A single collaboration with an Influencer is fantastic, but it’s not as significant as a simultaneous collaboration with 60 Influencers, right? My colleagues and I decided one day that we wanted to do something big, something that would draw many people and interest in our company. To do this, we decided to invite Influencers to participate in a game involving our main product.
In addition to offering perfumes and cosmetics, our business produces its own product, a sample box filled with small fragrances. It is essential for us to have it at the focus of advertising since it is our key and unique product that can only be purchased from us. So, we started thinking about what interesting idea we could present our bloggers.
As a result, we designed a game consisting of so-called “blind tests.” We produced a secret selection of fragrances for this game, poured and put them into our sample boxes, and simultaneously sent them out to YouTube bloggers, obtaining their permission to join. We didn’t tell them anything ahead of time, but we did ask them to open the box and give out the game rules on camera, recording a video in one take (no cuts or clips). We requested all the bloggers to post this video at the same time, so we assigned everyone a date and time.
So, what exactly was in this video? The bloggers were “live” testing our secret selection of perfumes and attempting to complete the tasks outlined in the game rules – guessing the price category and fragrance notes, while the more sophisticated ones even attempted to guess the perfume house’s brand and fragrance names. We promised to award points and reveal the winners, who earned the top prizes for which they competed.
What did we gain from it? First and foremost, tremendous audience interest! The total number of views on players’ videos hit 80,000 in the first 24 hours! Then there’s the traffic to our own YouTube channel. Third, consumers have become more familiar with our sample box format, which has resulted in an increase in sales. Doesn’t it sound appealing?
Having competitions and games among bloggers is a terrific marketing strategy, but it takes proper planning! Using our example, I’ll outline the important considerations for a company planning a large-scale event involving bloggers. Our game was about fragrance, but any company or brand that wants to showcase its product to a big number of people can organize contests, games, and giveaways. You can watch the video with the bullet poins about setup of the online contest and at the end of the article you can find the checklist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I90wSpfG2M&t=74s
A setup checklist for an online game or giveaway:
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Establish the goal.
There is no strategy or plan without a target. Determine your goals for the event from the start. The objective might be to get new consumers, new subscribers, traffic to your website, brand, or product recognition, and so on.
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Estimate the number of participants.
Do not overestimate your capabilities. The more contestants there are, the more controversies and intrigues there will be. You must be prepared to receive many messages and contributions at the given moment.
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Develop and communicate clear rules
A well-defined guideline, timeframe, structure, and rules. To avoid offending anybody and leaving an aftertaste of unfairness, your event’s conditions and guidelines should be as plain, straightforward, and transparent as possible. Avoid vague, lengthy, and confusing phrasing.
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Determine the motivation for participating.
Motivate participants with nice rewards if you want a great result. Consider including an additional award not just for the competitors, but also for the viewers of your game or contest.
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Coordination and communication
Communication with participants is important at all levels. Be ready to answer any questions and be prepared for them to be repeated. Be a guide to the game’s joyful experience and emotion, and after debriefing, collect comments from participants to determine what was excellent and what may be improved.
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Prepare the product as well as the logistics
Consider how to design both the product and the package. Whether you will include a card in the parcel or not, how the box/packaging in which the product will come (hint – try to make it as presentable as possible) – all of this must be arranged ahead of time. Also, bear in mind that shipping to different areas will take varying amounts of time, so plan for both a budget and delivery time.
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The game must be worth the effort.
Know what you’ll receive out of the event and how much it’s worth, and only invest what you can risk losing. Because every event is a learning experience, and the first time is often the most difficult. Start on a small scale, and then, after assessing the outcomes of the previous game, plan a larger event.
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Consider the losers.
Influencers are typically people who enjoy being the centre of attention, and not all of them are prepared to accept defeat easily. Consider ways to frame the event more delicately so that the losers are not hurt.
