32:44The Retention Roadshow
Miami 2025
Ecommerce Giveaway Marketing with Van Oakes
Van Oakes shares a giveaway campaign playbook covering audience fit, creators, campaign economics, participation, and follow-up—with an emphasis on the community behind the numbers.
Watch it. Put it to work.
ABOUT THIS SESSION
Build a promotion people join.
Van Oakes shares a giveaway campaign playbook covering audience fit, creators, campaign economics, participation, and follow-up—with an emphasis on the community behind the numbers.
For brand marketers comparing giveaway campaigns with their usual promotional offers.
- Speaker
- Van Oakes
Founder, GOAT Media - Recorded at
- Miami 2025 ↗
April 2025
Speaker roles and platform examples reflect the session’s original context. This is an archived conversation.
TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR DESK
Ideas to put to work.
- 01
Keep the customer behind the metrics in view
Choose a promotion around the audience’s interests and relationship with the brand.
Read this part · 00:13 ↓ - 02
Plan the rules before the campaign
Settle the promotion’s rules and operational requirements before producing campaign assets.
Read this part · 08:06 ↓ - 03
Build the content around participation
Make the prize, story, and next step clear in the first encounter with the campaign.
Read this part · 10:14 ↓ - 04
Compare the economics with your normal promotion
Compare total giveaway costs with the margin and acquisition costs of your usual promotion.
Read this part · 15:31 ↓ - 05
Measure the path and follow up
Track meaningful purchase actions and plan the follow-up before the giveaway launches.
Read this part · 22:40 ↓
READ THE SESSION
The edited transcript.
A condensed, edited reading version based on the YouTube captions and session chapters. Repetition and unclear audience audio have been removed; the discussion is paraphrased for clarity, rather than presented as a verbatim transcript. Timestamps refer to the original video.
Original recording on YouTube ↗Keep the customer behind the metrics in view
Van begins with community and the risk of seeing a business only through click-through rates, ad costs, and revenue. The promotion needs to connect with why the audience cares about the brand, not merely produce a temporary spike.
His stories frame giving back as part of that relationship. Before choosing a prize or campaign mechanic, understand who is participating and what would be meaningful to them. The business is trying to build customer interest, not just attract anyone who wants something free.
Plan the rules before the campaign
The session includes a discussion of giveaway structure and differences between markets. That context is important to the campaign plan, but this archived talk is not a current legal checklist or a substitute for review of a particular promotion.
Operationally, the rules, eligibility, timing, and fulfillment need to be settled before creative goes live. The audience should be able to understand the promotion they are joining. A clear campaign is easier to communicate consistently across partners and channels.
Build the content around participation
Creators and campaign content help make the giveaway understandable and worth sharing. Van discusses showing the prize and explaining the opportunity directly. The examples do not depend on elaborate production to communicate the idea.
A clear story can matter more than a polished presentation that leaves the mechanics confusing. Review whether someone encountering the campaign for the first time can understand what is happening, why it is relevant, and where to find the details.
Compare the economics with your normal promotion
Van asks brands to consider what they already spend through discounts when evaluating the cost of a giveaway. A prize is a visible expense, while the margin given away in a conventional promotion can be easier to overlook.
The examples illustrate how he evaluates a campaign, not guaranteed returns. Compare the full costs and the quality of customers acquired. Revenue alone cannot tell you whether a giveaway was a better use of promotional budget than the alternative.
Measure the path and follow up
The measurement discussion moves from attention to actions closer to purchase, including add-to-cart behavior. A low-cost click is not the end of the campaign’s job. The creative, landing page, and offer need to work together.
Follow-up and storytelling continue after the initial entry. Keep the audience informed and connect participation back to the brand. That is where the campaign can become more than a one-off acquisition event and contribute to an ongoing relationship.
KEEP THE IDEAS COMING
Stay in the conversation.
3 SESSIONSPLAY IT BACK. PUT IT TO WORK.
32:44
53:20San Diego 2025
How to Master eCommerce Product Launches
46:50San Diego 2025
Fireside Chat with Gary Vaynerchuk
YOUR NEXT STEP: IN THE ROOM
Bring your questions.
Meet your people.
Join Commerce Roundtable in 2027 for focused learning and conversations with people working through the same challenges.