Although the warmth of summer still lingers, the holiday season is fast approaching, and for marketers, it is the most exciting and busiest time of the year. As we gear up for the Advent season, we understand the importance of staying ahead of the curve with innovative and captivating marketing campaigns.
To help you prepare for this magical time, we want to share some inspiration and ideas for Advent campaigns that will take your marketing efforts to new heights.
In this article, we present:
- A showcase of some of our customers’ past Advent campaigns, each with its unique touch, successfully capturing the hearts of players and creating unforgettable experiences.
- Some of the key features that made each campaign a resounding success resonating with players and generating remarkable engagement.
- Unveil our software’s exciting array of possibilities and design options.
Remember, time flies faster than Santa’s sleigh, so do not wait too long to start planning your Advent campaign. Let this article be your guiding star, leading you to a season filled with joy, engagement, and cherished memories.
Happy reading and happy planning. Here is to an extraordinary and unforgettable Advent season that will leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your brand shine like a guiding star in the festive sky.
Hostettler Moto AG
Game: A variety of prizes
Hostettler Moto’s Advent calendar proved to be very successful, and its excellent performance can be attributed to the combination of an appealing design, targeted promotion, and attractive prizes.
Now let us see how Hostettler set up their Advent calendar campaign and how this led to Hostettler Moto’s success.
Design
Firstly, the appealing and modern design was crucial to the campaign’s success. The design of the Advent calendar, which features a road with different stops along the way and displays various motorcycles, was perfectly tailored to the Motor-Retail industry and directly engaged and emotionally appealed to the customers.
Hostettler Moto also integrated its partner brands by using logos in the design.
Promotion
Another crucial factor in their success was their targeted and diverse promotion strategy. Hostettler Moto shared the Advent calendar on multiple Instagram posts and prominently placed it on their website to attract a broader audience. Additionally, they used animated ads on their website to captivate potential customers’ attention.
Prizes
Regarding prizes, Hostettler Moto offered a well-balanced mix of daily product prizes from their shop, redeemable in-store vouchers, discount codes, and special offers. To create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, they limited the time of validity until the end of the Advent calendar, encouraging customers to visit their stores more frequently during the Advent season.
Customers loved the variety of prizes and revisited the calendar and Hostettler Moto stores several times throughout the campaign.
Overall, the feedback from Hostettler Moto confirmed the campaign’s success. The objective of implementing an innovative and interactive campaign was achieved as the Advent calendar brought more people to the stores and significantly increased interest in the offers and products of Hostettler Moto AG.
SPAR
Game: Advent Calendar
The next Advent calendar campaign that was hugely successful was SPAR’s gamified Advent calendar. The international retailer created an Advent campaign for Switzerland. One of its main goals was to include its partners and create a win-win situation where partners get additional exposure, and SPAR can foster interaction with its customers.
Let us have a look at how they set up their Advent calendar.
Design
The calendar-style featured a classic Advent calendar design with differently sized boxes around the big centerpiece corresponding to day 24.
Additionally, SPAR cleverly integrated their corporate color palette, fostering a sense of trust and familiarity among the customers, which led to instantly recognizing the brand the calendar was from.
Adding An Extra Element Of Fun
In a brilliant move to create excitement and variation, SPAR cleverly hid three extra games behind specific doors on the calendar, enhancing overall player engagement.
These games, featuring one Advent Memory game, a Spin the Wheel, and a Scratch Card, were unlocked on the 4th, the 11th, and the 18th of December and provided participants with extended moments of enjoyment while ensuring a longer connection with the brand.
This strategic addition of interactive games brought a sense of playfulness and anticipation, keeping participants returning for more delightful surprises.
Promotion
A well-executed promotional strategy further ensured the success of the campaign. SPAR decided to prominently feature the Advent calendar campaign on their website, allowing visitors to discover and participate in the campaign easily.
The campaigns also gained substantial awareness through strategic and repeated promotions on social media platforms, and by leveraging their newsletter, which reaches around 15,000 subscribers, the campaign’s reach and impact were further extended. Additionally, they effectively used point-of-sale promotions, such as posters in their stores, to increase the campaign’s visibility.
Lastly, paid advertisements were employed strategically on renowned Swiss news apps like 20min and Blick, targeting consumers online to boost the campaign’s exposure and participation further.
Prizes
The SPAR Advent calendar featured a wide selection of prizes that added an element of surprise for participants each day. Partnering with various brands, SPAR offered daily prizes that included kitchen appliances, products from their food assortment, skincare items, cutting-edge electronics, exclusive hotel vouchers, and versatile shopping vouchers, among others.
