Campaign Overview

Amazon and Hasbro's Play-Doh launched the Teacher Appreciation Contest to coincide with Teacher Appreciation Month, through the month of May, and the start of back-to-school shopping season. The campaign set out to honor and give back to the educators who shape their communities.

The contest invited consumers across the U.S. to nominate a teacher who had made a difference in their kids’ lives. Participants submitted a photo of their nominee along with a short essay explaining why that educator deserved recognition — an entry experience built to align Play-Doh with early childhood education while collecting authentic UGC. The three winning teachers receive a classroom-focused prize package headlined by national recognition: their photos will appear on Amazon delivery lockers across the country this August.

Our Solution

Realtime Media partnered with Amazon and Hasbro to design and administer the nomination contest end to end, using our PromoPick™ solution.  

Our Approach

• Story-Driven UGC Collection: We designed the entry experience around the emotional heart of the campaign — giving consumers a simple, meaningful way to tell the story of a teacher who mattered to them. The invitation to share a photo and a personal written response let consumers connect Play-Doh to the teachers and classrooms they cared     about.
• National Recognition for Winning Teachers: Each winning teacher will receive a custom gift box of school-year essentials and a one-year supply of Play-Doh product — plus the campaign's most distinctive reward: seeing their photo displayed on Amazon lockers nationwide.
• End-to-End Execution: From microsite development and official rules to entry validation, winner administration, and prize fulfillment, RTM managed every operational detail across a co-branded program with two major partners.

Key Benefits

• Generated Authentic, Repurposable Content: Consumers across the country took the time to write and submit a full teacher nomination — a library of genuine community stories with real value for future marketing.
• Built a Qualified Audience: Close to 60% of registrants opted in to receive future communications from Play-Doh, turning a seasonal moment into a lasting, permissioned audience.
• Activated a Co-Branding Partnership: Hasbro and Amazon each brought complementary strengths — Play-Doh's emotional equity in childhood creativity, Amazon's physical reach through its locker network — to a campaign neither could have delivered alone.

Conclusion

The Hasbro Play-Doh x Amazon Teacher Appreciation Contest shows how a nomination contest can turn brand values into consumer participation. By asking people to celebrate someone else rather than compete for something themselves, the campaign earned genuine emotional investment — and gave two brands a stage to honor the educators their audiences care about most.

Interested in learning more about how we can help with your next Digital Promotion? Get in touch with us today!  

‍

‍