As the back-to-school season approaches once again, it’s essential for brands to revitalize their marketing efforts and capture the attention of eager consumers. This year, let’s explore three innovative strategies to elevate your back-to-school promotion and enhance your overall marketing strategy.

Unleash Co-Branded Campaigns

Partnering with reputable educational institutions can provide a significant boost to your back-to-school promotion.  By creating co-branded campaigns, you can highlight the synergy between your brand and the educational institution, tapping into their credibility and established networks. Collaborative marketing efforts can involve exclusive discounts for students or special offers tied to specific courses or programs. This strategic alliance not only enhances your brand’s credibility, but also expands your reach and engages a dual audience of students and parents. By leveraging the reputation of educational institutions, you can make a lasting impression and position your brand as a trusted partner in the back-to-school journey.

Here is a great example of a CPG brand working in partnership with Chegg, an education-based technology company, to give away study packs in exchange for consumer insights: students registered with their primary contact information and answered a few marketing questions to gain entry into the sweepstakes.

Implement Gamification Elements 

Gamification adds an element of fun and excitement to your promotion, encouraging increased participation and customer engagement. Consider incorporating interactive elements such as quizzes, challenges, or mini-games into your campaign that can be hosted on your promotional website. By offering rewards or prizes for completing the games or achieving specific milestones, you’ll create a sense of achievement and keep participants coming back for more.

For this back-to school campaign for Flipz, consumers could play a digital scratch-to-win game after purchasing an eligible product and uploading a receipt.

Leverage User-Generated Content 

Tap into the creativity of your customers by encouraging them to create and share content that supports your back-to-school initiatives. Participants may enter on a website or through a social  hashtag  by sharing photos, videos, or stories about how they shop at your store or use your products, and how your products or services have made a positive impact on their back-to-school experience. User-generated content not only increases brand awareness but also fosters a sense of community and authenticity, inspiring others to engage with your brand. In this back-to-school campaign, students ages 6-12 wrote an essay to be on Sun-Maid’s “Board of Imagination.” Finalists were put to a public vote, with the top 5 winners receiving $5,000 towards their college savings account.

With these three innovative strategies, you have the tools to supercharge your back-to-school promotion and make a lasting impact.  By embracing brand collaborations, implementing gamification elements, and leveraging user-generated content your brand will be well-equipped to create a memorable and impactful campaign that drives customer engagement.  If you’re ready to take your back-to-school promotion to new heights, get in touch with Realtime Media today.