With Pinterest exploding over the last few months, it was only a matter of time before brands got on the bandwagon - but did we all expect an influx of contests? I enjoy brands' boards of relevant items and how-to's, but are contests really worth their time? After looking into it a bit, I rounded up a few notable contests (and one that I'm still skeptical about) to get a handle on what the future might bring as far as contests for avid pinners like myself.
Kotex launched what is considered to be the "first brand Pinterest campaign" with their "Women's" which targeted 50 women in Israel to find what inspired them. Their boards inspired gift boxes which were individualized and sent to them - these gift boxes exploded onto Pinterest and blogs garnering 700K + impressions. This campaign was great because it embraced the true nature of Pinterest - and let's be honest, don't we all hope that someone would send us a package with everything we pin onto our "wants" boards?
Another campaign that I didn't see a lot of press on was British Midland International (bmi)'s Pinterest Lottery. This campaign didn't completely clinch the Pinterest idea of individualization, but played off the "board" aspect - turning it more into a game of numbers and chance. To play, consumers had to repin bmi destinations (each was labeled with a number on the bmi boards) to their own boards. Then, bmi chose six numbers and the consumer with that combination on their board would win. It had more than 3,000 entries in the first two weeks alone - which is downright impressive for one of the first Pinterest contests out there. I liked this because it really plays up the "game" aspect, making it a bit more interactive and fun than others. Since they have let consumers know that they will continue releasing new boards for the lottery - it will be interesting to how popular they increasingly become overall on the platform.
One recently introduced Pinterest contest by Cloud 9, has me initially skeptical - due to the involved nature and effort consumers will need to put into their entries. Involving multiple steps and 10 required pins, it could have just been the writing, but halfway through the directions I threw up my hands and decided it was too time consuming (but wait, aren't we all spending almost an hour and a half on there anyways? These facts seem to escape me at the time).
So what do we want from upcoming Pinterest contests? Let's get a quick recap from the examples - personalization, multiple chances to win & fun interaction and easy steps and instructions. One thing that I do appreciate about Cloud 9's contest is the chance to get personal about your submission - something I think is key for the future of these contests. While we all appreciate the quick and easy submissions, Pinterest is all about getting your personal preferences and likes out there and stated for everyone to see. Lets cross our fingers for more creative contests and campaigns in coming months and see if they will aid Pinterest in moving up from third place.