What was the BIG THING in 2014? Snapchat? Video ads? Mobile apps? It’s not any of those – and probably not what you would expect.
Our clients explored many new platforms and alternative delivery methods in 2014. But what we noticed consistently was a move to simpler promotions and more custom, one-of-a-kind prizes. These are 5 of the trends we noticed during 2014:
- “Unliking” Facebook
Facebook has been known to change their platform with little or no warning. The same goes for their promotion guidelines and ad platform. One day it’s this way, the next it’s something else. This frustration is compounded by the fact that brand posts don’t reach followers organically anymore, and that an ad buy seems to be a requirement to get the word out. Because of all of these issues, we saw a trend this year of clients wanting to stay away from Facebook. There were a few clients that added Facebook as an addition to a stand-alone promotional web site, or some that chose to go the Facebook Timeline Sweeps route, but for the most part, the big rush to run a promotion on Facebook seems to be over.
- Simplicity Across Social Platforms
We also saw a lot more simplified sweepstakes and contests across platforms with a simpler call to action: like or comment on our post on Facebook, or use the hashtag on Instagram, Vine, Twitter, etc. By making the call to action simple and adapting the entry guidelines to the various platform promotion guidelines, brands made it easier for the user to enter on the platform they like best, without having to set up a web site or jump through privacy hoops to collect entry data.
- Altruistic Campaigns
The big winner this year seems to be non-profits. We saw a surge of brands aligning themselves with non-profits or campaigns to raise money for various causes. The brands would donate a certain amount to the cause, and cross promote products for a win-win partnership.
- Rewarding Customers for Things They Were Already Doing
Many of our clients opted for the return of the usage sweepstakes this year. Instead of sinking money in to gaining new customers, the focus this year went to rewarding the current customer for things they were already doing. If there was a system of tracking points or purchases already in place, our clients used it this year to reward their best customers with points/purchase dollars going towards sweeps entries. And we had a lot of fun surprising these winners with these winner notification calls!
- Unique Prize Experiences
2014 was also the year of the prize experience. While cash is still king, the second most popular type of prize this year was the one-of-a-kind prize or experience. Brands offering things like autographed memorabilia, trips with celebrity chefs, and sports event outings where winners could meet celebrities all garnered the most entries this year. Sites such as www.ifonly.com, that caters to the fan experience, as well as partnerships that a company like Marden-Kane can broker, delivered some unique winner experiences that brought in exponentially higher entries over similar campaigns offering high end electronics, trips or tickets to sporting events.
We are excited to see what next year will bring!
Curious about 2013’s top promotion trends? Click to find out what they were.
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