It’s official. The pastel hues are hitting stores, the days are getting longer, and there’s a bit of a pep in our steps. April is a time to indulge ourselves - in our little polka-dotted dresses, our sweet little treats, and our quirkier sides. It’s a month full of good-hearted fun - and it’s a great time to explore some new activations with your fanbase!
We’ve created a list of digital campaign activations to create moments of surprise and delight that will grow your fanbase and build retention with existing fans. Uncover preferences, collect first-party and create memorable fan moments.
Tis the Season
Spring is a time when many sports teams re-start their season. Whether they’re amping up for their first little league or getting back in shape for a Tuesday night ultimate frisbee meetup, fans aren’t just watching sports - they’re getting active.
Brands that deliver on community values garner deeper trust and more engagement. So get involved with your fan community, and show them you care by sponsoring a local sports team. How might I do this you ask?
Digital Campaign: Video Campaign
Double down on a quintessential Video Campaign. Let your local sports teams get creative with their video entries as they try to convince you why they deserve a sponsor. You can moderate the entries, approve your favorite ones, and then bring it back to your fans for the final vote. Not only is this a great way to get fans across all sports spectrums involved, but it’s great UGC to amplify across your social channels for weeks to come. And who knows, maybe it can become a brand tradition!
Digital Campaign: Donate
Perhaps you have in mind a local sports team (or teams) already. You can amplify your sponsorship commitment by bringing it directly to your fans with a donate campaign. You state your cause, ask for donations, and offer a “1- up” of some sort in return (i.e. “we’ll match your donations!”). Keep it simple for fans, and see immediate results.
The Masters
Get out your white gloves, visors and best “staring into the horizon” stance - it’s time for golf. As the first major of the year - the master kicks off the tournament season. We’re ready to shush our friends, throw our clubs and settle into the “amazing, simply amazing” commentary. As a traditionally strict sport, Golf has been making a comeback in recent years with the regular ‘youth’ - get on their level by spicing up your golf activations.
Digital Campaign: Meme
The PGAmemes Instagram page has over 700K in followers, showing that golf isn’t too polite to poke a little fun now and again. Fans are here to have some fun with the weekend, so make it easy for them to take part. Simply pair down your favorite photos and moments from the day, brand them, and let fans get creative with their own captions. Lean into those meme-able moments!
Digital Campaign: Vote
We’re talking crisp collars, tapered pants and hats. Who wore it best? Let your fans decide. A “who wore it best” campaign is a classic way to bring a new perspective to an annual event. Plus, when you see that the colorful Puma golf hat is the “it” item for your fans, you gain some insight into their fashion preferences. Paired with some deliberate custom-fields, you can gain some valuable fan data in the process. #vogue.
Easter
Those packets of mini eggs have been staring us down from the isles. Marshmallow chicks and pastel hues of pink, green, and blue beckon from afar. It’s almost Easter! As a child-friendly holiday, Easter is a great time to get the entire family involved. Go beyond regular ‘transactional’ activations and create some interactive digital campaigns this easter season. Take advantage of infectious eagerness in the air, and invite fans to get involved with your brand.
Digital Campaign: Scavenger Hunt
Alright, scavenger hunt sounds suspiciously like “easter egg hunt,” and we’re here for it. This year, combining physical activations with digital has never been more “of the times,” so take this as your ticket to getting fans back in momentum with your brand. The premise is simple, you pre-set some locations for your fans to visit, and once they reach their destinations, they have to check in online. If they go to every single location on your map, then they should get a prize. Make it Easter themed by leaving literal ‘easter eggs’ in each location, where fans have to put together the clues to solve a riddle or a problem. If there’s one thing you can do for your fans, it's to keep it interesting.
Digital Campaign: Survivor Quiz
It’s timed. It’s high pressure. And, it’s entirely random. Here’s the game: your fans have to guess where the “egg” is. If they guess correctly, they move onto the next round. If they miss the mark, they miss the train - only correct answers bring fans closer to the prize. A fun take on a schoolyard classic, ‘where’s the egg’ is a fun way to gamify prizing! You were going to have some special Easter deals regardless, why not make them more memorable by encouraging your fans to get engaged and test their luck!
Digital Campaign: Photo Contest
Can you say Easter without saying Bunny? Easter is a great time to stock up on those family photos. From cute pictures of easter egg hunts, to the hilariously timed photos of children reacting to a meeting with the easter bunny, Easter weekend is full of picturesque moments. Encourage your fans to share their favorite moments, and boost the beauty of the spring holiday weekend by bringing your fans together. Nothing says, “this brand’s close to our hearts” quite like amplifying their sentimental moments.
Major League Baseball Opening Day:
All 30 teams will spring into action on April 1st, welcoming a season filled with long afternoons, family outings and some good ol’ ball. This season, fans are being welcomed back into the stands at reduced capacity. But don’t we all feel the draw to be there? Supplement the live experience, and combine physical with digital activations using some well-timed engagement campaigns.
Digital Campaign: Tug of War
Is the first throw going to be a ball, or a strike? Who will win the first faceoff, the Toronto Blue Jays or the New York Yankees? Get fan input with a classic tug of war campaign. The choices are clear, the game is simple and it’s an easy way to get fans back in on the action while simultaneously collecting first-party data. Leverage those rivalries to get fans riled up into action.
Digital Campaign: Instant Win
It’s a day full of activities, and also a day full of fans filling up on treats. Combine digital and physical activations with an easy to implement “Instant Win” campaign. Whether you’re a sponsor or a team, give all fans a chance to win a coupon, contingent on points earned during the game. Your fans will align their special memories with both the team & their sponsors, you'll collect verified fan data, and in the end, you have a simple way to fulfill partnership commitments. It’s an ‘instant’ win-win.
Major League Soccer’s Opening Weekend:
This year, MLS’s opening weekend falls on Easter, which means there’s the possibility to capture more eyes than usual. Just as the MLB’s opening weekend welcomes the wonderful season of baseball, the MLS’s opening weekend is a great way to start off the soccer season with a bang.
Digital Campaign: Dream Team
Fill your fans’ fantasies by letting them construct the ultimate soccer dream team. Combine your fan’s intimate knowledge of the team, with some nostalgia across the decades using a dream team campaign that lets fans pick their favorite players across the club’s history. Not only can you take your fans on a journey to recount your greatest moments, but you invite fans into the journey by letting them take action on it.
NFL Draft:
It’s almost time! The NFL draft is happening late April this year, and the plan is for it to happen in person. As an objectively bizarre spectacle, the NFL draft is hard to pull yourself away from. It’s one of the farthest things from the game, and one of the most beautiful and weird TV traditions. Give fans an outlet as they bite their nails in anticipation, with some targeted digital campaigns.
Digital Campaign: Line Up
If you could make a team entirely from your favorite prospects, what would that look like? Probably a fun diversion as you enter your sixth round and lose a sense of reality. Or, if you’re targeting the fans that love your team, give them an outlet to voice their opinion on the draft. They can create the perfect lineup with your current players, and place their preferred prospect into the mix. Engage your fans as they wait for your team to be on the clock, and ‘test the temperature of the water’ at the same time. You’ll know what fans expected from the draft, and whether you’ll have to put extra effort into assuring them that yes, the team’s future will be A-okay.
Digital campaigns offer great ways to interact with your fanbase while collecting strategic fan data, and better yet - we’ve built our digital campaigns with your team in mind so that it takes less time and resources for you to put your campaigns in motion.
Feeling inspired? Brainstorm what’s possible with our team today!