Why Run a Competition? Here's why.

If there’s a way your brand can differentiate themselves from competitors, why not do it?

Well, here’s a little hint, competitions can achieve this for you (if they’re done right).

Running a competition can offer several benefits to promote and differentiate your brand:

1. Increased brand awareness: Competitions attract attention and generate buzz, which increases the visibility of your brand. This ultimately helps to attract new customers whether it’s to build a social media following, bring eyeballs to your website or create engagement via an app your brand has created.

2. Engagement with your audience: Competitions encourage your audience to engage with your brand, which helps to build and deepen relationships and loyalty. This is especially valuable if you are launching a new product or service.

3. Data collection: Competitions are a great way to collect data on your audience, such as their email addresses, interests, age, and state. This data can then be used to better understand your audience and to tailor your marketing campaigns.

4. Boost sales: Competitions incentivise people to make a purchase or to try out products or services, and if they require a purchase to enter will ultimately boost sales.

5. Positive brand association: Competitions create a positive association with your brand by positioning you as a company that cares about its customers and is willing to give back.

Overall, competitions are an effective way to promote your brand and engage with your audience, while also generating valuable data and boosting sales.

Here’s an example of a competition that provided an experience no money can buy, which is definitely worth the read!

The "Best Job in the World" campaign run by Tourism Queensland, an Australian government agency responsible for promoting tourism in the state of Queensland, is a great example of a competition giving its winner something money can’t buy.

The campaign, launched in 2009, offered people from around the world the opportunity to apply for a job as a "caretaker" of a tropical island on the Great Barrier Reef for six months. The successful applicant would be paid AUD $150,000 to explore the island and surrounding areas while sharing their experiences on a blog and social media.

The campaign was a huge success, generating over 35,000 applications from people in 200 countries. The media coverage generated by the campaign was estimated to be worth over AUD $200 million, and the campaign helped to increase tourism to the state of Queensland.

The "Best Job in the World" campaign was successful because it offered a unique and exciting opportunity that was highly appealing to the target audience (young, adventurous travellers). It also leveraged social media and word-of-mouth marketing, as applicants were encouraged to promote their application on social media and to encourage their friends and family to vote for them. Finally, the campaign was successful because the prize was highly desirable and aspirational, and it offered the successful applicant a once-in-a-lifetime experience that money couldn't buy.

Need help figuring out how to incorporate a competition into your next campaign? Ansible are here to help!