1. Online and on the ball!
The choice of a theme is often a key factor in creating a viral campaign such as a quiz or contest, and it is always one of the most difficult choices to make. One approach that is often suitable is relatively simple: make sure your online campaign stays on the ball by building on themes in the news.
Example A: the Cannes Film Festival is probably the most widely followed event in the movie calendar in France and Belgium, and the customers you are targeting will already have encountered it. The event is therefore already in their heads. Take advantage of this and launch a campaign that links your core business with what they’re already thinking about. This is how Auto-Selection (a free ad site) did it, by giving users the chance to review their experiences with cars from the movies.
Example B: the World Cup is a global event that all kinds of businesses can’t afford to skip. Several Qualifio users have launched their own, successful World Cup campaigns. This was the case for the Belgian news site HLN.be, who asked “Which red devils would you take with you to Brazil?”
But soccer is also an exercise in predicting the future. The new “Ice Mundial” campaign from Ice-Watch is a classic example. It also has the advantage of lasting throughout the tournament and generating repeated interaction with the player, such as returning to the page to view the score.
2. Develop a multi-channel strategy
Knowing the target audience is fundamental to a successful marketing team. It is necessary to know their browsing habits and in particular to know the channels they use most. It makes a difference if you opt for a Facebook Page, a widget to be integrated in a CMS or a dedicated minisite – and the difference it makes is expressed in terms of marketing goals. With Qualifio, publishing a multi-channel campaign doesn’t generate any extra costs, which is always good to know.
Alongside this mix of online channels, you can of course go further and link online and street marketing campaigns. This is how Isobar launched a campaign for Total featuring the latest news and the World Cup. The concept was simple: generate point of sale traffic via mascots to be collected from the gas station take a photo of these mascots in an original situation and upload the photos to a contest held on Total’s Facebook Page, which of course featured community voting to choose a winner!
3. The prize isn’t what makes a campaign go viral
The choice of a prize is important in implementing a contest. Our advice: always choose a prize that is appropriate to the size of your business! A small bakery that offers a smartphone as a prize will certainly generate traffic, but that traffic will not be qualified and will not be particularly interested in the product – and there is a risk that there will be more attempts at cheating the system. We will return to these points in a later blog.
However, a prize is neither mandatory, nor does it guarantee that a campaign will go viral or even succeed. Isobar, once again, offered a campaign to the ING Bank linked to the holiday season (always keeping up to date!) without the slightest hint of a prize. Instead, users (having answered several questions) received their own profile, which in this case related to insurance products for ING Bank. There was nothing to be won, but users still shared the campaign pages online. Personality quizzes are therefore powerful tools in creating viral marketing!
Among so many others, these three tips allow you to create powerful, viral contests. If you would like to share your ideas and concepts with Qualifio’s team of marketing experts and benefit from our experience, a brainstorming phone call is always welcome. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.
