CHICAGO — Playboy Enterprises announced the winner of its first-ever "Miss Social" social networking contest.
Raleigh, N.C. native Krystal Harlow took the prize in the four-week competition that asked participants to creatively promote themselves online in an effort to increase their social graph and secure votes.
Harlow, a fashion merchandising student and aspiring model, used social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare to garner support throughout the contest and also hosted a variety of local events, which were promoted through social media.
Playboy said her efforts translated into the greatest number of votes, earning her the title of "Miss Social" and the opportunity to pose for Playboy magazine.
As part of her prize, Harlow was awarded a three-day all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for herself and a guest where she will tour of the Playboy Mansion; have a photo shoot with a Playboy photographer (which may be nude or non-nude depending on her preference); make an appearance on the new Playboy TV show “Playboy's Beach House” and have a live interview with Playboy Radio on SIRIUS.
The winner will also be featured on Playboy.com and Playboy's safe-for-work TheSmokingJacket.com website.
The competition began with more than 2,000 applicants, from which 16 finalists were selected through fan voting.
Playboy said in addition to their social networking efforts, the participants enlisted the help of Playboy Playmates to influence voters online; hosting voting parties and spreading the contest via interviews in local newspapers and radio stations.
On average, each of the participants drove more than 1,000 impressions and increased their own social networks by more than 300 percent (as defined by Facebook friends), all without direct support from Playboy. In addition, Miss Social’s Facebook audience tripled over the course of the competition, according to Playboy.