The Idea

KRDO is a DMA 91 TV station based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Promotions and interactive content are a vital part of our game plan, and the Fall Colors Photo Contest always has a spot on the annual calendar.

Photo contests are an easy way to get our viewers engaged, so this promotion was a no-brainer. Even though baby and pet promotions are incredibly popular, we thought that our location in the heart of the west would be ideal for a nature photo contest. Each year this contest is a resounding success, and helps us achieve our goals of generating revenue and attracting opt-ins for our newsletter.

The Execution

For our Fall Colors contest we signed on one exclusive sponsor. Combres and Toltec Scenic Railroad is a local institution and is highly regarded among locals and visitors alike. It was a natural fit seeing as the majority of those participating in the contest would appreciate the scenic views that the railroad has to offer.

Not only was the railroad a great fit as a sponsor, but they also provided prizes in the form of free railroad trips for the contest winners. In addition, we offered a $100 Visa gift card for the first place winner. With a $458 value on our first place prize, attracting users to the contest was easy.

For our advertising strategy, we decided on a multi-platform approach including:

• On-air advertisements
• Facebook posts
• Website advertisements

Our weather team mentioned the broadcast on-air five times a day. With each mention, we displayed the contest info, sponsor logo, and prize information. This made sure that our viewers were well aware of the contest, and increased exposure for our sponsor.

We also routinely posted content to our Facebook Page. This accomplished two significant goals. First, Facebook posts ensured that anyone engaged with our social media was aware of the contest. Posts were generated during both the submissions and voting stages of the promotion to ensure continued engagement. Second, it served as a catalyst for social sharing.

We were thrilled to see our followers liking and sharing our posts, expanding reach to not only our current fans, but their family and friends too!

The final step of our strategy was intended to give our advertiser as much value for their sponsorship as possible. In addition to the tv spots and branding on the contest, we provided banner advertisements on the website homepage to maximize their potential reach.

Our contest rules were designed to keep our viewers engaged throughout the promotion’s duration. First, we separated the submissions period and the voting period to extend the length of the contest and ensure every submission had an equal chance of winning. This also provides more branding opportunities to our sponsor. We also allowed ten votes per day to keep users scrolling and coming back each day

On the contest registration page, we included a pre-checked opt-in for our email list to receive continued updates after the promotion ended. Email is an incredibly vital part of driving engagement to our promotions and interactive content campaigns, so we are always taking advantage of an opportunity to grow our database.

The Results

We were able to earn $3,000 in sponsorship revenue from the businesses. They also provided the $500 grand prize.
The exclusive sponsorship generated $2,000 in revenue for our station. In addition, we were able to drive an incredible amount of engagement with 27K votes and 400+ opt-ins to our email list.

Not only was the promotion a resounding success, but the sponsor was so delighted with the results, they have already been confirmed as our sponsor for next year’s Fall Colors contest. It’s safe to say we were all very happy with the results and look forward to running similar promotions in the future!