Free products, gift cards, discount coupons… When brands have to decide what prizes to offer participants in marketing competitions, their options are often limited. And this has an impact on the attractiveness of the event.
Indeed, the first thing that attracts a user to take part in a wheel of chance or a contest is the prize they can win. This is the first thing that is highlighted in marketing games. it’s also a powerful lever for boosting audience engagement.
On the other hand, companies need to find the right balance between generous prizes and profitable marketing activities. Choosing the right endowment also means setting clear objectives. And taking into account the target you want to reach.
As you can see,
choosing a prize for a competition is not something to be done lightly. It involves taking a numbre of factors into account. In this article, we share with you some practical tips to make your game marketing campaign a success, and help you offer attractive rewards while boosting the ROI of your marketing campaign.
1. Choose your marketing endowment to attract the right targets
Marketing competitions are a powerful lever for gaining visibility and engaging a wider audience. But the key to this strategy os to target qualified prospects interested in the products or services offered by the brand.
The aim is not just to attract customers looking for a bargain. Rather, it’s to gain visibility and convert potential loyal customers, who will want to buy form the company. It’s important to distinguish between an endowment that will. only attract users who want to win the prize, and consumers who are ready to buy your product.
This distinction is crucial, as it allows us to take into account all the KPIs relevant to the company. To target conversion and loyalty KPIs such as:
- the opt-in rate,
- the number of participants whi visited the company’s website,
- people who have subscribed to our newsletter or purchased a product.
And not just reach metrics, such as the number of impressions, participants, shares on social networks, and so on.
Endowments that serve the purpose of the marketing campaign
To maximise the ROI of a marketing game, it’s crucial to clearly identify your target audience. And to choose prizes that will serve the campaign’s objective:
- attract a new segment of buyers,
- build loyalty among the brand’s most active customers;
- engage your community for a marketing highlight.
Once these two aspects have been clarified (target + objective), it will be easier for the company to select batches that tick both boxes
For example, for a contest aimed at building brand customer loyalty, the brand can :
- offer an exclusive product (not yet available in its catalog)
- or even an exclusive in-house experience.
2. Choose a set of marketing games alignes with your brand universe
50 % of participants wait for a lot related to the brand. It is therefore advisable to
give priority to an endowment that is easily associated
with your company or industry.
Conversely, a lot that is too generic, that everyone wants, and that has no direct link with the company’s brand universe, will tend to
attract a wider audience. But this audience won’t necessarily be of interest to the brand. Indeed, beyond the marketing game, they will generally have no further interaction with the brand.
Some brands have achieved excellent participation rates by offering attractive prizes (gadgets, cars, trips, etc.). These highly sought-after products or experiences inevitably attract consumers. But they are not likely to buy from the brand afterwards.
The idea is to attract new prospects (or retain an existing audience) with products or services directly related to the brand universe. The price chosen must fulfull two roles:
- it must attract the target audience and achieve the desired objectives;
- and must highlight the product or service offered by the brand.
It’s a prize that encourages participation in the marketing game. But it’s also a showcase for a new product (as part of a collection launch for a new product (as part of a collection launch, for example). People who didn’t win the prize will be tempted to buy the item, maximizing the campaign’s ROI.
All companis, whatever their brand universe, can innovate to offer prizes related to their sector. For example, a brand that sells cleaning products can, instead of offering mops, offera year’s cleaning to the winner.
Create virality with attractive prizes
The whole point of offering a prize linked to your product or service range is to encourage winners or participants to share the marketing game with their friends and family.
In this way, the brand can organically reach a wider audience. all the while ensuring that this audience is qualified. For example, an accountancy form offering a year’s free coaching will be more likely to attract participants who will share the contest with other entrepreneurs.
This organic sharing, encouraged by the choice of endowment, is invaluable to the brand. Essentially, it’s digital word-of-mouth that will attract new, qualified prospects. They will also create
a more qualitative relationship with the brand, since it begins with a positive interaction: a game and the opportunity to win a reward.
3. Diversify the prizes in your marketing competitions to stand out from the competition
An increasing number of brands are organizing marketing competitions. The challenge is to stand out from the crowd, in particular by
on social medias where users can take part in numerous branded competitions. To achieve this, it is important to
offer batches that really stand out.
Offering free products or coupons is the approach taken by the vast majority of companies. However, small brands don’t always have the budget to
stand out from the crowd with more exceptional lots, that catch the attention of their audience.
A good way to differentiate your rpize selection is simply to give participants the opportunity to select ot. This is known as the “Pick your Prize” strategy. Through a simple gamification mechanism, such as
the fan’s choice or the interactive quiz, users are invited to share their preferences. They can choose from different prizes or brand universes. Personalizing prizes is a powerful way of boosting participation rates, without increasing the budget for your marketing competition.
Brands can also diversify the prizes they offer in marketing competitions by :
Working with coherent partners
Partners who are consistent with the company’s brand universe can offer diferent and complementary prizes. Beauty and fashion brands, for example, can team up to offer their respective communities the chance to win a vacation suitcase. This cross-promotional technique also automatically doubles the animation’s audience.
Working with coherent partners
A marketing competition aimed at the company’s community of VIP customers can go a step further by offering an exclusive experience with the brand as the prize.
The Zeta Shoes brand rewarded customers who participated in tis crowdfunding campaigns. How did it work? By allowing them to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Portugal to visit the company’s factories.
The prize you offer as part of a marketing contest is one of the first levers for attracting the right participatns and metting your sales objectives. To launch your marketing contests and win prizes fr your community, discover the catalog of interactives mechanics by Socialshaker.