This well-curated array of prizes ensured that everyone was offered something they would like to win, encouraging continuous participation and creating a memorable experience for the participants.
In summary, the SPAR gamified Advent calendar showcases an exceptional holiday marketing campaign that was well-aligned in all aspects of design, promotion, and prize selection. The Advent calendar achieved its goal of integrating partner brands effectively, which helped SPAR excite customers and strengthen relationships with partners.
wefox
Gift Card: offerz.ch
The next Advent calendar we would like to introduce to you is the one from the Swiss insurance company wefox. We chose this Advent calendar because of its great design and remarkable player engagement. The campaign stood out from others for its visually appealing Bubbles-Design and the high return rate of players eager to participate more than once.
What is remarkable is that even though wefox offered only a single type of prize, this did not deter the campaign’s success. Instead, it proved to be a genius approach that attracted diverse target groups with varied interests.
So, let us have a look at how wefox did it.
Design
The fun design, featuring an appealing and modern layout with bubbles, added an element of fun and excitement to the Advent calendar campaign of wefox. The insurer chose to use its corporate colors that resonated with their customers, creating an instant connection with the target audience.
Wefox also used captivating visuals, combining the traditional with the modern by using animated Christmas elements of a Christmas tree and Santa with a mobile phone displaying their brand.
Promotion
The promotional strategy for the Advent calendar was strategically tailored to achieve maximum reach and engagement. Apart from other social media platforms, wefox decided to include LinkedIn to engage their audience on a professional networking platform as well as on more social-oriented ones.
Prizes
Regarding the prizes, wefox chose only to offer one kind of prize, offerz.ch vouchers ranging from a value of CHF10 to CH100. Offerz.ch gift cards could be redeemed at various shops, including popular brands like Apple, Netflix, Zalando, and many more.
The reason wefox decided to offer only these gift cards is their versatility, which provides winners with the opportunity to treat themselves to something from a wide range of reputable brands, ensuring that they can choose exactly what they want.
This was a compelling incentivization for players to leave their contact details to ensure they could be contacted if they had one of the daily Offerz.ch vouchers.
The fact that players could choose what they would spend their prize on was one of the reasons why customers were eager to return to the campaign and participate multiple times thereby frequently engaging with the brand throughout the Advent season.
Concluding the case of wefox, the gamified Advent calendar proved to be a big success for the company, as they managed to generate awareness for their brand and collect valuable leads while offering customers prizes that allow them to choose something of their choice for themselves or their loved ones.
This way, they managed to emphasize one of their values of empowering their customers to tailor wefox’s offering to their own personal preferences. Read the full story here.
Chocolat FREY
Game: Genusskalender
Next up on our list is the Advent calendar of Chocolat FREY. FREY’s holiday campaign was designed to enhance brand awareness in Germany, therefore, they wanted to emotionally connect to their German customers and bring them joy and indulgence.
Aptly named the “Genusskalender” or “Indulgence Calendar,” this campaign sought to offer German customers a daily moment of indulgence, reminding them of the traditional chocolate Advent calendars many of us know well from childhood.
Let us take a look into how Chocolat FREY brought their campaign to life.
Design
The design of the Advent calendar was a true reflection of the FREY brand, boasting a colorful and visually appealing layout featuring the corporate color palette of the Swiss chocolate manufacturer.
This well-crafted design aimed to capture customers’ hearts, drawing them into the sweet world of Chocolat FREY. The campaign’s nostalgic reference to the classic chocolate Advent calendars added a sense of warmth and tradition, creating a special emotional connection with the customers.
Promotion
To promote the Advent calendar, Chocolat FREY used the power of social media. Each day, they created a short but effective Instagram story, reminding their followers of the daily opportunity to open today’s Advent calendar door and win an indulgence package.
FREY reached an impressive audience of approximately 154,000 individuals on average.
Prizes
The variety of price packages offered by Chocolat FREY added an element of surprise and delight to the campaign. Every day, participants were treated to a different product package from the Chocolat FREY collection. This strategic approach highlighted the diverse product range of FREY, and offered customers with an array of tempting treats.
The variety of product packages further emphasized the brand’s commitment to providing unique and pleasurable experiences to their valued customers throughout the Advent season.
In conclusion, Chocolat FREY’s gamified Advent calendar campaign was a great success, effectively enhancing the chocolate manufacturer’s brand recognition in Germany.
