Case Study Highlights
- $2,000 revenue for The Signal
- 70,000 entries received
- 1,415 opt-ins for station
- Promoted in-print, online, and on-location
- Contest reunited an advertising relationship that continues to grow
The Idea
The Signal is a 9,500 circulation daily newspaper in Santa Clarita, California. The paper has been running online contests since 2008.
Vince Johnson, the Chief Multimedia Officer at The Signal, had found great success with a cutest couple contest at the Statesboro Herald, the 8,500 circulation paper in Statesboro, Georgia where he had worked previously. He thought that a similar cutest couple contest had great potential to thrive in The Signal’s community. Turns out, he was right.
The Execution
The contest was simple – couples would submit photos of themselves, and the winner would be chosen by who received the most votes.
We contacted the Westfield Valencia Town Center, a local mall, about being the soul sponsor of the contest. Previously the mall hadn’t been interested in traditional advertising with us, but when they heard about this contest, they were excited to get involved.
Once we secured the mall as our sponsor, we worked with them to come up with a prize package featuring their shops. The prize package was worth over $1,000 and featured items from four stores in the mall.
The Cutest Couple Prize Package
| Ivy Day Spa | Kay Jewelers | Sisley Italian Kitchen | J Ferrer Salon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50-Minute Facial or Massage for Two | Love's Embrace Heart Pendant | Dinner for Two | Haircut for Two |
| VIP Grotto Experience for Two | Bottle of Champagne | Deep Conditioning Treatment & Scalp Massage for Two | |
| Facial & Body Products from Creations Garden | Blowout for Two | ||
| Full Use of All Spa Facilities | Complimentary Champagne | ||
| Value: $500 | Value: Up to $100 | Value: Up to $100 | Value: Up to $360 |
Since the mall had been hesitant about advertising before, we wanted them to get a ton of value from sponsoring our contest.
The Westfield Valencia Town Center logo was included on all the marketing materials, including run-of-site banner ads, weekly ¼ page print ads, email messages, and numerous social media posts. The contest was also promoted on the Facebook cover photos of The Signal’s Facebook page and Westfield Valencia’s Facebook page. We also created marketing materials that the Westfield Valencia Town Center put on the mall doors, and The Signal created a prize presentation segment for their Studio Santa Clarita video show.
The contest ran on the Westfield Valencia Town Center Facebook page in addition to on The Signal’s website. And, to make sure the mall could find value long after the contest ended, we included an email opt-in for them on the contest entry form.
The Results
The contest generated $2,000 in revenue for The Signal. This was the first time that the Westfield Valencia Town Center had spent any money with the paper in more than 3 years, since they were not interested in traditional local advertising.
The sponsor was thrilled with the results of the contest, especially the 70,000 votes that were received and the 1,415 email opt-ins for the mall, and The Signal’s partnership with the mall has continued to grow as a result.
“The key was the prize and the distribution. The prize created a frenzied voting period, and we really got the word out using our multiple platforms combined with the reach of the mall. It created a partnership that built the audience for both parties.”
Now that’s a successful contest.
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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.