With Christmas coming up, many of our clients welcome the opportunity to create Advent calendars. The principle is simple: you get a landing page that contains a door per day.
What’s behind the said door? Virtually anything: a Qualifio campaign (quiz, prize draw, instant win, personality test, memory game etc.) or another type of content (imagine a video or a unique code, for example).
This one has become a very popular interactive format of ours, and its success gets bigger every year. Some of our clients’ campaigns certainly captured our attention. So read on and get inspired!
The Body Shop‘s international calendar
The Body Shop chose to publish their Advent calendar on several of their Facebook pages —namely in France, in the Netherlands and in Belgium. The campaign includes a different surprise everyday, which ranges from body scrubs and masks to scented candles to make-up palettes. The Body Shop’s campaign is a big hit, with more than 56,000 participations in France alone (at the date we are writing this article).
Behind the doors… The chosen game mechanics was the instant win, with one new campaign for each day. Winners are chosen daily and selected by a random draw.
Carrefour Kid’s Club‘s child’s play
Carrefour Kids Club created an Advent calendar intended to be published both on their Facebook page and on a mini-site. Participants have the opportunity to win a different prize every day, such as a DVDs, a subscription for online courses, tickets to a show, stuffed animals etc.
Behind the doors… Again, the game mechanics was a series of instant wins. The winners are selected by random draw.
LMWR for Upper Brittany Tourism‘s magic trick
The tourist office of Upper Brittany also went for an Advent calendar to be published on their Facebook page. There was only one big prize for this one though: a thalasso break for two people (and who wouldn’t want such a Christmas present!?)
Behind the doors… Not a real Advent calendar! Still, you totally bought it, didn’t you!? LM Y&R agency found a very simple way to get an Advent calendar-like campaign. They created a single instant win campaign, while limiting the number of participations to one per day per person. The winner will be selected at random once the campaign is over.
ELLE Magazine‘s sponsored calendar
The French edition of ELLE Magazine opted for branded interactive content on their website (widget/iframe). The monthly magazine and its partner, the chain of cosmetics stores Sephora, join forces in this perfect example of branded content in a beautiful editorial environment. Such a campaign allows ELLE to collect opt-ins for its sponsor.
Behind the doors… A simple identification form to enter the contest (instant win) of the day. Prizes of the day are awarded to winners by random drawing.
Planet Parfum‘s snowy calendar
Planet Parfum also gave in to the Advent calendar trend. They decided to create a mini-site for this purpose. And what better way to make it look festive than to add a snowfall animation to your calendar!?
Behind the doors… Planet Parfum chose to mix different types of content. Some doors reveal a quiz on the brands and products they sell, while some others hide a special content such as a discount for a purchase on their e-shop or exclusive beauty tips.
Key benefits of the Advent calendars
The Advent calendar has three main advantages:
- They help you build loyalty relationships with your audience. The very principle of the Advent calendar is to offer them the opportunity to find out a new prize or game every day. Therefore, it allows you to keep the participants coming back on your channels.
- They provide you with virtually endless possibilities, whether in terms of design or at the technical level. As mentioned above, each door can hide yet another interactive campaign or specific content you want your audience to see.
- They aren’t just a Christmas thing! When you think about it, Advent calendars are just another type of countdown. They can actually prove very useful for any type of event: sports competitions, corporate events, thematic weeks… Or think about the upcoming winter sales! Whatever your thing is, each day helps you unveil a new exclusive content, game or contest for your audience.
Last but not least, here are a couple of other Advent calendars that were created by our users:
