While internet users are no strangers to the constant stream of online information, things really step up as brands focus their efforts on their Christmas marketing campaigns. With social media often at the forefront, it’s more important than ever to find something that cuts through the noise and stands out from the competition.
Games could provide the answer.
Suitable for both B2C and B2B audiences, you can offer an interactive gaming experience that taps into the feel-good festive spirit while boosting the engagement of your wider campaign. Read on to see examples of the best Christmas social media campaigns where brands have successfully incorporated games into their marketing mix…
Christmas games on social media
Quiz games on Facebook
Everybody loves a Christmas quiz, and there’s no better platform than Facebook for running your own. You’ll give your audience a fun experience that gets them in the festive spirit, while making it easy for them to share the game around and tag friends and family to take part as well.
American Express Essentials are no strangers to a Christmas social media competition, and in 2020 tested their audience’s knowledge of Christmas films with their Ultimate Christmas Movie Quiz on Facebook. We’re embarrassed to admit that we only scored 11 out of 25 on our first attempt… 😬
Branded games on Facebook
When Farmhouse Inns were planning a festive campaign, they decided to use a branded game to give customers a fun experience with prize giveaways to reward their loyalty.
Their special seasonal menus were fronted by a jolly Mrs Claus, who then featured in the Jingle Jetpack game collecting cakes and candy canes as she whizzed through the night sky. As a browser-based game with an easy-to-share link, Farmhouse Inns were able to promote it on Facebook and other platforms.
The same was true for Hungry Horse, who used Facebook to promote their Christmas game centred around their ‘Belinda the Brussel Sprout’ character. The game clocked up over half a million plays with an average engagement time of 15 minutes per player.
The best bit? Hungry Horse generated a lot of their game traffic organically, with Facebook posts that received a tonne of comments and engagement. Now that’s what we like to hear!
If you’re looking for something a little more fun and interactive this year, check out our free playbook, Game Time! Your Guide to Christmas Game Success. Here we cover everything you need to know about delivering a successful, interactive and playful Christmas marketing game campaign (on a budget).
Get your copy now!
Light-hearted fun on Instagram
Educational resources brand Twinkl are all about providing teachers and educators with materials to make their lives easier. As you can imagine, their Instagram feed is packed full of engaging content that speaks directly to those in the teaching profession.
Things get extra playful towards the end of the calendar year as they really up their Christmas social media posts. The example below is from December 2019, when they posted a nativity bingo game to help teachers deal with the inevitable stresses that come with the annual school play!
Not only did this deliver some light entertainment for the grown-ups – there’s also a clear reminder that teachers can rely on Twinkl to provide them with time-filling activities to keep children entertained in between performances.
Throwing a virtual party on Instagram
In a year of no physical office Christmas parties, Kwik Fit brought the festivities home in 2020 with an online party everyone could take part in! Better yet, there were prizes to be won in the form of electronics and discount codes for their services.
Featuring an office decorated in tinsel, tyres, and characters donning boiler suits to the virtual disco, the Kwik Fit Konga game had a core focus on fun but with key reminders of the brand at the heart of the campaign.
With a link to the browser-based HTML5 game, Kwik Fit could then easily promote it on Instagram and their other social media channels.
Advent calendars on social media
Nothing says Christmas quite like an advent calendar, and it turns out this format lends itself perfectly to branded game campaigns on social media .
With daily prizes hidden behind each door of a digital advent calendar , you can tie it into an engaging online game that keeps people coming back for more. Not only will you boost your brand and maximise engagement for your business – you’ll also provide your audience with an experience that sets you apart from the yuletide crowd! 🎄
Quick festive polls on LinkedIn
When it comes to polls on LinkedIn , who better to provide an example than the platform creators themselves? We know, very meta… 👀
In December 2020, LinkedIn asked its followers for their opinions on how to keep up productivity levels during the festive season – with a top answer that Santa himself would be proud of. These polls are a quick and easy way to get people talking and inject a little Christmas fun into your business profile.
B2B games on LinkedIn
After a difficult year for the hospitality industry, software company Airship and sister company Toggle decided to spread some Christmas cheer with prize giveaways for their B2B partners and hospitality operators.
How did they do it? With a fun online game! Using their Jingle Jetpack flyer game, they ran a Christmas competition challenging players to help Santa deliver 30+ presents to join the leaderboard and be in with a chance of winning gift cards and free services.
It created quite the buzz on social media, with many players on LinkedIn reporting a *slight* dip in work productivity during December 2020. Who could have seen that coming? 👀
Christmas giveaway games on LinkedIn
Just in case it wasn’t obvious, we love games here at Peek & Poke – so much so that we even run our own branded game competitions from time to time!
In 2020, we launched our 12 Days of NOT Christmas competition with great prize giveaways for the lucky winners each day. By bringing together branded games and digital advent calendars in an interactive-content dream team, we managed to engage our B2B audience for over an hour per player.
Better yet, the daily winner announcements on LinkedIn doubled-up as an opportunity to continually promote the game to our audience – a nice reminder that they still had the chance to win a prize even if they had been unsuccessful that day!
Branded games on Twitter
In December 2020, insurance company Beazley ran a ‘Season’s Peekings’ game for their audience. Featuring their logo, branding, and an easy-to-share link, they were able to spread the word about the game on Twitter and other social media platforms.
Beazley are no strangers to using Christmas branded games , with previous examples including Jingle Jet , Express Delivery , and Risky Rider . Who needs e-cards when you can share this sort of festive fun with your audience?
Christmas games on Snapchat
To support its #ReindeerReady Christmas campaign in 2017, McDonald’s partnered with Snapchat to create a Christmas social media game that tasks players with collecting carrots. This playful reflection of the wider campaign allowed friends and family to compete and share their scores with each other.
The partnership with Snapchat also included an AR lens that allowed users to see a dancing reindeer through their smartphones, as well as a series of geofilters available at McDonald’s restaurants throughout the UK.
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Looking for more Christmas campaign ideas?
For more tips and tricks on running successful festive campaigns, take a look at our related content:
You can also help yourself to our free marketing calendar , which will remind you of upcoming notable days and help you to plan out your marketing activity from September through to December! 👇
And that’s a wrap – best of luck with your Christmas social media game campaign!
