With budgets back in hand, new purchasing intentions and the start of the sprint towards the end of the year, the strategic stakes are enormous. Provided you know where to focus your efforts. So how do you get your fourth term off to a good start and maximise the impact of your back-to-school communications?

SUMMARY

• The major marketing challenges of the autumn
  
• 3 tips for a successful back-to-school communication operation
  

The statistic to remember: Nearly 4 out of 5 French people (79%) are planning to change their shopping habits this autumn.

The marketing action to launch: a marketing campaign on social networks with an interactive and engaging format to maximise the brand’s visibility.

An example to follow: For its “Back to School” campaign, SFR relied on the Match 3 mechanic to promote the start of the new school year. This addictive game recruited over 4,200 leads and generated 38 games played per participant. The Adictiz Ads media campaign generated a 98% response rate, an essential factor in the game’s visibility.

2. Refine customer knowledge to improve future marketing campaigns

The statistic to remember: 83% of consumers say they are willing to share their preferences with a brand in exchange for a personalised experience. And brands that exploit first-party data generate 2.9 times more revenue.

The marketing action to launch: Brands can, for example, share an interactive Personality Test on their site to better understand their customers’ interests and needs. Customers will then be redirected to relevant product pages or automatically retargeted by email with targeted offers.

An example to learn from: The interactive quiz shared by MaGare+ as part of its back-to-school game enabled the company to collect valuable data on its audience. For example, it has been able to identify the station services that are most likely to be of interest to its customers.

3. Capitalise on purchase intentions to improve conversion

Key statistic: At the start of the new school year, families spend an average of 304 euros per person.

The marketing action to launch: Consumers are more likely to make a purchase or create a customer account in exchange for a discount or reward. Brands can boost their conversion rate by proposing an attractive welcome offer (a discount on the first order) or by distributing discount coupons via a 100% instant win.

An example to follow: For the back-to-school season, Kiabi launched a campaign focusing on lead generation and conversion, giving participants the chance to win attractive prizes, including shopping vouchers. Thanks to media coverage via Adictiz Ads, the operation recorded an opt-in rate of 68%, testifying to participants’ commitment to the brand and the effectiveness of the campaign.

4. Building loyalty and preparing for the last quarter of the year

The last quarter of the year (Q4) is crucial, with events such as Black Friday, the autumn sales and the festive season. Building customer loyalty from September onwards maximises sales during this strategic period and considerably reduces the budget for future marketing campaigns.

The statistic to remember: A loyal customer spends on average 67% more than a new customer (Source: Harvard Business Review). Not to mention that attracting a new customer costs five times more than bringing one back.

The marketing campaign to launch: to boost your retention rate, there’s nothing better than an innovative loyalty programme. This will encourage consumers to buy from the brand by giving them access to more attractive discounts or previews of Black Friday offers.

An example to follow: In 2021, Decathlon has decided to transform its traditional loyalty programme into a more inclusive offering, allowing customers to collect points through various actions (in particular their interactions with the brand) and no longer just when they make purchases. The catalogue of rewards has also been expanded, giving programme members the opportunity to spend their points at partner stores.

To maximise the impact of back-to-school communications, brands need to put the right strategy in place. Here are three tips for optimising your sales operation and achieving concrete results.

1. Identify your objectives and your target’s needs

An effective back-to-school marketing campaign must therefore be perfectly tailored to the expectations of its audience. To achieve this, brands need to collect data upstream. Marketing games will enable them to analyse the preferences and behaviour of consumers in greater detail, so that they can better qualify their leads.

2. Stand out from other advertising campaigns

With the arrival of Spring and the return of fine weather, the French are looking forward to the May bank holidays, as well as Mother’s Day. This is a symbolic event and therefore a key moment on which brands can capitalise.

Mother’s Day marketing campaigns are a strategic way of raising visibility, stimulating a community and boosting sales. In this article, we share some ideas for Mother’s Day competitions based on the objectives to be achieved.

