The back-to-school period is a key moment for brands, a time to animate, convert and build audience loyalty. After a summer often marked by a decline in engagement, it’s essential to reconnect with consumers.
Fun and engaging, contests are an excellent way to capture attention and encourage interaction. In this article, we present three ideas for back-to-school contests, along with inspiring examples and practical advice.
Why is back-to-school a key time for brands?
The back-to-school period is a strategic time for brands, offering a unique opportunity to boost sales activities and strengthen ties with customers.
The two main challenges of this commercial high point are to boost sales, but also to prepare for the ultra-strategic fourth half of the year for companies in all sectors.
- Sales on the rise: According to a study carried out by OpinionWay for Bonial, the average budget allocated by the French to back-to-school shopping is €304. The back-to-school period is associated with a large number of purchases, notably in school supplies, ready-to-wear clothing and electronics.
- Preparing for the fourth quarter: The back-to-school period is the ideal time to develop targeted marketing strategies for the major events of the fourth quarter, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, sales and the holiday season. Effective planning is essential to boost brand visibility and stimulate growth.
Beyond the financial aspects, the back-to-school season offers an opportunity to reconnect with an audience that may have been less engaged during the summer vacations. Brands can re-engage their customers, gather feedback and adjust their offers to meet current expectations. It’s also a time to strengthen customer relationships, demonstrating a proactive presence and understanding of consumers’ changing needs.
3 examples of inspiring back-to-school competitions
Gamification, particularly through competitions, is a powerful tool for energizing this commercial highlight. Playful, interactive formats can better engage your audience, strengthen customer relations and collect valuable data.
Here are three ideas for back-to-school contests.
1. A scratch card game to liven up your back-to-school community
Scratch cards are an excellent way to attract the attention of your community during the back-to-school season, especially when the rewards are linked to popular back-to-school products. This type of mechanic generates a high participation rate and immediate commitment, thanks to the surprise effect and the possibility of winning prizes instantly.
Our practical tips for adapting it to the new school year:
- Offer back-to-school rewards (discounts on school supplies, sports equipment, etc.).
- Highlight the return to action with positive messages to rekindle customer interest after the vacations.
Example: A Vos Marques re-engaged its community for the back-to-school season by sharing a scratch-off game. The game performed particularly well, not least because participants had the chance to win their school supplies wishlist.
2. A wheel of fortune to help you discover your products for the back-to-school season
The Wheel of Fortune is a visual and dynamic game that lets you discover your products in a fun way. ThisInstant Win format is ideal for introducing new products or highlighting key offers during the back-to-school season, arousing both enthusiasm and curiosity.
Our practical tips for adapting it to the new school year:
- Include back-to-school products such as practical accessories for school or work.
- Create exclusive rewards (limited offers, special editions) to encourage participation and encourage players to buy.
Example: Sanitarium Polynésie used the mechanics of the Wheel of Fortune to promote its healthy food offer, capitalizing on the good resolutions made by its community at the start of the new school year.
3. An Open Quiz
An interactive quiz is an excellent way to gather information about your customers through an engaging experience. At the start of the school year, it helps you to better understand your audience’s needs and expectations, while reinforcing interaction. This information can then be used to refine future marketing actions.
Our practical tips for adapting it to the new school year:
- Ask back-to-school questions, such as consumer habits and professional or school plans.
- Offer personalized rewards based on participants’ responses to reinforce the customized aspect and increase engagement.
Example: Flammarion organized a back-to-school quiz to gauge the literary preferences of its audience. Participants could win the book of their choice ina draw.
Our tips for successful back-to-school competitions
Here are the best practices for maximizing the impact of your back-to-school marketing campaign.
1. Identify frustration points for back-to-school
Before launching a contest, it’s essential to understand the needs and frustrations of your audience during the back-to-school season: tips on how to get better organized, bargain hunting, or the need to re-equip after the summer? By responding to these expectations, brands can create a more relevant and engaging experience.
2. Capitalize on commercial time to create an immersive experience
The back-to-school period is a key time to boost sales, especially with events such as back-to-school or the first end-of-year promotions. Brands can take advantage of this period to design an immersive experience in keeping with the back-to-school spirit, for example by associating their contest with special promotions or seasonal products.
3. Offer attractive endowments
4. Integrate back-to-school competitions into omnichannel campaigns to boost impact
It’s a good idea not to limit the contest to a single platform. Using multiple channels (social networks, email, website, in-store) maximizes reach and encourages participation. An omnichannel approach reaches consumers where they are, while increasing the chances of conversion.
5. Use the back-to-school period to prepare Q4
The back-to-school season is the perfect time to look ahead to the end of the year. Integrate data collection forms, opt-ins or product preferences to prepare future campaigns for Black Friday, the festive season or winter sales. In this way, brands can build a solid base of contacts for future sales events.
Launching contests is one of the most effective strategies for engaging your audience, boosting your brand’s visibility and preparing for the end of the year. To optimize the impact of your campaigns, discover the gamification mechanisms by Socialshaker and energize your back-to-school marketing campaigns!
