Door Dash “All the Ads” Super Bowl Giveaway
If you caught the post-Super Bowl Late Show, you heard Stephen Colbert joke that, “For the second time in Super Bowl history, we went to extra innings, so I think we all know the real winners were CBS ad sales.” This is in no doubt true with advertisers paying up to $7 million to air a spot. But as curious marketers, we would argue that the real winners were Door Dash’s in-house studio and their agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland who pulled off the biggest Super Bowl giveaway ever.
Announced on January 30th, Door Dash promoted an “All the Ads” sweepstakes that would DoorDash all of the items advertised during the Super Bowl to one lucky winner. You can find the full list of items here. Ahead of the game, the outrageous giveaway gained huge momentum online. This boost in awareness coupled with message of Door Dash’s ability to deliver WHATEVER you may need (beyond local restaurant menu items) was key. As quoted in Adweek, Wieden+Kennedy see 2024 as the year to, “pivot consumers’ perception of the brand from delivery to 24/7 personal assistant.”
The Super Bowl spot was an event within an event for those in the know. Airing in the fourth quarter, it was one of those rare spots that interrupted the big game causing people to pause and rewind in order to see the hilariously long promo code required to enter the sweepstakes online at doordash-all-the-ads.com. As of the writing of this post, the winner has yet to be announced.
Sweepstakes have become more popular than ever, and with good reason.
If you do a quick search of Super Bowl sweepstakes online, you’ll discover that a plethora of brands latch onto the big game to create a buzz. Snickers reprised their “Rookie Mistake” sweepstakes, giving away “the ultimate home-gating package”. Franks Hot Sauce campaign featured Jason Kelce encouraging fans to submit themselves putting Frank’s on their Super Bowl game day spread for a chance to win a $1,000. The list goes on and on.
The lesson we can learn from this is that sweepstakes can be a highly effective branding and lead generation tool. The most recent statistics we could find indicate that 55 million Americans participate in sweepstakes promotions each year and the likelihood of entering rises alongside household income and education level. Here are some of the key reasons marketers choose to hold contests and sweepstakes year after year:
- Marketing opt-ins: Consumers are more willing to give an email address and opt-in to marketing communications when it involves the possibility of winning something.
- Building your social audience: You’ve likely seen plenty of contests that require sharing and linking.
- Positive engagement: By inviting customers and prospects into a contest, they become more involved with your brand and excited to have the opportunity to win something from you.
- Marketing ROI: Using social channels, email, and sms to promote contests and sweeps isn’t costly in terms of media spend. Encouraging people to share helps spread word-of-mouth for your brand as well.
When it comes to the logistics of running a sweepstakes complete with rules and a random drawing, large brands may choose to engage a sweepstakes administrator to do all the heavy lifting. And when your contest is over for the consumer, your work has just begun. Armed with new leads and new eyeballs across social media channels, it’s time for marketers to keep the momentum going with new communications and promotions.
