Is your brand looking for new marketing levers to engage and retain its audience? Gamified and interactive campaigns are effective levers for achieving these objectives, particularly when they rely on the interactive mechanics of the winning moment.

This game lets participants know immediately if they’ve won a prize or a gift. This is just as addictive as it is beneficial for the brands that organise it. They stand out from fake games where participants never win anything (spam, scams).

In this article, we reveal the advantages that a brand can gain from creating an instant win game online and how to run a successful campaign in 4 steps.

The principle behind instant win games is simple: it’s a mechanic in which participants know immediately after playing that they have won a prize. This distinguishes it from another type of marketing game, such as a prize draw, where you have to wait an amount of timebefore finding out who the winners are.

The first advantage of this aspect is that it makes you want to participate because you’ll know immediately whether you’ve won a prize or not. It’s also simple for the company. The instant win game works by time slots designated as ‘winning’. So all you have to do is enter at the right time to win a gift. And outside these time slots, all participants will lose.

Companies can also opt for a 100% winning mechanism. All they just have to distribute a promotional code at the end and offer larger prizes in certain time slots.

Instant win competitions have become popular because of their immediacy and simplicity. Companies set them up on social networks or websites to engage their audience, build customer loyalty or promote a new product.

The different types of instant win games

The popularity of instant win games is due to their versatility. It is possible to choose from different game mechanics depending on your target audience and the objectives you have.

For example :

• Create a wheel of fortune. This is a must-have instant win game. Participants spin the wheel to try and win a gift or promotional code.
• The scratch card game: games of chance such as scratch cards, lotteries, are also instant wins. Participants will know whether or not they have won after scratching an image. Quick and fun, scratch cards can also be used to reveal a new product.
• The one-armed bandit). Inspired by casino games, this instant win allows you to distribute gifts to your audience at random. Once again, you can personalise the signs so that they represent the prize to be won (a promotion, a product, etc.).
• The dice game; very popular in many cultures (where it is known as Yams or 421), the dice game is also a very popular format in gamified marketing.

Instant win competitions offer a number of advantages to the companies. The first is that their ultra-simple game mechanics allow you to maximise participation and commitment.

The ability to find out immediately whether you’ve won or not encourages members of your community to take part or even share this interactive animation. This makes the marketing game an excellent way of boosting visibility. What’s more, there are plenty of customisation options available, so you can boost brand awareness while enhancing your image.

Creating an instant win competition is also an effective way of generating leads. Participants can be asked to fill in a form before rolling the dice or the wheel of chance. In this way, the company collects first-party data easily and can learn more about consumer habits.

Finally, instant wins are particularly well suited to companies that want to increase their conversion rate or build customer loyalty. By distributing promotional codes to the winners, they can encourage participants to visit their site and place an order.

Shared in a reactivation email, this marketing game can encourage a customer who hasn’t bought from the brand for a while to discover a new collection, etc. Or simply reward a loyal customer with gifts/promotions.

Choose the right game mechanics for your objectives and target audience

For an instant win game to be effective, it is important to clearly define your marketing objectives and target audience. If the aim is to build audience loyalty over the Christmas period, an Advent Calendar-style game will be the appropriate format.

The target audience you wish to engage is also an important factor to take into account when choosing the right game mechanics. Some worlds may be more effective with one audience than another. 

Choosing the best prizes

The whole attraction of the instant win game is the chance to win an attractive gift. That’s why it’s important to choose the right endowment. Promotional codes are a good idea, especially during shopping periods like the festive season or Black Friday.

Companies can also boost engagement and conversions from their events by offering exclusive prizes. The prizes in the tech world are the ones that work best. Ahead of the launch of a new collection, participants can win items that are not yet available in their online shop.

Define clear conditions for participation

To create an instant win, it is essential to clearly indicate the conditions of participation to avoid unpleasant surprises for participants. The conditions are set out in the entry form. This is another key element in a successful instant win, as it will enable the company to collect data about its audience.

Promote an instant win game

Once the company has created its instant win game, all that’s left to do is promote it to the public. Social networks, QR codes in shops and banners on the website are good ideas for raising the profile of the game. Influencers can also be good relays for boosting the participation rate.