Summer 2023 is around the corner! For marketers, it is time to think ahead and plan our marketing summer campaigns, so we get the expected results for the end of Q2 and Q3. Plus, most of the time, we have to plan them very well as they might be running while we have our feet in the sand, with absolutely no desire to have to jump on a quick call to fix unforeseen issues.
With the warmer weather and longer days, people tend to spend more time outside. They are often in the mood to shop and try new things. This presents a great opportunity for businesses to boost their sales and engage with their target audience in fun and creative ways.
Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, a well-planned summer marketing campaign can help you stand out from the competition and build brand awareness. From social media promotions to outdoor events, there are countless ways to get your message across and connect with your customers during the summer months.
In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the best summer marketing campaign ideas using examples from real brands to help you get started.
Do you prefer a video format? Then, check out our webinar on Summer campaigns!
Summer campaigns refer to marketing initiatives or promotions that are specifically designed to target customers during the summer months. These campaigns can vary depending on the industry, the target audience, and the goals of the business.
For some businesses, marketing summer campaigns may focus on promoting products or services that are particularly relevant or in demand during the summer season. For example, retailers may promote summer clothing, beach gear, and outdoor furniture. Travel companies may offer summer vacation packages, while restaurants may promote refreshing summer menu items and outdoor dining options.
Summer campaigns can also be focused on creating a unique experience for customers. This could include hosting outdoor events, sponsoring summer festivals, or collaborating with influencers or sports teams to create engaging content that aligns with the spirit of summer.
Ultimately, summer campaigns are an opportunity for businesses to connect with their customers in new and creative ways, while taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the summer season. By understanding their target audience and developing compelling summer-themed promotions, businesses can increase brand awareness, boost sales, and foster customer loyalty.
Creating gamified summer campaigns can be a highly effective way to engage with customers and increase brand awareness during the summer months. Here are a few reasons why gamification can be a powerful tool in your summer marketing strategy:
In summary, by leveraging gamification elements in your marketing strategy, you can make your marketing summer campaigns more fun, memorable, and effective.
Below, you will find different summer campaign ideas with examples from real brands! All the examples of summer campaigns included were built using the Playable platform.
Summer, as you most likely know, is a peak travel season! This means people are actively seeking travel opportunities during this time. Therefore, promoting getaways, trips, and other traveling experiences during the summer months can be great summer campaign ideas, making your campaign more relevant and appealing to your target audience. Again, we highly encourage you to utilize game mechanics in marketing to boost the success of your summer campaigns. Virgin Red & Virgin Voyages had incredible results by creating a fun quiz to promote their luxury sea getaways to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Europe, and beyond.
Virgin Red achieved outstanding results with their competition, garnering five million views without spending any marketing budget. This resulted in the lowest cost-per-acquisition (CPA) in the company’s history, making it a triple win for Virgin Red, Virgin Voyages, and their customers. The fortunate winners not only enjoyed their dream holidays, but the positive attention generated also led to an increase in paid ticket sales.
The results:
Learn more about Virgin Red leveraging games in their marketing strategy!
Summer is a time when people are generally more relaxed and open to trying new things. By launching a new product during this time, you can tap into this seasonal trend and generate interest and excitement around your offering. Plus, creating a summer buzz around a new product launch can be a strategic move for increasing brand awareness, standing out from competitors, leveraging social media, and ultimately driving sales for your business. That’s why Willem II decided to create a gamified summer campaign to release their new home team jersey.
The football club tweeted that their team captain, Jordens Peters, “left the club”. All the fans were in shock because they thought maybe his contract was picked up by another club. By playing four games built on Playable, the fans could find the coordinates to the secret location where Peters was hiding. A real-life scavenger hunt began.
In just two to three hours, a staggering 27,583 fans visited Willem II’s website to participate in the scavenger hunt. Eventually, one lucky fan found Peters in the office of the main sponsor, where he was waiting with a key to open the fan shop and reveal the 2020-2021 team jersey. The success of this summer campaign demonstrated the power of gamification in engaging fans and creating an unforgettable experience.
