Brands are always on the lookout for new ways to capture customers’ attention, and the summer months are the perfect time to focus all efforts on attracting potential customers and reconnecting with existing clients. Simply put, it’s time for some new summer campaign ideas.
We all enjoy the nice weather, and summer tends to make us a bit more reckless with our budget. Did you know that an average American citizen spends $305 more on socializing during the summer months than any other season? That’s right, the sun makes us spend more! That’s the reason why your summer marketing campaign should be full of optimism and positive experiences. And that’s where gamification comes into play.
Today we will take a look at how brands can use branded mini-games to address their audience this summer, and accomplish a variety of marketing objectives, such as increased brand awareness, social media presence, customer loyalty, and lead generation.
Why make gamification part of your summer marketing campaign?
When it comes to gamification the most important is the fact that your online community likes a bit of challenge. Because who doesn’t like to see their name at the top of the ranking?
Branded games have become the perfect tool for companies to offer users entertainment, and concurrently expose the player to the corporate image and products. And do you want to know the best thing about it? The player doesn’t mind being exposed to the brand’s logo, product, or colors. They simply enjoy the game while the brand is getting visibility.
So in the summer, when everyone is up for new adventures, experiences, and fun, deliver your audience some new and exciting content. Let’s look at examples of how to incorporate games into your summer marketing strategy.
Summer campaign idea: Entertain your audience with an interactive Puzzle
Let’s start by saying that any brand can create a summer game and use it to promote any product. Create, launch it, and watch how it goes viral!
Here’s an example of an interactive Puzzle that perfectly fits into the summer campaign because summer is somehow about traveling, right?
A quick and easy Puzzle should be your go-to tool if you’re looking to increase product awareness and engage your customers. And if lead generation is one of the marketing goals, then you’re in for a treat. All Easypromos games come with an entry form that users must fill to opt-in for the prize. So apart from reinforcing brand and product awareness you also get to expand your mailing list.
One thing to have in mind is that some of your followers will play the game simply to entertain and enjoy themselves. However, a big percentage of your online community will need a good reason to share their contact details. And the best way to attract more participants is by giving away an attractive prize. Choose from product samples, gift boxes, or even discount codes for your online shop.
But once you finalize the promotion… who gets the prize? We recommend a few different ways to allocate the prize of your playable promotion:
- Give the prize to the fastest participant
- Raffle the prize between 3, 5, or 10 fastest participants
- Draw a random winner from among all registered participants
Ready to launch a Puzzle game as part of your summer campaign? Try our summer Puzzle DEMO!
Idea for your summer campaign: Reward your online community with a summer-themed Hidden Objects game
Apart from classic games like branded Puzzles, there are also other applications that entertain online communities and allow brands to work towards their yearly goals during the summer.
Playable promotions can be used to drive existing but also potential customers who might be attracted by interactive content shared by your brand, especially if they can get something in return (for example a discount voucher).
Hidden Objects games can be very creative, and therefore engaging and addictive, and once again, they can be launched by any brand. Whether you want to promote a flower shop or lollipops the Hidden Objects app will do its magic and deliver high-quality entertainment to your customers. Here’s an example of a Hidden Objects game that can be launched by an ice cream manufacturer.
Participants look for the hidden items as quickly as possible and upon completing the challenge they enter a random prize draw. If you’re looking to increase sales you can share discount codes and vouchers to encourage purchases as part of your summer campaign.
A good tactic that will attract even more participants to your summer game is giving away one big prize and distributing discount codes to all registered participants. And if you aim to attract as many players as possible share the game on all social media networks. This is a great opportunity to convert social media followers into qualified leads.
Are you interested in organizing your own Hidden Objects game? Try our Summer Hidden Objects DEMO and get inspiration.
Launch an interactive countdown till summer
Digital calendars have recently gained traction – and we’re not talking just about Advent Calendars. Brands are now launching interactive countdowns till Easter and even Valentine’s Day. Therefore, it’s time to put together a fun-filled Summer Countdown, with multiple different interactive games!
This summer campaign idea is perfect for brands that look to boost brand engagement and customer loyalty. Participants come back on daily basis to take part in new games for a chance to win new attractive prizes. Apart from generating new leads, the organizing brand can also establish and reinforce customer relationships. Because who doesn’t love a brand that gives out prizes and discount codes?
Want to make sure your participants enter each and every game? Raffle a big prize among only those users that participate in all promotion stages. These are your most loyal customers and they deserve to be rewarded!
Collect user-generated content for your brand
Did you know that user-generated content is the most authentic content brands can share on social media? There’s simply no better way to convince your social media followers to make a purchase than sharing pictures, videos, and reviews from happy customers.
So if you want to increase customer loyalty and trust, along with engagement and lead generation, invite your followers to participate in a Photo Contest.
The Voting Contest application enables you to launch a summer photo contest that will generate valuable UGC for your brand and to increase brand engagement and awareness, as you can then invite the entrants to share their pictures to get votes (yes, you can enable the voting option to encourage social media sharing and make your brand go viral!).
Take a look at the example above. The SCUBA Diving tour operator Diving Specials organized a photo contest for its female members. Participants had to send their diving photos for the chance of winning an all inclusive diving cruise. All participating photos were displayed in a public gallery and the brand collected high quality user-generated content.
Tap into your customer’s loyalty even more by resharing the content on your social media as posts and Stories!
Interactive quiz for your summer campaign
Not so sure about the summer campaign ideas that we’ve shared so far? You can also launch a gamified quiz for your target audience. Test your customers’ knowledge about your brand or ask simple questions about the summer, and then finalize the promotion to reward those that correctly answered all the questions! But you can also choose to give out coupons and codes to all users that took time to enter your quiz.
Take a look at this summer Timed Quiz. Users intend to answer all questions correctly, as quickly as possible – can you feel the pressure already?!
Give a go to our Summer Timed Quiz and use our pre-configured template to launch your promotion in no time and with less hassle!
Do you have questions about summer games? Or maybe there are some summer campaign ideas that you’d like to share with us? Contact us via live-chat, we will be happy to help!
