In-store contests are an effective promotional strategy for your brand to attract consumer attention and drive engagement.
By offering fun and exciting incentives, in-store contests provide a unique opportunity to promote your brand while creating an interactive experience for your customers.
Discover the benefits and best practices of in-store contests offered by our innovative event agency What the Fun. Choose an effective marketing strategy, strengthen your brand presence, boost your sales, and build customer loyalty.
In-store contests: what are they exactly?
- Sweepstakes or prize wheels: participants are chosen at random and can win prizes such as vouchers, gift cards, or products.
- Creative contests like the digital wall activation: participants submit their own creation, such as a photo or video, to win a prize.
- Games of chance like the slot machine activation: involve an element of luck, such as scratching a card or spinning a wheel to win prizes.
- Quizzes: participants answer questions to win prizes.
Whatever type of in-store contest you choose, What the Fun will be there to support you.
Why organize an in-store contest?
Whether on a console, a photo booth kiosk, or via a custom Web App, games are easy to set up and captivate all types of profiles. Personalized to match the event theme and your identity, these games turn your visitors into active participants. The result: a fun, immersive, and memorable experience!
3 contest activation ideas
The Slot Machine
The slot machine activation (or Jackpot) is a game of chance typically found in casinos. Press the button to start the experience: the reels spin and you wait to see what you’ve won. A few seconds later, the symbols align… and the suspense is at its peak. Depending on the combination, the player can walk away with a prize.
This type of activation generates real excitement because it relies on the thrill of chance and the promise of an immediate win. Highly visual and easy to use, the slot machine activation catches the eye, piques curiosity, and invites spontaneous participation.
This interactive experience is ideal for driving traffic, generating engagement, and encouraging direct interaction between your brand and your customers. It can be fully customized with your company colors and reels adapted to your visual universe, thereby strengthening the impact of your communication.
The Giftbox
The giftbox is undoubtedly a wonderful way to liven up your point of sale and attract traffic! It consists of a safe containing a flagship product you want to highlight. The safe is locked with a code, and customers must find the winning combination! If they succeed, they leave with the product, having enjoyed a fun experience…
Bonus! The safe can also be customized with your company’s colors and logo, strengthening brand engagement and increasing the chances of building customer loyalty.
The Photo Booth
It comes in several versions depending on the aesthetic style you’re looking for and the options you want to offer customers. Ultra-connected, the photo booths send photos by email in less than 2 minutes, and you even have the option to customize them with your company colors and logo.
The photo booth offers customers a fun moment while allowing them to leave with great shots to share on social media. This lets them show off while increasing your brand visibility!
In-store contests: the 3 major benefits
- increased brand awareness
- customer loyalty
- higher sales
What the Fun supports you for your next contest
- defining clear contest objectives
- establishing clear (and fair!) rules for all participants
- using effective communication channels to promote the game
- setting up a clear process for selecting winners
- distributing prizes/lots
Corporate activations: contact our event project managers
In-store contests are an excellent way to attract new customers and build loyalty with existing ones. Through an activation tailored to the location, your brand, and your target audience, maximize the potential for success and provide a positive experience for participants.
For guaranteed service, creativity, and compliance, call on What The Fun. Our project managers support you from A to Z: from game design to in-store activation. Transform your points of sale into true spaces for engagement and entertainment, where every customer becomes an enthusiastic brand ambassador.
In-store contests are no longer just simple activities: they are marketing tools at your brand’s service. Well-thought-out—and well-organized—they drive traffic, capture attention, and above all, create a bond with your customers. Whether you choose a connected photo booth, a slot machine, a giftbox, or a custom quiz, each mechanic offers a unique opportunity to provide an original and memorable experience.
