REAL PARTICIPATING. REAL SWEAT. REAL FUN. Summertime is in full swing. The temperature is rising and people are getting out and having fun. From Citysumers to stay at home moms, many relish in brands that bring unexpected fun and playfulness into the every day. Fun and play come in many varieties, spanning across decades and cultures.  So why not see how you can incorporate a little more meaningful fun in your brand, not just during the summertime but all the time?
Sweat Equity is a way to introduce a little extra celebration, humor and competition to what can sometimes be a dull consumption arena. By blurring the lines between play and work, you’ll attract experienced consumers who seek out opportunities for a real sweat-inducing, just-for-fun¬†experience.
This trend takes work hard; play hard into the marketplace. Think about it like this—when you work hard to achieve a goal, whether it’s a goal at work or a personal goal, the pride associated with working hard to achieve said goal gives a much better feeling than something that came easily. Leveraging this idea, by putting a little sweat into a fun event or challenge to receive a product, service or premium gift, you’ll get a genuine sense of connection to the brand, thus remembering the experience.
Entertaining activities capture a scarce resource: attention. And further, participation in a sweat-worthy activity (both online and offline) enables people to build a deeper connection with a brand that traditional, isolated transactions just can’t. Encourage people to break a real sweat this summer and devise a plan to bring people together and get their muscles working.
Examples of this trend:
The Camry is Toyota‘s best-selling brand in the United States, and last spring, the automaker launched a campaign asking people to sing for their parking spots. “CamryOke” machines popped up in Los Angeles and motorists could opt to sing to earn parking credits for free.
In the Philippines, McDonalds’s and Coca-Cola partnered to launch a free iPhone app that rewards diners for not using their mobile phones while eating. With BFF Timeout, a group of friends¬†is rewarded for each minute they don’t use their phones.¬†The longer the timeout, the bigger the reward.
