Cutest Couple Contest Generates 1,400+ Opt-Ins for Local Mall

by Julie Foley Second Street

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.

Cutest Couple Contest Lands 1,400 Opt-Ins

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.

Contest Rejuvenates Advertiser Relationship

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 SpaKay JewelersSisley Italian KitchenJ Ferrer Salon
50-Minute Facial or Massage for TwoLove's Embrace Heart PendantDinner for Two Haircut for Two
VIP Grotto Experience for TwoBottle of ChampagneDeep Conditioning Treatment & Scalp Massage for Two
Facial & Body Products from Creations GardenBlowout for Two
Full Use of All Spa FacilitiesComplimentary Champagne
Value: $500Value: Up to $100Value: Up to $100Value: 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.

Advertiser Mentioned in All Social Media Posts

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.”

Vince JohnsonChief Multimedia Officer, The Signal

Now that’s a successful contest.

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