Background
The Central Kitsap Reporter, a part of Sound Publishing, is a small paper in Silverdale, Washington, and they have created many successful online contests over the past few years.
The Idea
The paper was looking for a way to engage their readers, capitalize on the frenzy around their local football team, and generate revenue from new businesses, so they decided to run a biggest fan photo contest.
The Execution
The Central Kitsap Reporter offered an attractive sponsorship package to their advertiser, Clearwater Casino Resort. The sponsorship package included an ad on the promotional page every Friday in the paper. In addition, the sponsor’s logo was featured on the all of the house ads and the contest page online. Both the sponsor and the photos entered in the contest were featured weekly in the A-section of The Central Kitsap Reporter and in a 2×5 ad on the Seahawks Sports page.
You can see a sample of their print promotion below:
The sponsor donated a $500 prize package, including a one-night resort stay for two, two $50 Dining Certificates, two $25 Free Plays and $100 Clearwater Gift Card. The gift cards were all valid for purchases at the hotel, spa, gift shop, restaurants and even gas.
The paper encouraged their audience to enter the contest during the month of January by posting frequently to Facebook and Twitter. You can see a few example posts below:
The Results
The Central Kitsap Reporter did VERY well with this contest. It generated $6,250 in revenue, and this was 100% new business that the client would not have spent in January otherwise.
More than half of the entries were made from mobile devices, and 152 out of 289 registered users opted-in to receive emails from the paper. Friends and family flocked to the contest page, generating 900 votes and over 7,600 pageviews.
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Julie is the Senior Customer Success Manager at Second Street and a former client in local media. Her best advice for driving the most success with your revenue and audience engagement strategy is to include promotions in every business initiative.