How One Contest Created a Trunk Full of Success

Market your business by inviting the public to participate in your celebrations Can a special event for a baby elephant add ingenuity to your next marketing campaign? Here’s the scoop from DMNews’s January 14 edition.

As the Houston Zoo prepared to celebrate the Mac the Elephant’s first birthday, they decided to get the public involved through a birthday card contest. The marketing campaign was launched on the zoo’s Web site, on their blog, and through an opt-in Email list.

1. The Email campaign, created as a series, began months in advance.

“The emails were really cute and colorful, promoting a contest to see who could draw the best birthday card for the elephant.”

2. Each part of the campaign was branded with consistent imagery. This helped to increase awareness and submissions.

3. Balloons, a cake, and a picture of the elephant wearing a birthday hat was added on each promotional piece to make the contest fun and festive.

A little boy who followed the elephant’s first year of growth won the contest.

“His love for Mac…shined through in his entry.”

This contest’s components explain how to create a winning campaign, and each step is achievable when you plan ahead and deliver a great experience for your audience.

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