Shop Local 2018 – WLEX-TV
*2018 Second Street Award – Best Sponsored Campaign Winner
The team at WLEX brought in multiple local business advertisers such as a local hardware store, medical spa, interior design store, sewing store, and more to participate in their Shop Local Sweepstakes. They leveraged online and on-air promotion to drive exposure for the advertisers and received more than 4,000 entries to the contest. They drove foot traffic to the businesses with included coupons, generated opt-ins for themselves and the sponsors, and brought in a combined total of $74,000 for the station.
HighSchoolOT Honors – WRAL-TV
WRAL in Raleigh, NC hosted a Best of High School Athletes ballot for local high school athletes, sponsored by eight businesses including a local window and door manufacturer, physical therapy center, and dentist office. This campaign grew WRAL’s email list 23% and earned the station $100,000 in revenue. The station and sponsors also hosted a post-contest event honoring the winners of the ballot. High school sports continue to be a great opportunity to drive big audiences and dollars all year long.
Tanks for Watching – KMVT-TV
KMVT locked in a local Toyota dealership for an annual campaign of four watch-and-win $100 gift card giveaways throughout the year. The contest received over 10,000 entries and brought in $15,000 in revenue for the station. If you’re a TV station, and you aren’t getting your watch-and-wins sponsored – you’re missing out!
Choose Your Own Adventure! – Hartford Courant
When this Irish airline wanted to grow brand awareness and engage potential customers in a unique way, the Hartford Courant created this fun ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ quiz. The campaign brought in $30,000 in revenue and valuable info about customer travel preferences.
Fun in the Sun Sweepstakes – The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch attached a sweepstakes to their established Summer Fun Guide Special Section to increase revenue and results. Title sponsor Marathon Gas gave away a $1,000 gas card and local attractions sponsors contributed four-packs of tickets to the weekly giveaways. The campaign received 4,000 entries, over 1,500 opt-ins, and $72,000 in combined revenue.
Hawaiian Airlines – WBZF-FM
Hawaiian Airlines recently announced a non-stop direct flight from Boston to Honolulu, HI and wanted a unique way of promoting the new offering. As the exclusive broadcaster of the Celtics, WBZF pitched the idea of a call-in sweepstakes related to the final score of a Celtics game. The sweepstakes brought in $15,000+ in incremental revenue. The contest received over 3,000 entries, 50% of which opted-in to receiving more information from Hawaiian Airlines.
These six Best Sponsored Campaigns show the power of creating engaging contests and unique interactive content to attract a variety of sponsors and lead to an increase in your sponsorship revenue.
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Liz is the Senior Director of Customer Success and has an extensive background in media. She is a huge advocate of the power of promotions for every department within an organization, including sales, marketing, audience development, and editorial.