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Is it possible to do something genuinely different with a format as tired as the Advent calendar? Yes, with an out-of-the-ordinary prize contest: here is how we did it with our client Sebach.

How to refresh a classic

The Advent calendar is one of the most classic formats for engaging customers to make purchases during the Christmas season, which, at least from a commercial standpoint, often begins well before the four canonical festive weeks.

Many brands across different sectors, from food and beverage to cosmetics, try every year with ideas more or less original to introduce us to their products, engage us with play and the pleasure of discovery (or, in more technical industry terms, with gamification) and stimulate purchases in the near future. Beyond packaging and product, is it possible to find a genuinely original way to refresh this format with an online instant win? Yes, if the brand is not the one you expect: Sebach.

Spending Advent with Sebach

Sebach is a distinctive brand for several reasons:

  • it operates almost exclusively in B2B, which might seem an obstacle to building a pop tool aimed at a general consumer audience like an Advent calendar;
  • it tells its story with irony and lightness, and that is its communication strength;
  • it is an authority in its sector. Anyone who has been to a concert, trade fair, outdoor event, or passed a construction site will have noticed the upside-down Sebach heart, synonymous with "portable toilet".

The ingredients to tell the wait for Christmas in an unusual way are all there.

We structured the creative work as follows:

  • we built an online Advent calendar that people could sign up for at natale.sebach.it;
  • against the background of a fir tree full of branches, we "installed" not doors, boxes, or little houses but 24 portable toilets;
  • in some of them we hid gadgets: if going to the bathroom is a daily necessity, why not have fun with it and try to win?

Our main objective was brand awareness, and the length of Advent allowed us to renew interaction with people for a full month, renewing hope of winning every day. The game interface was developed with a mobile-first approach, especially to leverage social media as communication channels.

From login to prize delivery

We created posts for the editorial plan and an ADV campaign on Facebook and Instagram to promote the prize contest: posts and stories with images, short videos inviting people to try their luck. We chose a very broad target, given the universal institutional message: open the bathroom every day, because you never know what you might find inside.

To take part in the instant win contest, it was enough to register at natale.sebach.it and log in with email and password or by connecting with a Facebook account. No other data was required: only winners would enter their home address to receive the gadget.

How prize contests work

To build the custom online instant win platform, we relied on the APIs of Leevia, a company specialized in prize contests, loyalty programs compliant with regulations, and a partner we have worked with for several years.

In brief, we proceeded as follows:

  • we built the interface and online contest platform interacting with Leevia's apps;
  • we entrusted Leevia's team with managing all related bureaucracy, from drafting the rules to communicating all required information to the Ministry of Economic Development, through to the random draw of the winner before a notary or authorized official. In online prize contests, these roles are replaced by certified software.

Campaign results

Participation in the contest surprised us positively: about 12,000 people took part and more than 4,000 visitors per day landed on the landing page, with a peak of over 6,000 on December 2.

These results were also made possible by spontaneous coverage of the initiative on specialized websites such as scontomaggio.com, omaggiomania.com, campioniomaggiogratuiti.it, and soldissimi.it: about 32% of visitors came from these sources.

The prizes awarded, finally, numbered 650: fun gadgets, small rewards to remind us that to win you have to believe in it. It takes... heart.

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