Best Photo Contests from the 2021 Awards

by Julie Foley Second Street

Military Photo Contest Projects

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Pittsburgh, PA

*2021 Second Street Award – Best Photo Contest Winner

Community-driven photo contests are popular every year. But in a year like 2020, these became even more powerful. With many advertisers pulling back their regular advertising dollars, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looked for opportunities to recoup revenue through promotions sponsorships. The paper decided to launch two photo contest projects – one honoring frontline workers and another honoring veterans. Advertisers were looking for ways to align themselves with community support and eagerly sign up for sponsorships. These two photo contests brought in $40,000 in NEW revenue from many non-traditional advertisers and first-time clients!

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Photo Contests Support Community

Win a Free AC Unit with Installation

WBYR-FM | Fort Wayne, IN

JF Miller Heating and Air was a brand new client to the radio group. The sales team at WBYR assured the client promotions would deliver the results they wanted. And did it ever! More than 115 photos of ‘ugly’ AC units were submitted. The HVAC company collected 75 email opt-ins, learned that 56% of entrants haven’t had their AC units serviced in years (if ever!), and 69% don’t have a current HVAC provider. Due to the success of this campaign, this new client signed on for a $25,000 annual radio campaign through 2020 and that’s now increased to over $47,000 so far in 2021!

HVAC Sweeps Delivers Leads

224 Acadian House $10K Kitchen Giveaway

225 Magazine | Baton Rouge, LA

Sponsored by Acadian House: Design and Renovation, this contest asked users to submit photos of their kitchen in the hope that it could win them a $10,000 kitchen renovation! The entry form included some fantastic lead-gen questions such as “Which element in your kitchen is the most important?” and “How many people use your kitchen at a time?” More than 50 people opted-in to the Acadian House email database and 53% of entrants said they’re ready for a home renovation project! The magazine secured $8,500 in sponsorship revenue.

$10k Kitchen Giveaway Photo Contest

Michigan Wildlife Council Fishing Photo Contest

Detroit Free Press | Detroit, MI

The Michigan Wildlife Council wanted to identify more fishing fanatics to add to their email database. A fishing photo contest with the prize of fishing poles and a gift card would attract the exact people they wanted. This contest brought in over 1,100 photo entries! More than 650 new email addresses were added to the Michigan Wildlife Council database. Plus, lead-gen questions identified over 700 people who had been fishing in the last year. The client was thrilled with the results and the paper secured $12,000 in revenue.

Wildlife Council Finds Success with Photo Contest

Backyard Makeover & Miracle on Your Street

The Daily News| Longview, WA

The team at The Daily News in Washington partners with their local contractors association and realtors association to launch the Backyard Makeover. The two organizations had to cancel their Spring Home Show, and the paper pitched this as an opportunity to secure some of those lost leads. Due to its success, this turned into a quarterly program with their latest contest being Miracle on Your Street. So far this photo contest program has delivered $15,000 in sponsorship revenue for the paper.

Home Improvement Makeover Photo Contests a BIG Win

Incorporate photo contests in your promotions calendar for audience engagement year-round! From the no-brainer themes to creative advertiser campaigns, photo contests are a great way to increase engagement and drive results.

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