Carnival promotions offer so many possibilities. It’s a festival full of life, light, and color – perfect for sharing and building hype on social media. Traditions vary all over the world, so you can even tailor your marketing for local customs. However, in almost every country, a carnival costume contest is bound to be a success.
Are you looking for ideas for Halloween costume contests? Visit our Halloween campaign hub for more inspiration and fantastic examples!
In this post, we’ll take a look at some ideas for your carnival and Mardi Gras contests. Make sure that you plan for every moment of the holiday: from the months of preparation beforehand, to the dizzying excitement of Carnevale itself.
Organize a Carnival Contest with fun frames and stickers
Carnival is like any other big event – people love to take and share pictures and funny selfies. It’s time to make use of it for your brand. Invite your audience to decorate their pictures with the Easypromos Carnival Photo Contest app!
Apart from collecting unique user-generated content, you will be also able to add some freshly obtained leads to your database. Don’t forget to reward entrants to attract more participants to your Carnival photo contest – give away fun prizes, discounts, or simply choose the king and queen of Carnival!
Run a Carnival contest for Instagram and Twitter users
If a high number of participants is what you really want, then enable the Instagram and Twitter integration to facilitate participation in your online Carnival costume contest. The Mention + Hashtag application allows Instagram and Twitter users to enter your contest by simply sharing a picture on their Instagram or Twitter. All they have to do is upload the photo, use your campaign hashtag and mention your brand. The app will automatically pull their picture from the social media network and display it in your Carnival costume contest’s gallery.
Choose how to collect costume photos
A carnival costume contest is very visual. Collect Carnival photos and videos and share them with your audience in a public gallery where users can vote for their favorite Carnival costumes.
Users can participate in a photo contest by filling in a registration form and uploading their pictures.
Convert website visitors into leads with a Carnival contest
If you’ve ever taken part in a carnival parade, then you know that preparations actually begin long before the festival. The most dedicated performers will start designing, sewing, and rehearsing months in advance!
Chances are, some Carnival enthusiasts form part of your website visitors. Use the Easypromos Widgets to embed your Carnival Contest on your website or e-commerce. Interested users will be able to participate in your contest without having to leave your site.
As the big day approaches and excitement builds, you can ramp up your promotions. You could run a series of giveaways leading up to a grand prize, or run several rounds of voting for a carnival costume contest.
“Design your Carnival costume” contest
This Carnival contest idea is quite similar to the very first one we shared… But it’s a completely different application!
Design a festive background (it can be even the inside of your store!) and upload some Carnival-themed stickers. All you have to do next is invite your customers and followers to design their own Carnival costumes for a chance to win attractive prizes! Once the contest finalizes you can run a random prize draw among all registered participants!
Try the Carnival Scenes DEMO and download our pre-configured template for your own online Carnival costume contest.
Vote and share to make your carnival costume contest go viral
So you’ve found a great idea and designed a gorgeous contest app. Now how do you let people know about the contest?
Good publicity is essential to success. Make sure you announce the carnival competition on social media, in email newsletters, and emblazoned across your website. Follow up with regular reminders, Stories, countdowns, and sneak peeks at the rewards on offer.
And most importantly, include lots of audience participation. We’ve found that voting can increase engagement by 100%. So as well as posting the contest entry form, you should also publish competition entries and ask your followers to share their opinion.
You have many options beyond a simple voting system. For example, you could use an online survey to get individual ratings for each carnival costume photo.
Attract more participants with a glittering carnival prize
Next, let’s talk about motivation. Of course, the carnival is exciting in itself – and most people love the thrill of competition. But if you really want to maximize engagement, then you need to offer a material incentive.
Choose something that is relevant to your brand, or the carnival theme – ideally both! The prize should be something that your followers desire and value. Perhaps something that they can’t justify buying for themselves, but would love to have.
Here’s a great example from a jewelry retailer. They offered a special Mardi Gras crown pendant, along with a seasonal King Cake for the winner of the competition. They captured the spirit of the holiday to offer their customers a gift of real and sentimental value.
Try to think creatively. A valuable gift doesn’t have to be an object! You can give away experiences too, such as a spot in the parade or a day behind the scenes with your brand.
Follow up with your carnival contest participants
When the carnival ends, the costumes are packed away for another year, and the fun is over until Easter arrives. But your work is just starting!
Follow up on your contest through email and social media. Thank people for taking part, congratulate the winners, and announce your next event or competition. Show your followers that you really valued their participation – and that it’s worth staying in touch.
Want to build your own Carnival Photo Contest or giveaway? Try our Carnival products and get ready-made templates to run your own promotions.
Do you have questions about Carnival Photo Contests online? Don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team!
