A1 Challenges Loyal Fans in the A1 Games

The steak sauce is offering branded prizes to the fans passionate enough to participate in the Facebook initiative.

A1 Steak Sauce is challenging its most passionate fans and rewarding them with A1-themed prizes in the A1 Games, a Facebook initiative that is part of a new print and digital campaign called A1 for Life.

The A1 Games include challenges like: putting A1 on a strange item and posting an image on Instagram with the A1 bottle and the hashtag #A1Everything; downloading one of three original A1 music tracks and singing a song about A1; and painting the Mona Lisa with A1 and submitting via Instagram with the hashtag #A1SaucyMona.

A previous challenge also included the MLB A1 Upgrade, in which fans were asked to write their own version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” about A1 and record themselves singing it on Instagram video.

A1 is working with the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago White Sox, and the Texas Rangers on the MLB challenge. There will be one winner per team. The prize includes seats behind home plate, as well as a meal. The winners should be announced by the second week of September, says Brand Manager Brett Castle.

The Facebook page includes about 30 viewable entries for the MLB Upgrade.

“The idea is to get loyal users reenergized and find ways to do it in the social space,” Castle says.

The A1 Games launched at the beginning of August with the MLB challenge, as well as a challenge that will yield two tickets to a select Live Nation show in the U.S., Castle adds.

Additional prizes include an A1 air freshener and an A1 Card, which will enable cardholders to get A1 delivered within 24 hours, Castle says.

According to Castle, there are a “very limited number” of A1 cards because the brand wants it to remain “very exclusive.”

“We’re also likely reaching out to celebrities that have shown they’re loyal A1 users,” Castle says.

He declined to name any celebrities that have shown they’re loyal A1 users.

Each challenge includes the option to invite others to play by sharing links on Facebook timelines as well as a countdown of time remaining to submit entries.

According to A1’s Facebook page, the next challenge is coming on September 16. The prize? An A1 belt buckle that allows fans to carry sauce in a secret compartment. It includes a “Remind Me” tab that takes interested parties to an event page.

Castle says A1 is expecting to do nine challenges over the course of the campaign and will phase in new challenges every two to three weeks after a cluster to start. The A1 Games wrap up at the end of October with a Halloween costume challenge, he says.

“The idea behind it this year is to get passionate and loyal fans energized about the brand. It’s been several years since our last mass market communication to consumers, so it seemed like the right time for the brand to do that. Our focus has been in-store the last several years, so it was time to restart a conversation with them,” Castle says. “To do that, we looked online, particularly after we launched our Facebook page last year and saw some nice organic growth and interaction. It’s amazing how people talk about the brand, how they use the brand. They love the flavor and put it on many other things – mashed potatoes, hamburgers, eggs – and that got us energized and thinking.”

Fans must like A1 on Facebook in order to participate in the A1 Games. The brand had 138,000 Facebook likes as of September 5, up from 136,000 on September 3.

A1 is promoting the initiative with publications like ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, and Field and Stream and is also working with Live Nation and MLB on their digital assets to amplify the reach of specific challenges, Castle says.

A1 is a Kraft Foods brand.

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