As a digital marketing strategist who's seen countless campaigns come and go, I never expected a mundane question like "is market closed on presidents day 2019" to inspire one of the most successful gamification strategies I've witnessed. Let me tell you how this seemingly ordinary search query led to an extraordinary marketing breakthrough.
Back in early 2019, I was working with a fintech startup struggling to engage their younger audience. While analyzing their search traffic patterns, we noticed an interesting trend: their highest engagement spikes occurred during market holidays. This discovery sparked an idea that would transform their entire marketing approach.
The Challenge of Market Downtime
Traditional financial markets follow a predictable calendar, closing for holidays like Presidents Day. While most financial companies saw these closures as quiet periods, we recognized an opportunity. Young investors, particularly those new to trading, were actively searching for market status information during these times – they were literally asking "is market closed on presidents day 2019" and similar queries thousands of times.
The Gamification Solution
Instead of simply displaying a "market closed" message, we developed an interactive trading simulation game that launched specifically during market holidays. Players could practice trading strategies in a risk-free environment using historical data, earning points and competing on leaderboards. The twist? The game was only available during actual market closures, creating a sense of exclusivity and urgency.
The Results Were Unexpected
The campaign exceeded our wildest expectations. During the 2019 Presidents Day closure, the game attracted over 50,000 players. More importantly, it created a phenomenon we hadn't anticipated: players began planning ahead for market holidays, sharing strategies on social media, and forming communities around these limited-time gaming events.
Robinhood's take on this approach has been particularly noteworthy. They've since implemented similar engagement strategies during market downtimes, though with their own unique twist focusing on educational content gamification.
Looking Forward
This experience taught me something crucial about modern marketing: sometimes the most powerful opportunities lie in what might seem like constraints. Market closures, which were once seen as engagement dead zones, became catalysts for community building and user education.
As we look ahead, I predict we'll see more financial services companies adopting similar strategies, particularly around holiday closures and after-hours periods. The key will be finding that sweet spot between entertainment and education, between gaming mechanics and genuine value creation.
A Word of Caution
While gamification can be incredibly powerful, it needs to be implemented thoughtfully, especially in financial services. The goal should be to enhance user understanding and engagement, not to trivialize serious financial decisions. Balance is crucial.
My personal approach now always starts with analyzing seemingly mundane user behaviors – like searching for market closure information – and finding creative ways to transform these moments into engaging experiences.
What started as a simple response to "is market closed on presidents day 2019" evolved into a complete rethinking of how we engage with users during market downtime. It's a perfect example of how constraints can breed creativity in digital marketing.
The next time you see a routine question in your search analytics, consider it might just be hiding your next big marketing breakthrough.
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Want to Know What Really Gets People Talking?
Let me share something that caught me off guard when I started using Faisco. We ran a small contest for a client last month, and what happened next was pretty eye-opening. Their social traffic didn't just tick up – it jumped by over 60%. People stuck around on their site four times longer than usual. And here's the kicker: their conversion rates shot up by 28% compared to their regular campaigns.
I get it – numbers are nice, but you're probably wondering what this means in real terms. Here's the deal: Faisco turns those boring "enter your email" promotions into experiences people actually want to share with their friends. I've seen it work for scrappy startups and growing SaaS companies alike.
Looking to Give This a Shot?
From my experience running these campaigns, I've picked up a few tricks that make a real difference.
Start with the End in Mind
Here's what I tell my clients: figure out what success looks like before you dive in. Are you after more email signups? Brand awareness? Social buzz? Each goal shapes how you'll set up your campaign.
Pick Prizes People Actually Want
I learned this one the hard way – offering an iPad might get entries, but offering something your specific audience craves? That's when magic happens. One of my clients in the photography space offered a premium preset pack, and their engagement went through the roof.
Get the Word Out
Sure, you could just hit publish and hope for the best. But I've found mixing things up works better – share on social, tap into your email list, maybe test some ads if you've got the budget. Different channels reach different folks.
Keep an Eye on What Works
Faisco comes with some pretty solid analytics tools. I check them regularly to see what's clicking with people and what's not. Sometimes the smallest tweaks make the biggest difference.
Here's something cool: you can test this out yourself at i.faisco.com. Their free trial lets you set up a campaign in about three minutes. Beats spending weeks planning and coding something from scratch.
If you want to make a payment, you can also check their pricing page.
