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hacking a short term hack

giveaways usually fizzle out after a spike in signups.

Olipop’s don’t.

they turned theirs into a 400k+ list that drives up to 30% of launch revenue.
here’s how they did it 👇

turning giveaways into long term success

the recipe is quite simple, though execution is more complex:

1. promote the giveaway & collect emails

2. nurture with thoughtful content

3. layer in seasonal & collab drops

let’s dive in.

step 1: promoting the giveaways

initially, Olipop didn’t have a ton of social followers so they needed help drumming up demand for their first giveaways. to solve this, they partnered with existing brands and influencers to reach their audiences. over time, their social grew (as did their email lists), continuously growing their audience for future giveaways and collabs.

overall, their promotional tactics aren’t especially unique, but effective:

• brand partnerships

• influencers

• UGC

• reaching their existing audience via email & social

• affiliates & referrals

• via their site (popups lead to newsletter signups)

• a bit of paid (often promoting the UGC)

another key here is building unique and effective landing pages for each giveaway to increase conversion rates.

step 2: nurturing the audience

this is probably the most difficult part to execute, as brand emails are often unsubscribed from, marked as spam, or left unopen.

they create a ton of content, with a few categories worth focusing on:

• product & company education

• editorial & value-add (primarily educational)

• community content

• promos

product & company education

they start with a welcome series, highlighting some of their values - health, flavor, and sustainability. focusing primarily on why OLIPOP is healthier than regular soda. but they’re not boring about it, using a flavor quiz & infographics to keep it light and fun. over time, they’ll also share more about their ingredients, new flavors, and other social-friendly content (like the “are you more OLI or POP” quiz).

editorial & value-add

here, they focus primarily on health education, but they switch it up often, sharing things like:

• the downsides of regular soda

• how to improve your gut health

• wellness advice

• ingredient spotlights

• quizzes and polls

community content

they do a great job of creating a “community” feel, sharing surveys and their results with their audience (see what’s your favorite flavor?) giving them a chance to feel part of the brand with loyalty programs, swag giveaways, and helping choose new flavors.

step 3: layer in seasonal & collab drops

seasonal giveways and collabs are peppered throughout the year, but they’re done in such a way that it’s actually engaging for the audience - offering some unique prize rather than just saying “buy more Olipop” or creating a sale.

and they get wacky with it, partnering with anyone from Hidden Valley to Cheez Its.

and each promo gets promoted by the partner, driving more email signups.

just rinse and repeat.

how to nail giveaways

1. promotion. you need help with influencers & UGC, affiliates, video production, brand partnerships, some ppc, and a healthy dose of great site design & UX. you don’t necessarily need each part here, but you at least need to nail one or two channels (probably partnerships, influencers & UGC)

2. email, social, and content. you need a creative content team or partner that can churn out content that keeps your audience opening your emails or seeing your social posts. someone will need to keep up with social trends to keep your pages growing. and you’ll need a CRM or lifecycle manager that tracks & automates everything (plus likely helping with content).

thinking of running a giveaway?

get it done right with the right talent

credits

• Strategic Partnerships & Growth: Steven Vigilante

• Head of Marketing: Chad Wilson

• Content & Influencers: Izzy Yellin

• Social Content: Sara Crane

• Social: Alexa Gray

• Director, E-Com & Retention: Michelle Paulhus

• E-Com: Melanie Edwards

• Content Creator: Marley Gotterer

• Design: Amia Melian

• Copy: Madeline Talt Soules

• Director of Brand Marketing: Lauren Hopton

• Comms & PR: Marjorie Mella 

• Marketing Advisor: Arthur Gallego

• Director, Influencers: Paige Nasis

• Social: Margarita Georgieva

• Creative: Alex Behles

• Brand & illustration: Break Maiden

• Paid + creative strategy: Darkroom

• Email + landing UX: Better Off Studio

• Creative: Callen