Lidl Plus: a wheel of fortune that stopped and engaged

Background

Lidl wanted to bring the Lidl Plus loyalty program visibly into the urban landscape and activate especially consumers who use the app little or not at all. Lidl Plus is Lidl's international loyalty program, which offers its users bonuses, offers, and coupon benefits, among other things.

In the campaign, the benefits of the Lidl Plus app were highlighted with three different creative concepts: a Receipt Character that reminded users to scan and save, a Bottle Receipt Mummy that told about the opportunity to get a bottle receipt directly in the app, and a Scan & Go Rally Character that made the opportunity to scan products with the app while shopping known.

In digital outdoor advertising, the activation was to be taken even further. Instead of traditional advertising, the execution was to arouse curiosity and give passersby the opportunity to participate themselves.

The solution became an interactive wheel of fortune.

Execution

The Lidl Plus campaign combined three digital outdoor advertising possibilities: interactivity, dynamic content, and a physically branded advertising surface.

Interactivity: A passerby could activate the wheel of fortune visible on the digital advertising surface with their own movement. By spinning the wheel, they could win a Lidl Plus benefit or go without a win this time.

Dynamism: The prizes on the wheel of fortune varied by day of the week. This meant the campaign content was not the same every day, but the dynamism built into the execution enabled the offering of timely benefits.

Striking appearance: The special execution was crowned by encasing the advertising display in Lidl Plus branding. The campaign was thus not limited to content visible on the screen.

The wheel of fortune was also not just entertainment. The winner received a QR code to a discount code in the Lidl Plus app for roasted food products, which encouraged continuing to a Lidl store. If there was no win, the ad directed them to download the Lidl Plus app and explore its other benefits.

In this way, one outdoor advertising surface was able to simultaneously attract attention, engage, offer concrete benefits, and support app usage and drive to the store.

"What is most interesting about interactivity is how it can take advertising activation further. Here the passerby got to participate themselves and continue the experience in the Lidl Plus app" Outshine's Interactive Media Developer Ilkka Helo.

Results

Something different stops people

The campaign's impact was studied. The goal of the research was to find out what caused people to stop, how the interactive experience was perceived, and what impact it had on, among other things, Lidl Plus app usage and brand perception.

In the study, one observation stood out particularly clearly: the execution's deviation from ordinary outdoor advertising sparked interest.

Interactivity and the opportunity to influence the events in the ad themselves caused people to stop. Curiosity, the desire to try it, and the opportunity to win benefits attracted participation.

Interactivity brought joy to everyday life

The basic idea of the game was considered fun, and the working interactivity brought something unexpected to the ordinary shopping environment. The execution particularly appealed to families with children.

In the research's written summary, the campaign was described as a distinctive execution that captured passersby's attention and offered a refreshing surprise in the middle of everyday life.

Participation strengthened brand perception

The strongest results from the research came from brand impact.

The vast majority of those interviewed felt that interactive engagement left a more positive image of Lidl compared to ordinary static outdoor advertising. The execution was perceived as particularly effective and fun among families with children.

One respondent summed up the difference: "Maybe better than such an ordinary average ad."

"It's great to see clients boldly embrace the possibilities of interactive outdoor advertising. At its best, advertising doesn't just show—it invites people in" Outshine's Account Director Kasper Tanninen rejoices.

Overall, the Lidl Plus wheel of fortune demonstrated how digital outdoor advertising can do more than convey a message. It can make a person stop, participate, redeem a benefit, and continue engagement with the brand even on their own phone.

And sometimes all it takes is just one wave of the hand and a bit of luck!