If you run an employee advocacy program, you’re probably familiar with the highs and lows that come with it, especially in the summertime, when engagement tends to take a vacation.
So what did we do? We launched an epic employee advocacy competition that was simply impossible to resist.
Here’s how our Advocacy Summer Splash came to life, how it made waves, and how you can steal the idea for your own advocacy program.
Step 1: Strategic planning
Every great initiative starts with a plan, and this one was no exception. We followed the same tried-and-true framework we’ve used in past competitions like our Holiday Advocate Challenge and The Okties.
1. Setting goals and objectives
This time, we did things a little differently.
Of course, boosting participation was still a key goal. But more importantly, we aligned our advocates’ efforts with one of our core company objectives for the quarter: employer branding.
So we built a month-long competition, with a bonus game entirely focused on sharing employer branding content. (More on that later…)
2. Picking a theme
Surprise, surprise, we love a good theme at Oktopost. And what better way to capture the season than with a summer splash?
Hence, the Advocacy Summer Splash was born.
3. Securing a budget
This time around, we locked in a slightly larger budget. We split our advocates into six teams, and awarded gift cards to the top three performers.
But we didn’t stop there.
We went big on bonus prizes and got creative with no-cost rewards like shoutouts on social and public recognition during our company-wide all-hands. Sometimes, those are even more motivating than the gift cards.
Step 2: The competition
1. Team setup
We created six teams based on departments to spark both camaraderie and competition:
- Team Sales
- Team Customer Success
- Team Product & Operations
- Team Directors & Team Leads
- Team Marketing
- Leadership Team
Note: Team Marketing and Leadership were not eligible for prizes.
Using Oktopost’s point system, teams competed to rack up engagement and climb the leaderboard.
Here’s how it worked:
- Sales, Customer Success, and Product & Operations battled it out for the top three spots in their respective leaderboards.
- To be eligible for a prize, advocates needed to hit a minimum of 2,000 points, enough to keep everyone consistently engaged throughout the month.
We also introduced a twist for Team Directors & Team Leads:
- One gift card was up for grabs, awarded to the director or team lead with the most points (a minimum of 2,000 points was required).
- Bonus: For every direct report who made the company-wide Top 5 leaderboard, they earned an extra 1,500 points.
Yes, it was all very calculated to get managers to rally their teams. And it worked.
2. The bonus round: employer branding takeover
In Q3, we focused heavily on employer branding content.
Advocates naturally love posting about our culture, recruitment, and what it’s like to work at their companies. But we didn’t just lean on interest, we made it impossible not to join in.
3. Bonus prizes, but with a twist
The three Oktoposters with the most engagement on employer branding content had the chance to win one of these summer-perfect prizes:
- Apple AirTags
- Amazon Kindle
- JBL Bluetooth Speaker
But we didn’t tell them which prize they’d win, at least not yet.
Step 3: Setting it all up in Oktopost
Running the competition inside Oktopost made everything smooth and trackable:
1. Team assignments
Each advocate was assigned to their team and could see their standings in real time via the leaderboard.
2. Points system
We didn’t just reward activity, we rewarded smart activity. For example:
- More points for editing posts than for one-click shares (because personalization = better engagement).
- Bonus points for suggesting content to the board, helping us scale quality content, and showing advocates their contributions truly matter.
Step 4: Launching our competition
We launched the competition with a 20-minute, high-energy company-wide meeting.
We walked through:
- The rules
- The point system
- The prizes
- And most importantly: how to make a splash on LinkedIn
We kept the deck short, sharp, and fun, just enough to get everyone hyped.
Step 5: Celebrate Like Champions
1. Announcing the winners
As soon as the competition wrapped up, we wasted no time:
- A celebratory message dropped in our company-wide Slack
- A company-wide email with all the shoutouts and highlights
- Social media shoutouts to cheer on the winners and their awesome contributions
But there’s more.
2. We held a bonus round mystery game
Remember those bonus prizes?
We promised something special: a thrilling game to decide which winner got which prize. And we delivered.
We posted this image in Slack:
Each of the top three bonus winners picked a door number in order, and behind each door was one of our prizes.
It was fun, suspenseful, and full of exciting energy, just ask Jamie Wilcock, winner of the JBL speaker:
“It feels like Christmas!”
Who needs Santa when you have a good employee advocacy competition?
Summer vibes all around
Summer is typically a tough time for employee engagement. People are switching off, taking vacations, and soaking up the sun.
But with a little creativity, some friendly competition, and the right tools, your advocacy program can keep thriving, even when the office feels half empty.
Our Advocacy Summer Splash reminded us that:
- A well-timed challenge can spark serious momentum
- Aligning advocacy with business goals (like employer branding) makes participation feel meaningful
- And a little mystery (plus a lot of fun) goes a long way
We hope this gave you some inspiration for your next challenge.
Until then, happy advocating!
