As you know from my previous entries, I’m not crazy about contests. I think they’re overused, do little to boost a brand and rarely produce the long-term results that clients desire.
But I just came across a solid contest launched by Google, and couldn’t resist blogging it out. It’s a perfect model of how a well-designed contest can really enhance an established brand and get a foot in the door with a new, younger audience.
Doodle 4 Google challenges students (grades K-12) to design Google’s new homepage logo. It’s based around the theme of “What if…”, encouraging students to present their vision of their future.
40 contest finalists from around the nation will receive a trip to the company’s coveted headquarters in Mountain View, CA, and the winner will have their logo posted on the Google homepage for a full day. The winner will also receive a $10,000 scholarship, and their school will be rewarded with a $25,000 grant towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab.
The contest builds off of the company’s custom of regularly changing their homepage logo – a long-standing tradition that internet users seem to eat up like candy hearts. Here’s a glimpse at today’s Valentine’s Google logo:
Google is the undisputed king of the web, and knows that few (if any) companies can even begin to compete with the foundation that they’ve built over the years.
And that’s exactly why this contest makes so much sense. Google is establishing a rapport with an audience who will increasingly turn to the internet for all of their needs, and building loyalty from the ground up.
I’d venture to say that most people stay faithful to the brands that they grew up with (I still drink Hawaiian Punch, and I don’t even like it), so getting an “in” with potential customers at an early age is a very smart move. It’s truly a short-term contest with long-term results.
From a word of mouth perspective, this contest has more legs than a centipede. Just think of the WOM opportunities that arise from breaking into this high-energy group with mouths that rarely stop running – students taking their Google pictures home to show their parents, decorated logos pasted all around school hallways and in lockers, teens uploading their artwork to Flickr.
There’s even a “Spread the Word” section in the Doodle 4 Google microsite, allowing students and parents to share the contest details with their teachers and school administrators.
Now some may argue that marketing to young school kids may be somewhat unethical. They’ll say that companies should have little to no place in a school environment. But you cannot rationally criticize a contest that’s designed around promoting creative thinking and the arts. What’s better than having a classroom full of enthusiastic kids using their imaginations to come up with something original and artistic?
Additionally, Google’s education-related products (search engine, free email, Google docs) are an invaluable asset to any level of student. I’d be singing a different tune if this was a contest sponsored by a sugarcoated, marshmallow cereal company, but we’re talking about Google here. I don’t even know what I would do without them in my life. Use Yahoo!? I don’t think so.
Right now, I’ve got my 11-year-old brother working on a wicked version of the logo with my head as the first “o”, and I think he’s got a good shot at taking the gold. In any case, tell your kids and their teachers about Doodle 4 Google – they might be able to get 2nd or 3rd place.
I love you, Google. Happy Valentine’s.
