How to run a UGC competition that fills your gallery, online and in-store
A practical playbook for UGC competitions that actually fill your gallery: the mechanism, the formats, an end-to-end runbook, paste-ready copy templates, and what the brands that nailed it (ASOS, Starbucks, e.l.f., Gymshark) can teach you.
Most brands "collect UGC" by hoping customers tag them. A competition changes the deal. A prize, a deadline and a clear ask give people a reason to post today. That single shift is the difference between a trickle and a stream.
Why a competition beats asking nicely
The mechanism is simple. An incentive plus a deadline drives volume. Volume gives you choice. A rights request at the point of entry makes the best pieces legally reusable. The gallery puts them back on the product page, where the next shopper is deciding. Visual proof from real customers is consistently one of the strongest trust signals on a PDP.
~4 in 5
shoppers say UGC influences their purchases
Stackla / Nosto
Several×
engagement lift of UGC over brand-made posts
Comscore
The proof: Leroy Merlin
Leroy Merlin ran an ongoing competition on Idukki with a winner picked every month. Two things stood out. The volume: more than 1,900 pieces of customer content. And the channel mix: alongside hashtag entries online, they collected UGC inside physical stores using QR codes, and that in-store route worked unusually well.
1,900+
pieces of UGC collected
Monthly
winners picked
In-store
QR collection, a standout
“A customer holding the product in the aisle is the most motivated photographer you will ever get. A small code turns that moment into an entry.”
Learn from the brands that nailed it
The famous campaigns are worth studying, less for their budgets than for their mechanics. Each one made the ask clear, picked a format native to where its audience already posts, and offered a prize that fit that audience.
| Campaign | The play | Steal this |
|---|---|---|
| ASOS · #AsSeenOnMe | Shoppers post outfits; ASOS features them on-site, shoppably | Always-on and shoppable beats one-off. This is the gallery play Idukki automates. |
| Starbucks · #RedCupContest | Share a photo of the holiday cup for a cash prize | A simple prize works when the product is iconic and the timing is seasonal. |
| e.l.f. · #eyeslipsface | A custom branded TikTok sound for a makeup challenge | Give the format a native hook so it spreads on its own. |
| Gymshark · #Gymshark66 | A 66-day fitness commitment people post into each January | A streak format builds a habit, not a one-off spike. |
| Doritos · #DoritosTriangleTryOut | A TikTok dance with a Super Bowl-ad grand prize | A once-in-a-lifetime prize buys enormous reach. |
| National Geographic · #WanderlustContest | Nature photos for a seven-day Yosemite expedition | Match the prize to the passion. |
| GoPro · Photo of the Day | Best action shots featured daily to millions | The feature itself can be the prize, no budget needed. |
Five formats you can run
- Monthly hashtag contest: a small recurring prize keeps a programme alive all year (the Leroy Merlin shape).
- In-store QR collection: a code by the product, at the till, or on the packaging, leading to a branded collection page.
- Review-with-photo: entries are photo reviews, which lift PDP conversion more than text alone.
- Launch or seasonal: a themed hashtag, a hard deadline, one hero prize.
- Always-on "tag to be featured": no prize budget, the feature is the reward (the GoPro shape).
How to run one, end to end
- 01
Set one goal
Volume, photo reviews, leads, or launch content. The goal picks the format.
- 02
Pick the prize
Recurring-and-small beats one-off-and-huge for an ongoing programme. Your product is the best prize.
- 03
Build two entry points
A hashtag online and a QR code in-store, both landing on one branded collection page.
- 04
Get rights at entry
A consent tick or one-tap request at the point of entry makes the best pieces reusable.
- 05
Pick winners on schedule
Monthly keeps it alive. Miss the schedule and the programme dies.
- 06
Display the winners
Put them back on the homepage and PDPs as a shoppable gallery. This is the revenue step.
Steal these copy templates
Rights and fair play
- Capture consent to reuse at the point of entry.
- Write plain-language rules: dates, eligibility, how winners are chosen, the prize.
- Credit the creator everywhere the content appears.
- Honour the platforms’ promotion rules.
- Give people a way to revoke their content.
- Never invent or inflate your own entry numbers.
What to measure
- Entries collected (the headline number).
- Rights secured (reusable pieces, not just total posts).
- Cost per usable piece (prize value divided by usable entries).
- On-site lift where the gallery shows: engagement, add-to-cart and conversion.
- Repeat entrants month over month, a sign of real momentum.
How Idukki runs the whole loop
The point of doing this in one tool is that the loop never breaks between apps. Collect from a hashtag, tagged posts, reviews, and a branded QR page for in-store. Score on a leaderboard. License and reward with rights requests and winner selection built in. Display the winners as a shoppable gallery on your homepage and PDPs. Competitions are included on Pro and Enterprise; the Starter plan runs one live competition at a time, which is plenty to prove the loop.
Sources
- 1Stackla / Nosto, State of User-Generated Content · Shopper trust and purchase influence
- 2Comscore, engagement of user-generated vs brand-made content
- 3Billo, 7 Best UGC Contest Examples
- 4Public campaigns: ASOS #AsSeenOnMe, Starbucks #RedCupContest, e.l.f. #eyeslipsface, Gymshark #Gymshark66, Doritos #DoritosTriangleTryOut, National Geographic #WanderlustContest, GoPro
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