Rogue Ales & Spirits’ Spin to Win Contest Raked in 22K+ Leads & Raised Product Redesign Awareness

Making a change to your product’s appearance can be risky. It’s believed that 20% of new packaging decreases sales, while 10% increases sales. Translation: New packaging is more likely to hurt your bottom line than help.

However, a successful product redesign is totally possible with a solid strategy. For example, using the same product names and logos that you used before your packaging redesign can help current customers identify the products they love quickly and easily. Likewise, an awareness campaign to inform existing customers of the changes can reduce confusion at the shelf and drive new people to purchase your product.

Rogue Ales & Spirits (Rogue) was founded in 1988 as one of America’s first microbreweries. Rogue’s beverages are a “liquid ode to Oregon.” And what an ode, as the company has won more than 2,000 awards for taste, quality, and packaging. Recently, Rogue rebranded its line of canned cocktails. Learn how they used a ShortStack interactive marketing campaign to raise awareness of the new designs.

Rogue + ShortStack

Amanda Zessin is the Communications Director at Rogue. Rogue has been a ShortStack customer for three years. Zessin mentioned that Rogue runs about four interactive marketing campaigns annually using ShortStack. 

Rogue’s strategy focuses on using ShortStack to create microsites for giveaways, and they have recently started using the new instant win game templates for engagement. According to Zessin, the instant win templates have proved very effective for collecting new email addresses for their marketing campaigns. Aside from the templates, Zessin is impressed with ShortStack’s customer support team.

Rogue Canned Cocktails Product Expansion and Redesign

Rogue Canned Cocktails have been popular since their release in 2019. In May 2022, Rogue announced via a post on their website the release of a new look for their canned cocktails. 

“We’ve expanded our product offering, which now includes seven core flavors and a variety pack all available in new eye-catching cans. For us, it was all about making high-quality cocktails with Rogue Spirits easily accessible in beautiful packaging,” says John Christie, Spirits Sales Director.

The canned cocktails give people who are on-the-go the option to enjoy a delicious drink without all the ingredients, work and time it takes to make one. Rogue calls the time saved a #MixedOpportunity. 

Rogue’s Mixed Opportunities Sweepstakes 

The Rogue marketing team took the #MixedOpportunity theme and ran with it. From May 1 to August 31, 2022, they hosted the Mixed Opportunities Sweepstakes. The goals of the contest were to spread the word about our high-quality canned cocktails, raise awareness of their cans’ new look, and collect new customer email addresses. 

The Rogue team landed on a Spin To Win instant win contest using the ShortStack Spin the Reels template. With this template, entrants fill out a form to reveal a virtual slot machine graphic. They then click to spin the reel. If they land three matching symbols, then the entrant is an instant winner.

For the Mixed Opportunities Sweepstakes, Rogue asked entrants to submit their name, email address, and age (they are selling alcohol, after all). Entrants also had the opportunity to sign up for the Rogue mailing list. After form submission, the reel appeared. If three of the new Vodka Iced Tea cans were displayed after spinning, then the entrant was an instant winner. 

Instant win prizes included: 

• Rogue keychains;
• Rogue air fresheners;
• Rogue stickers;
• Rogue canvas bags;
• Rogue tube socks; and
• Discount codes valid for $5 or $10 off non-alcoholic merchandise at shop.rogue.com.

There were 44 instant winners in all. People could enter once during the entry period. Everyone who entered had the opportunity to win the grand prize – a Go Pro® Hero 10. The contest was promoted via the Rogue website, on social media, and via a press release. 

The Results

Zessin said the ROI for the Mixed Opportunities sweepstakes was “HIGH” and that’s definitely accurate. According to the contest rules, the total value of the contest prizes was $742.98. However, Rogue collected 22,541 email addresses to use for future marketing. That’s about $0.03 per email address. Zessin said they were surprised by the results, “We did not expect to get this many entries.”

Zessin mentioned they plan to use these email addresses to send “targeted emails about canned cocktail sales, new product launches, unique membership opportunities, and holiday specials to name a few.” The newsletters Rogue sent during the contest had an open rate of about 54%, much higher than the 23% industry standard, so it’s clear their list is engaged.

Furthermore, there were 40,884 unique visitors to the contest and 293 shares, meaning thousands of Rogue fans were exposed to the new canned cocktail design and products. 

Promote Your Redesign for Success

Redesigning your product packaging is more likely to cause a loss of sales than a boost because current customers aren’t able to spot your product quickly. However, a smart redesign awareness campaign can help ensure your redesign is successful.

Consider an interactive content marketing campaign like the Mixed Opportunities Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes exposed Rogue canned cocktail fans to the new can design and expanded product offering. Furthermore, it was a cost-effective strategy for Rogue to grow its email list of canned cocktail fans for targeted email campaigns.