U.S. Bank is driving engagement within its Your Community mobile application, which offers location-specific events and financial tips, by hosting a 16-day giveaway culminating in a $5,000 grand prize.

The financial marketer is rolling out the ?Happy New You? sweepstakes in a bid to persuade individuals to download the Your Community app and subsequently engage with it daily to receive additional entries. Offering a long-running giveaway contest is an optimal way of fueling downloads and increasing brand awareness, especially among potential new customers in previously-untapped demographics.

?Our goal is to find new and innovative ways to connect with our customers,? said Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer at U.S. Bank. ?The app already has great repeat engagement with the current users and we of course hope that we will have a very successful sweepstakes where many consumers download the app, participate in the contest and take advantage of all the great news and offer features included in the app.?

Post-New Year promotions
Introducing post-New Year contests is typically a smart move for brands wanting to ramp up excitement among existing consumers while simultaneously increasing audience outreach in the hopes of garnering additional new customers.

From January 16 through 31, consumers will be eligible to win daily prizes from national retailers, courtesy of U.S. Bank. To participate, each individual must download the Your Community app.

U.S. Bank first piloted the geolocation-based mobile app in the summer of 2015, bringing community members relevant information and resources, such as local events, promotions, noteworthy news and financial education advice (see story).

The app, which is currently available for San Francisco Bay area residents, is free to download for iOS and Android devices.

Users can drive up their chances of winning by engaging with the app each day throughout the sweepstakes. Additional entries will be available for those who share the app via their Twitter or Facebook accounts.

One grand prize winner, announced on February 1, will receive a $5,000 grand prize while a plethora of daily winners will earn unnamed rewards from top national retailers.

U.S. Bank is well-poised to enjoy greater brand awareness and reach potentially-untapped demographics by asking consumers to share the app across social networks. This organic form of advertising will undoubtedly ramp up interest in the Your Community app, which offers unique tools from a financial marketer.

While all of the app?s features are currently only accessible to San Francisco residents, consumers in any United States region may download it to receive relevant national information from U.S. Bank.

?We launched the app last year in the San Jose area, specifically focused on Santana Row,? Mr. Venturo said. ?Since then we have been working to identify how consumers are using the app, keeping it updated with helpful financial tips and local and national news and working with merchants to provide great offers. 

?By engaging with the Your Community app, not only can its audience learn from important financial tips, but also access a myriad of local happenings such as free yoga seminars, festivals, fundraisers and other local activities. The sweepstakes is an opportunity to gain even more excitement and expand our reach for the Your Community app.?

Innovative efforts
U.S. Bank claims it introduced the Your Community app as part of its efforts to stay innovative when it comes to connecting with consumers via mobile devices. Mobile?s constant connectivity makes it an opportune marketing channel for brands in a slew of industries.

The financial institution hopes consumers will find value in the financial tips and offers available within the Your Community app, which also enables business clients to send promotions to users nearby merchants? locations.

Driving app downloads and engagement through incentives is a tried-and-true tactic that has been tapped by many other brands as well.

Women?s lingerie brand Wacoal celebrated its thirtieth anniversary by enticing more consumers to download its mobile app to receive an entry into its ten-month-long sweepstakes, which saw the brand give away 30 bras a week and showcase a new product each month (see story).

?We are continuing to learn and test the Your Community app and this sweepstakes and marketing campaign are part of that effort,? Mr. Venturo said. ?As we identify what is working best, we will incorporate that into our future planning process.?