Creative Father's Day Contest Ideas

Savvy marketers are always looking ahead,which is why we're already seeing lots of ShortStack users gearing up for one of the biggest marketing opportunities of the summer: Father's Day.The majority of Americans celebrate Father's Day (as many as 76%) and spend around $15 billion on gifts. * That spells potential for brands and businesses of all sizes. Are you ready to build a marketing campaign that engages your audience and celebrates Dad? We have a few ideas you can implement into your social media strategy today.

1. Build A Campaign That Lets Dads "Pick Your Prize"

Not every dad wants a grill for Father's Day. Some might prefer other items used for entertaining. Like maybe a patio set, or a bluetooth speaker. Abeles and Heymann (A&H) hosted a "Pick Your Prize" contest in which people could choose from three prizes they hoped to win.

The giveaway ran for about six weeks and people were invited to enter daily in order to increase their chances of winning.

A&H was smart about how they set up the contest because by allowing people to enter daily, they also brought people to their campaign every day which meant reminding people of the brand.

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2. Ask Fans to Submit a Photo of Their Dad

The most popular campaign we'll see on Father's Day will be the photo contest.

Photo contests are easy for fans to enter and tend to garner high engagement.

In this example, Toro, the company that makes lawn-care equipment, hosted a "Share Your Backyard Mowment" contest. Toro asked people to share photos of their outdoor spaces, and tell a little story about what the photo showed.

While this example wasn't specific to Father's Day, you could easily turn it into a Dad-centric photo contest.

Toro decided to choose a winner based on their own criteria, but they could have added a voting element and gotten even more engagement and sharing.

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3. Ask Fans to Submit Stories About Their Dad

People love telling stories, especially funny stories! To host a story contest, ask your followers to tell a little story about their dads. Think about a question that is relevant to your brand.

For example,if you're in the food business, ask people to share a story about their dad's biggest cooking disaster (or triumph). If you run a landscaping business, ask people to share memories of their dad's handywork.

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4 Things to Remember When Planning Your Father's Day Campaign

1. Grow Your Email List: Use an entry form to collect an email address from your entrants so you can continue to market to them beyond Father's Day. For example, if you're giving away a $100 gift card, maybe all of the runners-up can receive a $5 off coupon. Use ShortStack's autoresponder feature to confirm entry to your contest and share a coupon.

‍2. Don't Leave Anyone Out: While a majority of Dads will be receiving gifts from their loved ones on Father's Day, that doesn't mean they wouldn't love a chance to win something themselves! When building your promotion encourage all fans to enter.

‍3. Make it Easy to Enter: We're already starting to see a flood of Father's Day advertisements and promotions, so the easier your contest is to navigate and enter the more attractive it will be to your audience. Stand out with a good design and minimal entry barriers.

‍4. Do Your Research: A variety of studies have been done on the purchasing habits of consumers on Father's Day. It's best to do a little research on the types of items people are looking to buy and determinehow you can fit into that market.For example, according to NRF's Father's Day 2017 Spending Survey most people (64.3%) say thank you to dad with a greeting card, four in 10 (46.1%) treat dad to new apparel items such as neckties and sweaters, spending a total of $1.8 billion, while another 48 percent celebrate with special outings such as dinner or a tickets to a sporting event, spending a total of $3.3 billion. The survey also found that those celebrating Father’s Day spend $1.8 billion on electronic gifts like smartphones and tablets, and $2.2 billion on gift cards, letting dad pick his own special gift. Before you build your campaign look at statistics and work them into your marketing strategy.*National Retail Federation

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