7 lead magnets for experiential marketing and brand activations, with examples

Key terms explained (8)

CRM

Customer relationship management software: one place that stores your contacts, conversations, appointments and deals. GoHighLevel and HubSpot are examples.

QR code

A square barcode people scan with their phone camera to open a link, menu or form.

CASL

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation: the law that sets the rules for sending commercial emails and text messages in Canada.

Cost per lead

What you spend to get one enquiry: total spend divided by the number of leads.

Lead magnet

Something useful you offer in exchange for someone’s contact details, such as a checklist, sample or contest entry.

Opt-in and opt-out

Opting in means agreeing to receive messages; opting out means asking to stop, for example by replying STOP.

Hook

The opening of a video or post, usually the first one to three seconds or first line, written to make people keep watching or reading.

CPG

Consumer packaged goods: everyday products such as food, drinks and toiletries.

What is a lead magnet in experiential marketing?

A lead magnet is something of value you offer in exchange for a person’s contact details or sign-up. Online, that is usually a download or a discount. At an event or brand activation, it is physical and immediate: a prize, a taste, a photo, a personalised item. The visitor gets something now. You get a way to continue the conversation after the crowd goes home.

Below are seven that work, with examples from brands Canadians know. Where I use a real campaign it is linked to its source. Where an example is my own illustration, it is labelled.

How do the seven compare?

1. QR code scan-to-win contest

How it works: a QR code on signage, packaging or a screen leads to a short mobile form. Completing it enters the visitor in a draw.

Real example: for the FIFA World Cup 2026, Coca-Cola’s Canadian campaign put QR codes on limited-edition cans. Scanning led to contest entries through its Coca-Cola Soccer Central platform, with more than 1,000 prizes and weekly draws, alongside branded fan zone spaces in Toronto and Vancouver, as reported by Retail Insider.

Make it work: put the code at eye level with the prize in large type, keep the form to three fields, and test it on mobile data before the event.

2. Spin-to-win wheel

How it works: visitors enter their details on a tablet or scan a code, then spin a physical or digital prize wheel. Everyone wins something small. A few win something bigger.

Why it works: the wheel is visible and noisy, so it draws a line, and a line draws a crowd. The instant result is more motivating than a draw next month.

Illustration (my own example, not a real campaign): a bank such as CIBC at a street festival could offer a spin for branded merchandise, a coffee gift card or a larger prize, with the form asking one qualifying question such as “Are you planning to buy a home in the next year?”. The answer decides which follow-up the contact receives.

A real instant-win at national scale: Tim Hortons’ Roll Up To Win is the same idea, digitised. Guests earn digital rolls by scanning their Tims Rewards card or ordering in the app, according to Tim Hortons’ help centre. The prize is the hook. The loyalty scan is the capture.

3. Free sample plus coupon

How it works: hand out a taste or a trial size, with a coupon or QR offer that brings the person back to buy.

Real example: Costco’s in-warehouse sampling is the best-known version in Canadian retail. The effect is supported by research. A study of in-store sampling published in the Journal of Retailing, summarised by Brigham Young University, found that samples lift sales both immediately and over the following weeks, last longer than end-of-aisle displays, and can raise sales across the whole product category.

Make it work: a sample alone builds awareness. Add a coupon with a short expiry or a “scan for 15% off” code so you can count redemptions and collect sign-ups.

4. Photo or video moment

How it works: build a backdrop, prop or booth worth photographing. Visitors enter an email or phone number to receive their photo, or post it with a hashtag to enter a contest.

Real examples: during the 2026 World Cup, Dove Men+Care ran a photo and video social contest in Toronto with match tickets as the prize, and Uber’s fan activations in Toronto and Vancouver included photo moments and giveaways, according to Event Marketer’s roundup.

Make it work: deliver the photo by text or email so you collect the contact, and put your brand in the frame, not only on the wall behind it.

5. Customised keepsake

How it works: visitors design or personalise something on the spot: a printed shirt, an engraved bottle, a custom label.

Real examples: Coca-Cola’s fan zone spaces in Toronto and Vancouver offered customisable apparel, per Retail Insider. In the United States, Bank of America’s build-your-own bracelet stations drew lines lasting hours, according to Event Marketer.

Make it work: personalisation takes time, so collect the contact at the start and send a “your item is ready” text. The wait becomes your opt-in.

6. App or loyalty reward

How it works: offer a free item or bonus points for downloading the app or joining the loyalty programme at the booth.

Real example: Roll Up To Win again. Tim Hortons gives extra rolls for mobile orders placed in its app, which turns a seasonal contest into app usage.

Illustration (my own example): a grocery or CPG brand could offer a free product at its booth for anyone who joins its rewards programme on the spot, with staff helping people sign up in under a minute.

Make it work: have staff ready to help with the install, and make the reward usable the same day.

7. Cause or community event

How it works: the brand hosts or sponsors something people register for: a run, a clean-up, a workshop, a community day.

Real example: CIBC has been title sponsor of the Canadian Cancer Society CIBC Run for the Cure for 30 years, with employees taking part as Team CIBC, according to CIBC. Participants register and fundraise, which builds a relationship far deeper than a booth visit.

Make it work: choose a cause that fits the brand and commit for years. This is the slowest lead magnet and the one that builds the most trust.

What are the rules for contests in Canada?

This is not legal advice. Have your contest rules reviewed before you launch. The basics:

• Disclosure. The Competition Bureau’s guidance on promotional contests says organisers must disclose the approximate number and value of prizes, any regional allocation, and all information that affects the chance of winning.
• No purchase necessary. Say clearly whether a purchase is required, and provide a free way to enter.
• Skill-testing question. Canadian contests commonly require winners to answer one before claiming a prize.
• Consent to follow up. Entering a contest is not permission to send marketing. Under CASL, add a separate, clear opt-in for commercial messages.
• Provincial rules. Check the requirements in each province where the contest runs, especially Quebec.

How do I choose the right lead magnet?

1. Start from the goal. Volume of contacts points to a QR contest or wheel. Trial points to sampling. Trust points to a cause.
2. Match the dwell time. A busy walkway needs a five-second hook. A seated festival crowd can handle customisation.
3. Price the prize against a lead. Decide what a qualified lead is worth, then set the prize budget so cost per lead stays below it.
4. Ask one qualifying question so sales can tell a prize hunter from a buyer.
5. Plan the follow-up first. Tag the leads by event, send the thank-you within 24 hours, and report bookings at 30 days.

Tools for the job

Plans and pricing change. Check each tool's site for current details.

Frequently asked questions

Related playbooks

• Experiential marketing: how to plan a brand activation that generates leads: How to turn festival and event foot traffic into leads: one goal, a 30-second interaction, a QR capture path into your CRM, and follow-up within 24 hours.
• The 5 CRM automations every service business should set up first: Missed-call text back, speed-to-lead, reminders, review requests and nurture, with copy-and-paste message templates and the compliance rules to check.
• Email segmentation strategy: 5 behaviour-based segments to build first: Five segments built on what people did, what to send each one, and the sender requirements that keep your emails out of spam.

Browse every playbook on experiential marketing, or see all marketing playbooks.

Sources

1. Coca-Cola Launches FIFA World Cup 2026 Campaign in CanadaRetail Insider
2. FIFA World Cup 2026: Brand Activations RoundupEvent Marketer
3. How do I earn digital rolls for Roll Up To Win in the app?Tim Hortons Help Centre
4. Study: free samples increase sales, work better than end-of-aisle promotionsBYU News
5. Run for the CureCIBC
6. Promotional contestsCompetition Bureau Canada
7. Canada's anti-spam legislationCRTC