Dive Brief:
- Frito-Lay brand Cheetos continues to celebrate the interesting shapes that can be seen in its snacks and is now giving fans the chance to win what they see, the company announced in a news release. The effort builds on the brand's two-year-old Cheetos Museum campaign.
- Cheetos fans can submit a photo of a uniquely shaped snack, along with a description at CheetosWinWhatYouSee.com for a chance to win a prize that’s inspired by what they see. Through September 2, Cheetos will award a total of $100,000 in prizes and experiences to eight winners. For example, if someone sees a Cheetos snack that looks like a palm tree, he or she could win a tropical vacation.
- Unexpected prizes will be awarded throughout the contest for clever submissions. Fans can follow @Cheetos on Instagram and @ChesterCheetah on Twitter for winner announcements and contest updates.
Dive Insight:
Cheetos continues to embrace fan submissions of the interesting shapes that its product can take, driving brand engagement, earned media and potentially sales. This time, the brand is rewarding the creativity of its fans with unique prizes and experiences based on the images that they see. The contest is also building on the popularity of its Cheetos Museum campaign, where fans submitted interesting Cheetos shapes. Last summer, some of the shapes went on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not in New York City’s Times Square. Over the past two years, Cheetos has seen more than 200,000 shape submissions, according to the news release.
Searching through your Cheetos snacks could win you a prize. See a water scooter? Win a water scooter! Just remember your life vest for safety and your sunglasses for cool factor. Enter and see rules at https://t.co/GHbleksfer pic.twitter.com/fzPy0Jqlra
— Chester Cheetah (@ChesterCheetah) July 10, 2018
Marketers often embrace social media and online contests that revolve around user-generated content (UGC) to boost fan engagement. The campaigns can also drive sales, since contest entrants usually need the product to participate. Consumers are growing to appreciate opportunities to share their opinions and experiences with their favorite brands, especially when prizes are involved.
Centering UGC contests around a product’s shape seems to be catching on as a way for marketers to inspire fan interaction. In April, Nestle’s Sweetarts candy brand celebrated the launch of a new line of gummy candies with a sweepstakes, asking fans to answer questions about their interests using the gummy shapes, which included game consoles, guitars, cameras, rocket ships and more. Responses could be shared on social media, and the brand created a digital gallery of submissions.