Results:
Learn more about Willem II’s gamified campaign!
Summer events often attract a large number of people, providing an excellent opportunity to increase brand awareness and exposure. Moreover, if your product is well-suited to the summer season, creating gamified campaigns tailored for events can help to boost sales. By showcasing your product and offering special promotions or discounts, you can entice attendees to make a purchase on the spot. Attending summer events can also be an opportunity to build relationships with potential customers. By engaging with attendees and creating a positive impression, you can increase brand loyalty. Carlsberg knew well these summer campaign benefits and they utilized them well in the following campaign.
Being an active sponsor of the Danish National team in football, it was a natural choice for Carlsberg to launch a major campaign during the Euro2020 football championship, held in 2021, called “With the Team.” Although they were not official sponsors of the tournament, they felt compelled to do something as it was being partly held in Denmark.
The strategic element of the campaign was a message of “Win with the team,” which was relatively straightforward: Purchase a limited edition Carlsberg can and verify the QR code on the can to see if you have won Denmark fan merchandise.
The objectives of the campaign were to engage with fans, manifest a strong brand association with football, plus – very important – to drive sales. We can safely say it was a success!
Learn more about Carlsberg’s successful gamification summer campaign
Gamified summer campaigns can be a highly effective way to engage your audience and create excitement around your brand during the summer months. To successfully engage your audience, it’s important to make the game interactive, challenging, and rewarding. The game should be easy to understand and play and should offer some form of incentive, such as a prize or discount, for completing the game or achieving a high score. It’s also important to make the game social, allowing players to share their progress on social media and compete with friends. By incorporating these elements into your summer campaign ideas, you can create an immersive and engaging experience that will keep your audience coming back for more.
That’s exactly what ALDI Danmark had in mind when they built their Spot the difference summer game. With the work of their in-house graphic designer, they designed the graphics and were able to quickly create the game on the Playable platform. This summer competition was advertised through their owned marketing channels, including their newsletter and social media platforms. The campaign ran for 10 days and resulted in almost 15,000 visitors engaging with it, with ALDI Denmark achieving a conversion rate of 74.2%. On average, players spent 1 minute and 30 seconds playing the Spot the difference game.
Read more about ALDI Danmark’s spot the difference campaign
Summer is the perfect time for outdoor gatherings, and nothing brings people together like a good old-fashioned BBQ. For food producers, this means that the summer season presents a prime opportunity to market their products in a fun and engaging way. By creating gamified campaigns that promote seasonal summer products that are perfect for the BBQ, food producers can tap into consumers’ desire for an enjoyable and interactive experience while also highlighting the unique benefits of their products. Whether it’s a new marinade, a fresh batch of veggies, or a tasty meat alternative, gamified campaigns can help food producers boost sales and build brand awareness during the BBQ season.
The food producer Danish Foods, really had that in mind when they designed their gamified summer campaigns for their new pull pork taco meet from their sub-brand Tulip. The company worked with the platform to create a drop game that featured the ingredients required to make tacos. As well as the intrinsic reward of playing for fun, consumers were entered into a draw for a barbecue grill. The campaign saw an average engagement time of 4 minutes and 46 seconds, more than double the KPI that had been set. It also saw more than 7,000 unique participants take part in the game.
Learn more about Tulip’s gamified summer campaign!
In conclusion, marketing summer campaigns can be a great way to engage with your audience and create memorable experiences for them. By leveraging the power of gamification in marketing and interactivity, brands can make their campaigns stand out and drive better results. We’ve seen some great examples of this in action, from Virgin Red’s “Epic Prize Ahoy” campaign to Tulip’s pulled pork taco drop game.
If you want to create a summer campaign that truly resonates with your audience, consider incorporating gamification into your strategy. Playable’s gamification platform can help you create fun, interactive experiences that keep your audience engaged and excited about your brand. Book a demo today to see how our platform can help you create a successful summer campaign that drives results.
You might also be interested in our article about Back-to-school campaigns!