SUMMARY

• Mother’s Day: a key commercial event for brands
• 1. Mother’s Day competitions to stimulate your community
• 2. A Mother’s Day sales promotion to engage customers
• 3. A marketing game to generate sales for Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day (which takes place on the last Sunday in May in France) is an event celebrated by more than 80% of French people. It’s a time to celebrate mothers and spend time with loved ones. It generates major spin-offs for brands. This is the second biggest marketing event in France in terms of gifts, just behind Christmas.

It has an impact on company sales and is a major boost to revenues. In France, the budget for Mother’s Day is 66 euros. Brands use this opportunity to showcase their products and services or share gift ideas with their customers.

Mother’s Day is an opportunity to communicate values. Retailers can share campaigns that will strengthen their brand image, raise their profile, increase their sales strengthen relationships with their audience.

Gamification to communicate around Mother’s Day

To stand out from the crowd at this major event, companies can engage their community with fun, interactive experiences. Gamified marketing, or the introduction of playable elements into campaigns, is a lever for capturing an audience’s attention.

Companies can turn to different marketing game formats. A photo contest can engage the community around a challenge while generating content (or UGC for User Generated Content) that the brand can share.

The sales promotions, in-store or online, enable you to :

• Collecting data to understand customer expectations around Mother’s Day;
• Share gift recommendations based on collected product preferences;
• Generate sales by sharing incentives such as e-coupons, gift cards, etc.
  
• Build loyalty among the leads generated by collecting opt-ins so that they can be retargeted throughout the year.

Here are 3 examples of original interactive campaigns inspired by gamification, such as the Mother’s Day marketing campaign.

Mother’s Day is an opportunity to forge closer links with the community. The campaigns surrounding this special day are an opportunity to promote family values.

Brands can take advantage of Mother’s Day to create a close relationship with their audience. Using sales events to extend the time spent with the brand.

Example: Galeries Lafayette’s Mother’s Day game

For Mother’s Day, Galeries Lafayette have come up with a 100% winning One-Armed Bandit via a game terminal installed for 3 days in 6 shops in France. Results exceeded expectations, with above-average participation. The 1 minute 20 second game time demonstrated an interest in the animation, confirming the success of this campaign.

Mother’s Day competition was available in mobile format via a QR code. This strategy increased the reach of the campaign. It made it possible to animate all the shops, with
a 100% winning concept. In addition, this co-branding operation made it possible to collect opt-ins for Galeries Lafayette and its partner brand, Rosemood.

To build customer loyalty, brands need to multiply the number of points of contact. Trade fairs are strategic in terms of engagement because they offer opportunities to connect with the audience.

For Mother’s Day, many people turn to social networks to find gift ideas. It’s a good idea to create a competition to engage prospects and customers and move them along the buying funnel.

Example: SFR’s Mother’s Day campaign

SFR’s Mother’s Day campaign in the Caribbean aimed to raise brand awareness by engaging its audience. The mechanics Match 3 was a resounding success, boosted by Adictiz Ads media coverage. Participants were highly engaged, spending an average of 11 minutes on the game per user.

Finally, Mother’s Day is an opportunity to encourage consumers to buy their gifts. The competition is a tool for generating sales, as it allows you to share attractive incentives (vouchers, discounts, free products, etc.) with your customers.

Gamification makes it easier to personalise recommendations by offering retailers methods of collecting product preferences.Via mechanisms such as Swiper or Gift Finder. Brands will be able to offer customised gift guides that are effective in generating conversions.

Example: Galeries Lafayette’s Mother’s Day marketing campaign

To mark the occasion, Les Galeries Lafayette offered its customers the chance to win gift cards. This instant win strategy ( the Pinata) has enabled us to collect qualified leads and boost conversions.

This strategy, based on encouraging purchases, was based on an end page that directed users to offers, while encouraging them to use the gift card on the merchant site.

Conclusion

Stand out from the crowd this Mother’s Day by offering your prospects and customers the chance to take part in a competition. Thanks to our 100% customisable mechanics, you’ll be able to capture buyers’ attention and move them up your sales funnel!