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Rebecca Minkoff giveaway lends short notice to responders

Apparel and accessories brand Rebecca Minkoff began a sweepstakes giveaway opportunity on May 28 for a pair of tickets to New York's Governors Ball festival.

To push the festival-inspired clothing that Rebecca Minkoff offers, the brand welcomes Instagram posts tagging #RMGovBall to be eligible, but given such a small window of time may prevent an abundance of submissions. The Governors Ball Music Festival is a three-day event at Randall?s Island Park in New York City hosting musical performances of numerous styles, restaurant participation and food trucks and other fun activities.

?This contest just kicked off, but at current count, according to Iconosquare, an Instagram tracking tool, there have been only two entries using the hashtag,? said Matt Heindl, senior director of social media at Razorfish.

?I certainly hope they have a large promotional push via email or Facebook to draw more attention to this effort.?  

On the clock 
News about the contest was published on the Web site blog and was furthermore shared via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A photo accompanied the post featuring a model on set with a white background. 

The model was wearing a graphic white t-shirt, destroyed white jeans and grey suede pumps and held a royal blue cross body bag. The model was styled this particular way to embody the essence of festival style using the brand's existing samples. 

Along with introducing hipster-style clothing to its consumers, the brand also seeks to build a community amongst the public and encourage a two-way communication track between the seller and buyer through this initiative.

?With Rebecca herself attending this year's Governors Ball, we wanted to include our consumers by giving them the opportunity to win tickets and attend the festival as well,? said Autumn Furr, associate public relations director at Rebecca Minkoff.

?Our winning consumer will also get a moment in the spotlight by being featured on our blog RM Edit. Our goal is to have the consumer truly be connected with our brand and have the ability to engage directly with Rebecca. Additionally, our consumers have great ideas, so we are thrilled to enable them to share their summer events looks within our community.?

The challenge requests submissions to showcase one's best festival style outfit and featuring Rebecca Minkoff products and inspirations are a plus. A link is provided to encourage viewers to check out the festival collection line of products that the brand offers. An additional link is provided to point out a submission favorite to create competition.

Participants must send in submissions via Instagram by June 2 and must include the hashtag to qualify. The tickets to be given away are for the first day of the festival.

An alternative approach
Despite giving short notice, Rebecca Minkoff is a well-established brand and strategizes effectively by getting involved with the Governors Ball, a high-profile festival in the most famous city in America. Perhaps if the giveaway was stretched out in time, a higher number of participants would have more of an opportunity to jump on the movement. 

?Rebecca Minkoff has a strong following on Instagram, and leveraged the channel last year to highlight their presence at the Governors Ball,? said Ali Skodol, associate director of Social Media at Razorfish. ?It's not surprising that the brand would want to associate itself with another New York-based institution that brings together some of the most popular artists on the music scene.? 

A familiar approach, luxury lifestyle brands target consumers by hosting contests of all sorts to increase traffic levels. 

For example, Kate Spade launched a new Instagram campaign to jumpstart Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer. 

By simply tagging @KateSpadeNY and #TravelColorfully, contestants become eligible to win a generous gift card of $250 all the meanwhile sharing vacation photos. The contest goes through Aug. 28 and works to build a community among its followers (see story). 

Furthermore, lifestyle brand Anthropologie is hosting a Pinterest contest to promote the discovery of new trends among home and decorating platforms for the summer by incorporating style insight from its fans. 

Naming it a #PinToWin challenge, contestants are asked to pin inspiring ideas for all types of summer gatherings. Winners will receive $500 toward Anthropologie dining and entertaining products (see story).  

Rebecca Minkoff is undoubtedly sought after and has earned a high presence online, and a few small tweaks could take this initiative to the next level.  

?A sweeps can be an effective way to generate earned buzz, but it can be an uphill battle to rise above the ?noise? of social and get broad visibility for a giveaway without sufficient lead time and elbow grease,? said Ms. Skodol. ?The real emotional hook for this initiative will be to give their followers a window into what it's like being on the ground with all the style-savvy folk at the Governors Ball, by sharing compelling content distributed across their channels.?

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon, editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York