Deciding to run a prize promotion as part of your overall marketing plan can feel like a big commitment.

You have to source prizes that will get your brand noticed, then alter your packaging or create POS materials, before organising the logistics of managing entrants and winners, potentially on a national or international level.

While there are certainly challenges, the payoff is that a successful prize promotion has the potential to reach and engage new customers on an industrial scale, often prompting people to switch their lifetime shopping habits and become advocates of a new brand.

But how do you ensure this success without overloading your marketing team? At NDL, we run promotions for some of the world’s biggest brands, from McDonald’s to Universal, XBOX and Dior. We help brands to initiate and manage far-reaching promotions which have long-lasting impact, creating ‘winner love’.

Here are our 5 key ingredients to ensuring your promotion is a success:

1. Ensure your prize connects your brand with your target audience

Anyone can give away a holiday. But create a prize that really resonates with your audience, and you’ll see redemption levels increase. It’s all about understanding what motivates your target audience, and that means getting a real, grassroots knowledge of their lifestyle and shopping habits. What excites them? What drives them? It all starts with getting their attention and motivating them with an irresistible prize.

2. Be innovative with your promotion mechanic

Running a prize draw keeps your promotion simple. But what about the majority of your customers who don’t win? How can your brand engage longer term with more than one winner? While you can offer a handful of major prizes, it’s always a good idea to ensure large-scale wins, perhaps through money off a next purchase or through smaller, lower value promotions.

3. Support your promotion with tailor-made activity

You should try to be dynamic with your promotion, using all your marketing channels to bring it to life. Use the opportunity to reach a wider audience on social media and to build your email marketing list. Create content which your audience values and which connects them to your brand – a long-term view is essential.

4. Make the most of your winner love

Everyone loves winning, and our dedicated winner management team have the best job telling people they have won a prize! By developing great relationships while arranging their prizes, it’s possible to develop really compelling user content to extend your promotion. From prize reviews, to holiday snaps and genuine brand appreciation, everyone can feel good about your brand in the aftermath of a promotion, even if they’re not the winner.

5. Send further offers to your database

A prize promotion shouldn’t end on the last date for entry. In fact, your work has only just begun. At the end of a promotion you should have valuable data about potential customers, so think carefully about what you’ll do with it. A simple email offering money off their next purchase is a great way to say thanks for entering – include a link to your latest product news, and you’ve just created a highly targeted advertising opportunity.

About The NDL Group

The NDL Group is a promotions agency delivering global promotions and incentives for some of the UK’s leading brands, including McDonald’s, Global Radio, Tuc, Thirst Pockets, IKEA and Dior. NDL’s prize content team delivers the inspiration and ideas which engage audiences on a massive scale while the technical team build & manage proprietary technology solutions which deliver every digital aspect of a promotion, including promotional entry platforms, winner selection technology and validation and claim management.

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