Case Study Highlights
- Hundreds of social media follows
- 1,800+ sponsor opt-ins
- $25,000 in revenue
Second Street Award Winner – Photo Contest
The Idea
The USA TODAY team partnered with Kradle – an innovator in vet-formulated calming solutions for dogs and cats – to execute a promotion designed to increase brand awareness, grow social media audiences, and drive email subscriptions. With clear goals in place, the team identified a proven strategy to deliver results.
The Execution
To align with Kradle’s pet-focused brand, USA TODAY launched a pet photo contest, a consistently high-performing, tried and true campaign. Participants were invited to submit photos of their pets for a chance to win a $500+ pet prize bundle. To boost engagement, the USA TODAY team chose to select four winners – one each week throughout May – creating a sense of urgency and increasing perceived chances of winning.
The USA TODAY team curated a beautifully designed contest utilizing the updated promotions designer, prominently displaying the Kradle logo throughout the design to reinforce awareness.
To support lead generation and audience growth, a sponsor opt-in was included on the registration form, along with fields encouraging participants to follow Kradle on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
To drive traffic and participation, USA TODAY deployed two invitation emails to their national promotions audience. These emails highlighted Kradle’s branding, clearly explained how to enter, and communicated the value of the sponsor’s products.
The Results
The team at USA TODAY was able to deliver all of the goals their sponsor requested. With their logo front and center within both the contest and advertising materials, they certainly increased brand awareness.
With the addition of the opt-in on the photo contest registration form, their sponsor was able to add over 1,800 email addresses to their email list. And with social media follow links also included on the registration form, their sponsor secured hundreds of new follows.
This campaign reinforced the ongoing success of pet photo contests – demonstrating their ability to engage audiences at scale while delivering measurable ROI for sponsors!
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Kristen is a Customer Success Manager and Content Creator. She works to create useful content with thought-leadership our partners can use to drive revenue, engagement, and audience growth with promotions.