13 Days of Taylor Giveaways
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a 'Swiftie' - a diehard Taylor Swift fan who has been to every tour since Speak Now in 2011 and attended the 'The Eras Tour' twice. But I've also attended other concerts, here in Toronto and my hometown, Boston, and I have never experienced a concert taking over a city the way 'The Eras Tour' did in November. And you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Rogers didn't just take over Toronto and Vancouver - they took over the entire country by launching national contest campaigns to give fans the opportunity to win Taylor-themed prizes and highly coveted concert tickets. Rogers launched a weekly contest to give away 35 pairs of tickets to Toronto or Vancouver shows to Rogers customers through their 'Beyond the Seat' program. Getting tickets to this tour was so competitive and so difficult that fans were reaching out to friends and family members to win tickets and even going so far as to become Rogers customers themselves. Talk about success!
But the 13 Days of Taylor Giveaways was another level of marketing and campaigning. Rogers opened up the contest to the public - any Canadian residents over the age of 18 could enter the contest via Instagram. Starting the countdown for the first Toronto concert date, Rogers was giving away a pair of tickets once a day for 13 (Taylor's lucky number) days starting on Nov 1, 2024. Each day was a different 'challenge' - whether commenting your favorite song, sharing Taylor-inspired street names, or posting your Taylor Halloween costumes. Fans had to follow Rogers, often times had to tag their friends, and on occasion, posted their own photos or stories tagging Rogers on Instagram. Their engagement was on another level.
Toronto and Vancouver were covered in those red sparkly ads - you couldn't escape them. They were on the subway, the GO train, buildings, social media, and on the street. On November 13, the last day of Giveaways, Rogers took their giveaways from Instagram to the streets of Toronto, giving away pairs of tickets to fans on the street who could find them via those red, sparkly signs. You can see the vast increase in engagement on Rogers' social media when it was about The Eras Tour versus when it's not. The first giveaway day Nov 1, Rogers had over 20,000 comments on their Instagram post. On Nov 7, in the middle of their 13 Days of Taylor Giveaways, they posted unrelated content to The Eras Tour and had just over 120 comments (and half those comments were still about Taylor).
Rogers also donated hundreds of tickets in Toronto and Vancouver to charities, including the Canucks for Kids Foundation, BC Children's Hospital Foundation, Jays Care Foundation, and Big Brothers Big Sisters Toronto. This allowed children and their families the opportunity to attend the biggest concert they would not otherwise be able to attend. Moments like these can make all the difference for these children and their families as they go through the toughest times. Millions of fans worldwide and across Canada are closely following all things 'The Eras Tour' and Rogers was able to closely tie themselves to these feel-good stories everyone loves to hear.
As the primary sponsor of The Eras Tour in Canada, Rogers was able to capitalize on the hype surrounding the tour. They increased their engagement and customers, raised brand awareness, and improved their 'reputation' across the country. Those sparkly red signs are instantly recognizable and still spark joy for fans now, seven months later.
In all honesty, I participated in those Rogers giveaways and contests - hounding my boyfriend (a Rogers customer) during their weekly contest and incessantly participating in their 13 Days of Giveaways. All of my Instagram notifications at the time were just me and my friends tagging each other in comments under Rogers' posts. And it wasn't until this blog post I even realized I was still following Rogers on Instagram (I'm not a customer and have no reason to follow them otherwise!). Luckily, I was able to buy face value tickets in a last-minute Ticketmaster drop for the first Toronto show, but I was one of the thousands who hoped to win a contest and increased their engagement and social media reach. And yeah, those sparkly red signs did get me really hyped.
I think Rogers handled their sponsorship really well and maximized what they could do with it, and at the same time, they were able to market their 'Beyond the Seat' program for all sorts of entertainment and exclusive opportunities for Rogers customers across Canada. I will say, it was very hard to find a good article on the Rogers' marketing campaign, and I think for an event as major as The Eras Tour was, it seems a missed opportunity for people to be able to study their campaign and its success (or lack of it depending). Overall, social media campaigns and exclusive access contests for customers is a great way to build a loyal customer base and establish brand awareness with a base they might not have otherwise reached.
In your opinion, did Rogers make the most of their sponsorship with an event as big as The Eras Tour? Are social media campaigns/contests comparable to highly recognizable ads and when it comes to event marketing?
I included a few Taylor Swift related marketing ploys I saw around Toronto during her tour stop: Distillery District Winter Village Taylor Swift scavenger hunt
Hotels.com Taylor Swift inspired Ads
Rosebud Dispensary sign
Indigo books with Taylor Swift inspired titles
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