Joe Keffas, Marden-Kane Account Executive,  contributed this post on summer promotion ideas!

Memorial Day weekend is this weekend and almost everyone equates that with the official kick-off of Summer time. It’s the time of year when people go to the beach, hit the golf course, barbecue, pretty much everything that can be done outside. Here are a few promotion ideas to help celebrate one of the best times of the year.

The Summer Time Kick Off Photo Sweepstakes

Since everyone will be outside doing something fun, why not run an Instagram or Twitter photo sweepstakes? You can ask your consumers to post a picture of what they are doing outside to celebrate this great weather. They can take pictures at the beach, the park you name it. Just have them be sure to include a special hashtag for tracking purposes. Give away something fun to be used outside to enjoy this great weather.

Christmas in July Sweepstakes
There are some people who just don’t like the warm weather and can’t wait for it to be cold again. I know that sounds crazy but it’s true. You could run a sweepstakes that has consumers vote for what they think is the best time of the year. You could offer two different prize packages: One could be a trip to somewhere cooler say an Alaskan cruise or Canada to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The second prize could be trip somewhere warm like Florida or the Bahamas.

The Great Grill-Off Contest
Ask consumers to submit the greatest recipes they prepare for their summer barbecues. You could combine all these recipes into a cook book that you have available online after the promotion has ended for everyone who entered as an incentive for everyone who didn’t win. The best recipe as determined by the judges would be the grand prize winner. The prize for this contest as it relates to barbecues would be a brand new grill to cook this for all their friends.

X Marks the Spot Pinterest Treasure Hunt
Ask consumers to create a Pinterest board and pin photos that are based off clues that you post on Twitter and Facebook. These clues would be summer and outdoor related and should be easily found by anyone anywhere. Anyone that completes the board and the treasure hunt is entered into a random drawing to win the buried treasure. The buried treasure could be a cash prize.

Of course, when you run a promotion you need to have official rules to make it legal and follow the promotion guidelines for the social platforms. If any of these ideas interests you, contact us and we can make it happen!

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