Surprise viral campaign costs chain $260K in free Xmas dinners

Discount supermarket chain Lidl ran into the oddest of social media conundrums: an online campaign that went unexpectedly viral. The chain launched a Twitter campaign Monday in Belgium that promised five Christmas dinners to food banks for each tweet on a hashtag —  #luxevooriedereen (Dutch for “luxury for everyone”). Newspapers picked up the story, and 1,500 tweeted during the 24-hour campaign, meaning the company was on the hook for 7,500 four-course dinners, which it rounded up to 10,000 — a cost of 200,000 euros  ($260,000). "We've learnt quite a few lessons over the past 48 hours, to say the least," a spokesman said. [Source]

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