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Success Stories

Canva x Wattys

4,765

entries for Best Cover

4.4M+

total impressions

2M

custom video impressions
Canva challenged Wattys entrants to reach new creative heights with the Best Cover category.
 
Wattpad and Canva joined forces to ignite excitement for the 2021 Watty Awards, Wattpad’s largest online writing contest and premiere awards program. For the first time ever, we created the Best Cover category, sponsored by Canva. The brand-new category served as a unique opportunity to capture the essence of story submissions through a book cover, while keeping Canva top of mind.
canva phone web asset

Challenge

To kick-start this new brand-aligned category, we challenged our community to design their own book covers using Canva. The goal was to unlock writers' creativity by elevating their stories in a visual form, all while building brand affinity and consideration for Canva.

 

What we did

  • Created a Best Cover award category for English-language Wattys entries. Writers were prompted near the end of the submission process which allowed for a seamless integration of the new category.

  • Launched the Wattys microsite with a custom Canva section that detailed the partnership, submission rules and updates for the Best Cover category.

  • Dedicated a branded chapter to Canva on the @thewattys Wattpad profile which included a step-by-step guide on how to design a book cover on Canva, additional information on the Best Cover category and the judging process, as well as helpful links to Canva’s site. The hub gave the community a platform to learn, connect, and share excitement over the new category with each other.

  • Implemented a comprehensive and dynamic media plan on and off platform for Canva with custom video units on mobile and web.

  • Launched a five-phased social media plan for the Canva x Wattys Design Week campaign which included teasers, custom videos, live Youtube events, and giveaways across our social platforms.

  • Released three chapters on the Writer Tips story to teach writers how to design their covers using Canva during the Canva x Wattys Design Week.

  • Canva designers and Wattys judge Eulah Araullo presented the award for Best Cover at the Wattys Award Ceremony to winners Donna Taylor (@dtaylorbooks), Jordin Verona (@thaliagrace-), Nic Brok (@nicwritesbooks), Carolyn Hill (@Carolyn_Hill), and @magicalmenagerie.

 

Results

The Best Cover category resulted in 4,765 English entries! Nearly half of all English Wattys stories entered their own unique covers created using Canva.

  • A total of 4.4M+ media impressions were served across all Wattys content, including 1.4M+ impressions from social media alone!

  • The five Best Cover winners were awarded with an annual subscription to Canva Pro, a “Best Cover” Wattys badge to add to their story, and promotion across Canva’s social media platforms and the Wattys microsite.

  • The custom video promoting Canva’s sponsorship and the new creative category across Wattpad’s social and in-app platform amassed close to 2M impressions!

  • Social promotions of Canva x Wattys Design Week garnered over 44K engagements, 972K impressions, and 36K likes across our social media channels. Two of our Instagram stories also surpassed the average impressions on story posts, more than any other Instagram stories.

  • The campaign drove significant lifts for Brand Consideration, Recommendation, and Favorability, with very positive audience sentiment.

    • 68% of respondents were likely to recommend Canva to a friend.

    • 67% stated they would use Canva to design their covers on Wattpad.

  • The Best Cover Category Presented By Canva chapter in the 2021 Watty Awards story received 42.1K reads and 378 comments to date!

  • Wattpad’s partnership with Canva received media coverage from Publishing Perspectives, CBC, iDiva, interaksyon, and Book Riot, among others.

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