10 Creative Caption Contest Ideas and Examples

Photo caption contests are one of the most engaging and viral marketing strategies. They easily showcase your brand's personality, help you build relationships with your audience, and attract followers interested in your product or service. In this article, we'll talk about ten outstanding caption contest ideas and tips on running one to boost your business.

What is a Caption Contest?

A caption contest invites people to create a fitting description for a given photo. Brands provide the photo, and participants submit their best captions. Whoever makes the most creative or humorous caption is rewarded with a prize. Brands sometimes ask their followers to complete bonus actions to earn more entries into the giveaway. These actions include liking your page, following another social account, signing up for an email list, or tagging friends in the comments. Running a caption contest is fun and engages your audience. These contests often produce hilarious results, creating great promotional content. Your audience will love reading the different caption entries, which can drive more traffic and interest to your social media pages.

What are the Benefits of Caption Contests?

Running a caption contest has plenty of benefits beyond just entertainment, including:

• Promote new products and services
• Drive traffic to your website
• Boost brand awareness
• Increase your social media followers
• Increase your email subscribers
• Generate new high-quality leads

10 Best Caption Contest Examples

1. The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The New Yorker's cartoon caption contest is one of the most popular photo caption examples. Each week, readers submit punchlines, and the magazine picks three finalists from thousands of submissions. The audience votes for the best one, and the winner gets their caption published the following week.  This caption contest is a fantastic example of how brands can engage their current audience while expanding their reach. By requiring users to log in to the website and with finalists likely to share their submissions with friends for more votes, the brand effectively encourages engagement and boosts its online presence. You can easily run a caption contest like this with Raffle Leader. Just add the caption image to the prize details area, provide clear instructions for entering the competition, and await participants’ submissions.

2. Summer Caption Contest

This example from CollegeXpress uses summer as the theme to increase engagement and attract new followers on their social media channels. Participants must follow the brand on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly Twitter) and comment with their caption and the giveaway hashtag to win a $25 Amazon gift card. They can also email their submissions using the branded hashtag as the email subject line. You can easily run this type of contest with a giveaway builder like Raffle Leader. Adding individual giveaway actions for each social media profile lets users stay on just one website. All entries are collected in one place on the giveaway dashboard, making verifying entries and drawing a winner quick and straightforward.

3. Facebook Caption Contest

This Facebook competition is an excellent example of how caption contests can effectively engage followers, encourage interaction, and strengthen brand loyalty. To win a dining experience, participants had to comment with their caption. While this is a great way to connect with your existing Facebook audience, a few tweaks could boost your results. For example, you could use Raffle Leader's Facebook giveaway template to build your contest. To increase the potential for your contest to go viral, use our viral refer-a-friend sharing program and encourage users to share it online.

4. Funny Caption Contest

This next example uses humor to deliver a fun experience for participants while enhancing blog engagement. Users must share their captions within the comments section of the blog to get a chance to win a free CD. Increasing the number of comments on your blog is a great way to show potential customers that your brand is actively engaged online. However, giveaways can attract numerous entries, making it overwhelming to manage. Instead, use Raffle Leader to create your contest. Ask readers to comment on your blog, then verify their entries. When the contest ends, use the built-in random winner generator to choose a winner.

5. Local Business Caption Contest

Caption contests are a fantastic way for brands to engage with their local community. For example, the San Mateo County Library invited their followers to connect on Instagram and share their captions in the comments to win prizes. Through this contest, they also promoted their local community’s summer learning challenge. If you're running a similar contest, use Raffle Leader's viral refer-a-friend sharing program to increase entries and engagement. Users can easily share your contest on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and email, helping to reach a wider audience.

6. Movie Promotion Caption Contest

In this next example, participants are required to purchase a movie ticket and leave a caption comment to enter and win an autographed poster. However, to claim the prize, the winner must provide their ticket as proof of purchase. Managing a contest like this is easy with Raffle Leader, which allows you to create custom entry methods. Here, you could request participants to include their ticket purchase number as proof while sharing their captions.

7. Valentine's Day Caption Contest

Promoting your business during holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day is perfect since you don't have to think of a creative theme. In this example, a Canadian grocery store chain used Valentine’s Day to promote their contest, with the winner receiving a free Triple Layer Black Forest Cake.  Similar to previous examples, it's easy to manage this giveaway with Raffle Leader. Instead of only directing traffic to your Facebook page, you could draw tons of traffic to your website, creating more chances to convert those visitors into customers.

8. X (formerly Twitter) Caption Contest

Furniture retailer Raymour & Flanigan launched a successful brand awareness campaign with a contest on X (formerly Twitter) featuring a $500 gift card prize. Thanks to the substantial value of the prize, the contest drew in numerous entries. Additionally, the gift card prize's relevance to their store and the use of popular giveaway hashtags boosted engagement and resulted in a successful photo caption contest.

9. Follower Milestone Caption Contest

Using caption competitions, even for smaller brands, can increase engagement and attract potential customers. For example, comic illustrator Chicken Thoughts recently celebrated its 50,000-follower milestone by running a contest where participants could win one of two exclusive hand-drawn comics. All participants had to do was drop a comment on their Facebook post, with the top two captions winning the prize. It's a simple yet effective way to show appreciation to your audience, who's more likely to actively engage with and promote your brand within their social circles.

10. Cash Prize Caption Contest

This final example offers a $100 cash prize. Money is a fantastic incentive, as it’s relevant to everyone regardless of their tastes or interests. To enter the contest, participants must complete a form with their captions and details. Collecting entries can be challenging. For a smooth experience, consider using Raffle Leader. Raffle Leader's features direct users to a landing page with a custom entry form. Once completed, entries are verified and stored securely in the dashboard. Raffle Leader even lets you add bonus entry options to boost engagement and spread the word about your contest.

How to Run a Caption Contest

Photo caption contests are a fun and engaging way to boost audience engagement. Here's how to run one in five easy steps:

1. Pick the perfect photo. Choose an image that grabs attention. It can be funny, thought-provoking, or visually pleasing.
2. Set clear rules. Briefly explain your contest goals, entry methods (comments, hashtags, etc.), deadlines, and how you'll pick the winner. 
3. State the prize. Offer a prize that excites your audience, such as a product or service.
4. Promote your contest. Share your contest on your social media channels and encourage your followers to share it. Use relevant hashtags to reach a wider audience.
5. Judge and announce. Evaluate entries by the deadline and select a winner based on your criteria. Announce the winner publicly and generate excitement for future contests.

Final Thoughts

Photo caption contests are more than just a fun activity for your audience. These ten examples show they're a powerful tool for achieving various marketing goals. Caption contests can unlock possibilities for growing your social media presence, fostering community, or driving engagement.  With these ideas and the right tools, like Raffle Leader, running your own photo caption contest is a breeze. Get creative and start planning your next contest today!