Easter is just around the corner, which means Spring is coming!
For many of the smartest businesses out there, it also means running an Easter-themed contest online.
We’ve been in the contest game since 2012 and, consistently, the most successful campaigns we see revolve around a holiday theme.
So, whenever we get the chance, we recommend to users and clients that they take advantage of the buzz around a holiday and use it to generate social media engagement, Fans and contact information with an online contest.
This article will give you 10 real-world Easter contest examples as well as best practices and ideas to ensure your campaign succeeds.
Let’s get rolling!
10 Easter Contest Examples
Easter Contest Example #1: Win Chocolate
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- This page features the prize value in both the image headline and the page headline.
- The prize package is a really good idea, especially once you’ve calculated the total value. People feel like they get more out of a package than a single prize valued at $750.
- The images are also professional and bright. With a third-party contest template, like San Churro has used, it’s your images that will make your campaign stand out.
Easter Contest Example #2: Win a KitchenAid
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- This is a great prize for their target market – something which is of a high enough value to be really desirable, but also something which is relevant and related to their products.
- The checked “opt-in” option in the form is a great way for your business to get your entrants to subscribe to receive your emails. This ensures your business is within spam laws and decreases your unsubscribe rates.
Easter Contest Example #3: Win One of 5 Chances at a Dozen Cupcakes
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- This campaign shows exactly how simple an Easter contest can be. It’s what we in the contest business call a “squeeze page” – a simple, highly-focused few paragraphs with a form and call to action button. There’s nothing for visitors to do on this page except enter the contest.
- The “Like our Facebook Page” prompt is available only for businesses which use a third party platform (like Wishpond). Because requiring users to Like your business to enter your contest was banned in late 2014, this is the next best option: simply prompting people to Follow you, but not requiring them to do so.
Easter Contest Example #4: Win a Kid’s Baking Party Package
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- I’d like to see this campaign with a bit of a different format. The form feels quite overwhelming (as does the text). I’d prefer a more visually appealing design.
- That said, I like the prize and the social engagement prompts. Again, to ensure they’re within Facebook guidelines, these are an optional thing.
Easter Contest Example #5: Win an Easter-Themed Book and Basket
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- I like the simplicity of this Easter contest.
- The countdown is a nice touch, as is the emphasis on the prize.
- I’d like to see a bit more description of what the prize actually is, but that might be something to test, rather than implement straight away.
- The Facebook Login is an interesting choice as well. Many businesses (rightfully) use an Easter contest to turn Facebook Fans into contacts – people you can email and market more effectively to.
Easter Contest Example #6: Win an Easter Basket for You and a Friend
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- Great image, showing a real person with the awesome prizes. This is what sells it for anybody coming to this page.
- The “You and a Friend” thing makes this a far more appealing prize. Wanting to win for yourself is a powerful motivator, but wanting to win for someone else is even moreso.
- I also like the “How to Enter” step by step, which leaves no confusion for the page visitor. They know exactly what to do and how to do it.
Easter Contest Example #7: Win a Chance at One of Several Easter Prizes
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- The top element of this campaign is the multiple prizes. Not everybody is going to want each element, but in any good prize pack there’s something desirable for everyone. Plus, as I said above, the subjective value increases as you add more things to the package. And unboxing is way more fun as well!
Easter Contest Example #8: Win a $100 Gift Card
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- The strength in this campaign is in the daily updates. Galleria gives its Fans and Facebook users five chances to enter the campaign (one each day). This keeps engagement on their page up and keeps people coming back – rewarding them for their interest.
- Galleria is able to do this really easily, by simply updating the campaign page every morning and saving the changes. This is a great idea for businesses who want to keep their copy fresh or change any of the details. For instance, I’ve seen businesses find success by updating their campaign with a “Only 48-hours left!” notice.
Easter Contest Example #9: Win a $25 Gift Card to Purdy’s Chocolates
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- Actually run by a mall which holds a Purdy’s, this is a fantastic campaign. And that’s not just because of the beautiful image, background and layout, but because they have re-used this campaign on several occasions.
- This campaign was used for Valentine’s Day as well, with some simple cosmetic changes and to equal success. They’ve invested in making the page beautiful and optimized, so a quick duplicate in the Wishpond contest builder is easy to do and saves time and resources.
Easter Contest Example #10: Win a Chance at 1 of 3 Easter Baskets and Pre-Paid Visa
A Critique of this Easter Contest Campaign:
- The page is good, though the image looks a bit dated and they haven’t used the template to its full potential, but my real criticism is in the prize. Not the first part (an Easter basket is a great prize idea), but the pre-paid visa is desirable to everyone, not just their target market. This means that people will enter just to get a prepaid visa, which is essentially cash, making them very hard to market to down the line.
6 Easter Contest Prize Ideas
- Easter basket and chocolate
- A children’s easter egg hunt
- Egg decorating kit
- Religious-themed prizes – books, clothes, toys
- Kitchenware – pots, table settings, etc
- Diet/Workout Plan – “Easter chocolate get you worrying about your waistline?”
For more contest prize ideas, check out 101 Best Prize Ideas to Give Away in Online Contests & Competitions.
5 Essential Easter Contest Best Practices
#1. Focus on your image
Your contest image is what separates your campaign from those of your competitors. Your business stands out with a professional, beautiful photo of your product or something related.
If you don’t have an in-house design team, check out Fiverr or Upwork for an affordable graphic designer. And invest in a nice camera so you can take great product pictures!
#2. Incentivize social media engagement
Your Easter contest isn’t just about driving new prospective customers. You can also use it to get Fans, Followers, and social media engagement.
Using Wishpond, you can show a share incentive popup when anyone clicks the enter button on your campaign. This is the perfect moment to ask for a Follow, and you can give them an extra entry if they do so.
Here’s an example:
#3. Don’t ask for too much, unless you can use it
More often than not I recommend businesses exclusively ask for name and email address – the two things you need to communicate with leads and give them a name.
This is because the more information you ask your contest entrants for, the fewer of them will enter. People don’t want to give their personal details out, and definitely not for a chance to win a $100 giftcard.
However, let’s say your business has a very effective sales process. Let’s say that having a phone number means you can convert 20% of your contest entrants to a sale. If that was the case it’d be worth it for you to get fewer leads who you could convert more effectively. I’d rather generate 100 contest entrants and convert 20 of them to a sale than generate 500 contest entrants and convert 10 of them.
#4. Follow up with contest entrants with an email marketing campaign
There’s no point in generating thousands of contest entrants if they’re just being put in your newsletter list and lost forever. You need to convert them to become a customer.
The best way to do that, we’ve found, is to send a follow-up email or email campaign with a limited-time promotion related to the prize they wanted.
Here’s an example from women’s gym Lucille Roberts (a fully-managed client) who sent an immediate auto-response email to contest entrants upon entry:
I’d actually recommend you send this kind of email at the end of your campaign, rather than the beginning. People, on some level, don’t think they’re going to lose the contest they’ve entered, so this is way more valuable to them after they do.
Wrapping it Up
Hopefully this article has given you some inspiration and helped you succeed with your Easter contest.
Remember to follow those best practices I’ve given above, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comment section below!
