious! A holiday request was sent to the whole head office & replies are genius. Including #givegregtheholiday
— Carina Sullivan (@carina100) May 22, 2014
Interest in Heaslip's holiday request escalated so much that #GiveGregTheHoliday became a top trend in the UK with more than 2,000 tweets.
And then the marketing brands came a calling, including some of Arcadia’s own brands like Topman. Other marketers also spotted an opportunity to flog their wares using the trending hashtag, including offering Heaslip free toiletries for his holiday and even a firm offering soundproofing...
Greg do you need to learn about #Soundproofing before your holiday? Find out more here: http://t.co/GYHkuuY4Dn #givegregtheholiday
— Cellecta Insulation (@Cellecta_LTD) May 22, 2014
Finally, the tour operator Trek America took the marketing effort to its logical conclusion and actually offered Heaslip a holiday to Las Vegas - although so far, they told BBC Trending, he has not accepted.
Can anyone help us find Greg? We really do want to give him his holiday to Vegas #FindGreg #givegregtheholiday pic.twitter.com/U9ilv9QplH
— TrekAmerica (@trekamerica) May 23, 2014
So did Heaslip get his leave approved after the social media campaign?
"The holiday request had actually already been approved on the system and Greg will get his holiday!" they said.
Adding, “As Greg works nights his employers were unsure at what point he became aware of the interest in him and his holiday request.”