Especially the carefully “Genusskalender” design, which reminded customers of a traditional chocolate Advent calendar, charming them with its vibrant and nostalgic appeal.
The Advent calendar campaign of Chocolat FREY, therefore, is the perfect example of proofing that especially the design and the emotional connection to customers are key elements for a successful Advent campaign. Read the full story here.
Imbach Reisen
Games: Memory; GtP; Memory 2; GtP2
The last Advent campaign we would like to share with you is Imbach Reisen’s Advent campaign, which consisted of four weekly Advent Games that were published on each of the four Advent Sundays.
The concept of releasing a new game every Sunday instead of posting new content every day during Advent time turned out to be a refreshing twist on the traditional Advent campaigns.
The main goal of the travel agency was to provide its loyal customers with an additional touchpoint to engage with during the holiday season and thereby remind them of their offerings.
Promotion
Imbach Reisen promoted their Advent games solely via their customer newsletter. The main reason for this choice was to offer loyal customers an additional touchpoint and an exceptional opportunity to engage with the travel agency while also making customers aware of the different travel destinations within Imbach Reisen’s portfolio.
Rather than wanting to collect leads, Imbach Reisen wished to show their customers they are well appreciated, rewarding them with a fun surprise and offering excitement during the holiday season.
Prizes
Regarding the prizes, Imbach Reisen kept things refreshingly simple yet meaningful as they sought to express gratitude to their loyal customers by gifting them with memorable prizes.
With a heartfelt desire to give back, Imbach Reisen chose to reward the lucky customers who won the contests with CHF 250 vouchers they could use to book exciting travel and hiking experiences in destinations that might not have been on their radar before.
The consistent value of CHF 250 was generous, allowing winners to explore various breathtaking locations within the Imbach Reisen portfolio. On each Sunday, customers felt a sense of anticipation and discovery, eager to reveal the location of the prize that could be won that day.
Imbach Reisen’s prizes promoted the exploration of diverse travel destinations, from the majestic Austrian mountains to the awe-inspiring landscapes of Ireland and the captivating beauty of Madeira.
Although Imbach Reisen decided against launching a full Advent calendar, their Advent campaign, which included four games on the respective Advents Sundays, was a complete success and attracted and engaged several thousand customers.
Design
The simple design and straightforward prizes ensured that existing customers were aware of Imbach Reisen’s different locations in their portfolio. They made them curious to explore hiking in countries they had not considered before.
This campaign is a wonderful example of how giving loyal customers an extra touchpoint to engage with can help remind consumers of your offers and show them your continued appreciation.
How To Prepare Your Advent Calendar
As the winter holiday approaches, you have plenty of time to create a fun holiday atmosphere with amazing products designed to delight your customers.
For the upcoming Advent calendar season, step up your game with a range of options, from a traditional chocolate calendar to a healthy Advent calendar and even a high-end Andy Warhol Advent Calendar.
For those who love an action-packed calendar, consider a 24-day Advent calendar filled with thoughtful gifts or a 24-day Advent calendar to make each day leading up to the holidays special.
If you are looking for a unique way to count down to the big day, consider an action-packed countdown that combines the best of both worlds: a 24-day countdown filled with mini products and a 24-day countdown that surprises you with full-size products.
Calendars with flaps covering each day’s gift add an extra layer of excitement to your holiday decorations, making each morning a delightful discovery as you inch closer to the grand celebration.
When it comes to design, make sure you set a warm background scene with warm lights and mini candles or use the winter scenery and settle for a snowy background and tap into the blue color palette featuring icy tones.
The tree-shaped Advent calendar can captivate your customers like never before with rewarding branded experiences. Adding a golden star on top of a wooden tree might be the missing element that can bring everything together.
Learn how you can leverage Brame’s gamification platform this holiday season each day – a unique experience, taking your holiday spirit to the next level. From countdown decorations to the lucky winner of thoughtful gifts, this season promises to be a festive and joyful celebration for all.
After being inspired by some of our customers’ previous Advent campaigns, we know you must be eager to embark on your own Advent campaign journey. Before you start right away, though, we want to give you one last valuable input and present you a variety of Advent calendar templates available in our builder.
Whether you envision a traditional Advent calendar or a captivating gamified experience, our templates offer a diverse range of options to suit every brand and campaign objective.
Have a look and we are sure you will find a template that aligns perfectly with your brand values and vision. Now, it is your turn to explore the various designs below and let your imagination take flight.
Captivate your customers like never before with rewarding branded experiences. Learn how you can leverage Brame’s gamification platform this holiday season.
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