CB2, which is branded as a “modern destination” from Crate and Barrel, offers affordable, urban-inspired furniture for apartments, lofts and homes. Its upcoming APT CB2 campaign will include its followers when it creates “the first real apartment designed live on Pinterest.” Over the course of five days, CB2 and five popular designers-turned-guest-pinners will design five different rooms of an apartment, providing real-time Pinterest updates to followers and taking followers’ opinions into account. Throughout the five-day event, people can vote on different design choices every hour to help decide what APT CB2 will look like. One participant will win the opportunity to create his or her own dream apartment with $5000 to spend at CB2.

The event kicks off at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, May 7^th, and is an excellent example of the ways brands are engaging their followers to establish a following and create online communities. Using social media to communicate with an audience or strengthen a brand’s identity isn’t a new strategy, but it’s one that can be leveraged creatively to develop brand awareness, engage customers and create conversations.

By giving control to their followers and keeping them updated throughout the process of decorating the apartment, CB2 is truly engaging its consumers. Also, by using Pinterest for this real-time campaign, CB2 is doing something no other brand has done before. Only time will tell how successful CB2’s campaign will be, but it’ll be interesting to watch the company meld the physical and digital environments together.