One of the cornerstones of our mission at The Found Gen is to help clients build a community around their brand. A community engages with a brand, feels passionate about it, shows loyalty toward it…and financially supports it. That’s the end goal.
Consumer engagement comes in many forms and via many digital platforms. And once a year, an event takes place that serves as a showcase for some of the most successful and creative consumer marketing strategies out there: The Super Bowl. In honor of the big game on today, let’s take a look at a couple effective examples of online brand-consumer engagement happening around this hyper-commercialized sporting event.
The Way to a Consumer’s Heart Is Through…
Who reading has not at some point Googled for dip recipes for a Super Bowl party? Food is a major passion point, so it’s a surefire way to reach people looking for ideas online. If your business is in any way related to the food, beverage, health, lifestyle, or entertaining sectors, recipes are a natural fit to engage with your consumers.
For example, a local cheese shop could write blog posts about recipes featuring the cheeses it sells, just as Whole Foods does. A wine boutique could blog about which varietals to pair with hot wings and guacamole.
If your business is building a successful presence on Pinterest, the home chef’s paradise, start a board for Super Bowl foods, like furniture company Raymour & Flanigan or Solo brand cups or Natural Delights Medjool Dates. Or go bigger and host a food competition among consumers, like the cooking contest PepsiCo is hosting this year among chefs (of course, on a scale that works with your size and budget).
Challenge Consumers to Be Creative
Speaking of competitions, one super successful campaign this year has been Doritos’ “Crash the Super Bowl” ad challenge, hosted in conjunction with Universal Pictures. The snack-food brand challenged people to create their own ads and upload them for several rounds of online voting. The two winning ads will air during the big game, and one winner receives $1,000,000 and a job opportunity with Universal (talk about incentives).
Smaller businesses can also engage with customers through online competitions that encourage creativity or spark a dialogue—oftentimes, just a small prize from your brand is motivation enough! Conduct a giveaway on your blog (and publicize it through your social media accounts—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), encouraging followers to enter through the comments, like the Pioneer Woman’s KitchenAid contests. Or invite consumers to show their creativity on Pinterest by curating a board on a certain theme, like sewing brand McCall did last fall.
Different engagement tactics work for different businesses, of course. So take a serious look at your existing consumers—and your target consumers—and consider their online behavior. What motivates them to engage? And then try something out. Maybe your giveaway will get only 30 participants this month, but next month it might be 50! Online momentum builds with time and energy, so what are you waiting for? Get in the game!