A shopping mall launches its fall campaign by doing something most brands still struggle to do. It hands the camera to customers and lets them create the hero image, the lead campaign visual.
Arkaden is a shopping mall in the centre of Gothenburg, Sweden. To increase their digital presence and to engage with their customers, they developed an online action based on the insight that their target audience loves to take pictures and create their own content.
So the team at Arkaden decided to let go of the controls and let their customers shoot the fall campaign. One lucky winner was selected for her picture, which was then published in newspapers and outdoor ads.
Why “let customers shoot it” is a smart digital presence play
The mechanism does two jobs at once. It generates content at scale, and it gives the audience a reason to come back, vote, and recruit friends. The brand does not just post a campaign. It hosts a competition that produces the campaign. Because entries need votes, participants recruit friends, which is why the campaign can spread without heavy incentive spend. This is worth copying when you need both engagement and usable campaign assets, not just attention.
Extractable takeaway: Make user-generated content the asset pipeline. Give it a simple submission rule, a public selection moment, and a real-world outcome so participation produces both content and distribution.
In European retail and shopping-centre marketing, campaigns that convert everyday behaviour, taking photos and sharing them, into a branded mechanic, a simple repeatable action loop, tend to earn participation without heavy incentive spend.
What Arkaden is really buying
This is permission to show up in feeds as people. Instead of broadcasting “our fall look”, Arkaden lets customers say “my photo could be the fall look”, which is a stronger motivation to share.
The real question is whether you are willing to run customer-made work as the public face of the campaign.
Writing about this project also reminded me of the online photo casting done by Playboy Magazine in March 2010. Check that out here.
Mechanics to borrow from Arkaden’s photo contest
- Turn creation into a clear outcome. The prize is not just a gift. It is publication and visibility.
- Build a vote loop, a repeat-visit cycle. Voting creates repeat visits and social recruiting.
- Make the rules instantly understandable. Shoot, submit, vote, win.
- Carry the winner into paid media. The offline exposure is what makes the participation feel “real”.
A few fast answers before you act
What is Arkaden’s Fashion Photo Project?
An online activation where customers shoot the fall campaign fashion photo, then a winner is selected and the winning image runs in traditional media.
Why is this stronger than asking people to “share a photo”?
Because the photo has a job. It can become the campaign. That raises effort, pride, and the willingness to recruit votes.
What is the key growth mechanic in campaigns like this?
Voting. Voting creates repeat traffic and turns participants into promoters because they want friends to support their entry.
What is the main brand benefit?
Earned distribution and fresh content, plus a public signal that the brand trusts its customers and participates in their culture of making and sharing.
What is the biggest execution risk?
If the submission and voting flow feels complicated, participation collapses. The experience has to be fast, obvious, and mobile-friendly.
