FODS Trackout Control Mats replace ineffective and costly traditional rock stabilized construction entrances, saving users valuable time and money. FODS’s proprietary mat design works to effectively remove mud and sediment from vehicle tires without damaging the tire or the ground’s surface. 

Since the company’s founding, the FODS leadership team had been wanting to run a sales incentive sweepstakes. With sales of Trackout Control Mats slowing during the COVID-19 pandemic, FODS felt that the time was right to promote a giveaway.

Contractors and construction companies were hesitant to make capital expenditures with the uncertain state of the economy. The goal of the sweepstakes was to incentivize distributors and contractors to sell and/or purchase Trackout Control Mats throughout Q3 2020. 

Objective

Brand Viva’s objective was to drive sales, demonstrate the lasting value of reusable Trackout Control mats, and increase brand awareness through the promotion of the sweepstakes. Distributors and contractors were encouraged to sell or buy eight FODS Trackout Control Mats between June 29 and September 25, 2020, for a chance to win one of three high-value prize packages: 

Entries were verified with user-submitted invoices. Construction specifiers, regulators, and engineers could enter the sweepstakes by submitting a photo of a FODS mat on a job site. Regardless of entry method, technically, no purchase was required.

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My Role

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Process & Solution

Our team executed a fully-integrated marketing campaign—inclusive of paid and organic social media, email marketing, website content, and print collateral—in support of the FODS summer sweepstakes. We produced six video ads and several digital and print graphic design assets that kept imagery and messaging fresh over the duration of the 13-week campaign. 

Paid social promotion helped bolster the campaign’s overall reach and drove brand awareness for social users who were previously unfamiliar with FODS and the company’s offerings. Through a combination of paid advertising and 1:1 outreach via LinkedIn, the company’s LinkedIn following grew by 46% during the sweepstakes period.

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Promotional Videos

I provided the content direction and scripts for six promotional videos that were utilized in paid and organic social throughout the campaign.

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Paid Social Advertising

A/B Testing

At the onset of the paid social campaign, I ran a four-way A/B test (static vs. carousel ads and black and white vs. color content) for a duration of two weeks over Facebook to determine the highest-performing creative and content.

During this two week trial period, a color/static ad came out as the clear winner — achieving the highest number of results (link clicks) and the lowest cost per result. A black and white carousel ad (shown below) had the highest number of reach and impressions during the A/B test.

Choosing the Right Ad Platform

Despite having a strong following on LinkedIn, the ads I have historically run for FODS on the platform have been costly and have not driven the desired number of campaign results. Nevertheless, the client and I decided to run a two-week A/B test mid-campaign to see if the Summer Sweepstakes would drive more clicks and form conversions. A budget of $150 resulted in 3,128 impressions and 31 links clicks to the sweepstakes landing page.

While I was happy with these results, for roughly the same spend ($150), the Sweepstakes ads received nearly 60x the impressions and 4x the link clicks on a concurrent Facebook campaign. Engagement and impressions were much higher (and more cost effective) on Facebook than LinkedIn, so I decided to focus my attention and ad budget on Facebook Ads for the remainder of the campaign.

Static Ads

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Carousel Ads

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Email Marketing

I designed email templates and provided marketing messaging for several e-blasts, including messages targeted at FODS’s existing customer base, leads list, and a retargeting audience comprised of previous visitors of the FODS website.

Partial Email Screengrab

See full email here and another example here.

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Results

The campaign concluded with 40 valid sweepstakes entries. Considering the hefty barrier to entry for contractors and distributors (i.e. buy or sell eight Trackout Control Mats, valued at just over $2,000 each), this number was in alignment with the client’s expectations. 

14 contractor entries x 8 mats sold per entry = 112 mats sold

14 distributor entries x 8 mats sold per entry = 112 mats sold

THE 224 MATS SOLD AMOUNTED TO A RETAIL VALUE OF $456,000

Along with the revenue generated by sweepstakes, the client was also able to establish new sales connections throughout the duration of the campaign. New sales contacts and an increase reach on social media (especially on LinkedIn) have increased FODS’s sphere of influence and potential customer base. 

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Things to note: 

• There were 12 photo entries by specifiers, regulators, and engineers, which had no dollar value and were not included in the ROI assessment
• The value of the prizes was equivalent to $40,000