3 Father's Day promotions (and why they'll work for you)

Father's Day should be one of the first holidays to kick off your paper's summer promotions calendar.

With Americans spending an estimated $116 on their dads, there are a wealth of great advertisers looking for the perfect opportunity to get in front of consumers this June. From bars and restaurants to hardware stores and retail, now's the time to target Father's Day advertisers.

Here are three promotion ideas that can lead you (and your advertisers) to success this June:

1. PHOTO CONTESTS

A father and son photo contest is a great opportunity for people to show off family photos. Plus, users will take pride in sharing their photos on social and requesting votes from their friends and family.

All that social sharing means photo contests generate high pageviews. Advertisers will benefit from the expanded branding opportunity – which can be leveraged for a higher sponsorship investment.

Incorporating a great prize will set you and your advertisers up for success. A valuable prize has the chance to drive higher engagement numbers. Plus, you can work with your advertisers to include a special bounceback offer for all participants in your thank-you email – what a great way to drive foot traffic!

2. SWEEPSTAKES

There are so many great opportunities for Father's Day sweepstakes. Just take a look at the variety of prizes in these three sweepstakes examples below – concert tickets, tools or barbecue prize package with a new grill and grocery gift card.

When you run your sweepstakes, include an email opt-in so both you and the advertiser can grow an email database. Sweepstakes are the best way to grow your database, so be sure you're ready to take advantage of that opportunity.

Also, sweepstakes are a quick way to gain insight into your consumers by adding on a 2-3 survey questions. If you're including survey questions, make sure your prize is valuable enough people won't mind providing this additional information.

3. QUIZZES

Quizzes are a creative promotion for you to present to advertisers. Need some Father's Day themed quiz ideas? Why not one of these:

• "Who's Your TV Dad?"
• "What Should You Get Your Dad for Father's Day?"
• "Can You Name These Celebrity Dads?"
• "Where Should You Spend Father's Day in (City)?"
• "Who Said These Famous Dad Quotes"

Combine 3-5 quizzes together to create a quiz bundle. Bundling is an ideal way to streamline your sales process by selling the entire set to just one advertiser for a high sponsorship investment. Plus, advertisers will love the opportunity to get more exposure for their brand.

To make a quiz even more enticing to your sponsor, create a quiz entirely about them. For a group of locally owned golf courses, a quiz like "Which (Group Name) Golf Course is Perfect for Your Dad?" could feature all of the owner's different courses as outcomes. Plus, by adding a discount or offer to the outcome page, you could really drive measurable foot traffic for your advertiser.

Let Father's Day be the big kickoff to your summer promotions season, and set yourself up for success with photo contests, sweepstakes and quizzes.

Matt Coen is the president and co-founder of Second Street, a leading provider of private-label online promotions platforms and partner success services for media companies based in St. Louis, Mo. He can be reached at (314) 880-4902 or matt@secondstreet.com.