PlayAbly Podcast Episode 40: How $0 Discounts Drove 101 Sales in 7 Days Ahead of Black Friday

What happens when you bet your customers on the weather — and still come out on top?

In this episode, we unpack one of the boldest WinBack campaigns we've ever run. Discover how MYPadL used PlayAbly to turn Seattle’s famously gloomy skies into a revenue-driving, customer-retaining spectacle — all tied to the 60th anniversary of pickleball.

Here’s what we break down:

• How a no-discount, no-ad-spend campaign drove 101 orders in 7 days
• Why weather-based promotions trigger emotional engagement and higher average order values
• The power of anticipation and community-building in retention marketing
• How PlayAbly absorbed all the campaign risk while delivering big wins
• And how this brand turned “disappointment” into delight with surveys and gift cards

From Shopify gamification to experiential ecommerce, this episode is a masterclass in marketing psychology and creative brand storytelling. If you’re exploring new angles in CRM marketing, VIP programs, or just looking for smarter ways to drive engagement — this one’s for you.

Tune in now and learn how weather, local history, and gamification came together to build a promotion customers couldn’t stop talking about.

Get Your First Month of PlayAbly free when you mention this Podcast during your free PlayAbly Demo - learn how gamification can improve your ecommerce shop at www.playably.ai

Transcript

Welcome back to the PlayAbly podcast - Angelo is joining me today so we can talk about one of the WinBack promotions that just wrapped. It was a quick one week promo I believe, is that right?

That's right - we helped this company turn Seattle's notoriously gloomy weather into a marketing goldmine. They literally bet their customers it wouldn't be sunny for two days straight 

Now that's the kind of creative marketing I love hearing about. How exactly did we pull that off?

Well, this company MYPadL created abrilliant WinBack campaign with the help of PlayAbly of course, where they promised customers a 100% cashback if Seattle got two consecutive clear days. But here's the genius part - they tied it to the 60th anniversary of pickleball, which started right there on Bainbridge Island.

Hmm... that's fascinating. Normally our winback campaigns have been directly tied to a sporting event but for this one we combined local weather patterns with local history and tied it back to the brand because they sell Pickleball gear?

Exactly! And it was structured really cleverly - customers had to buy at least 6 MYPadL Banz to qualify. If SeaTac Airport recorded two clear days in a row during the tournament, everyone would get their money back. No traditional discounts, no paid advertising - just this weather-based gamble that got everyone excited.

That's such an interesting approach to driving up average order value. What kind of results did they see?

The numbers were pretty impressive - 101 orders in just seven days, generating $4,595 in revenue. That's a 22% increase compared to their normal weeks. And get this - they achieved these results during the government shutdown, right before Black Friday when most people are holding onto their cash.

Well that's certainly beating the odds. But I'm curious about the psychology behind this - why would customers prefer this kind of promotion over a regular discount?

You know, it's fascinating because traditional discounts are predictable - you know exactly what you're getting. But this weather-based rebate created this shared anticipation, almost like a community event. Research shows that the possibility of getting something completely free triggers a different psychological response than just getting a percentage off.

So essentially turning shopping into a community experience?

Yes! And we leveraged email marketing brilliantly for this. Each message built anticipation, sharing weather updates, pickleball history, and creating this narrative that kept people engaged throughout the campaign. 

I think what’s also worth calling out here is how this ties into a broader shift we’re seeing in ecommerce — people are tired of flat discounts. They want stories, surprises, and something to talk about.

Absolutely. We’re living in the age of experiential ecommerce. And this campaign hits that sweet spot — it’s a story-first, community-driven, and emotionally resonant experience. When a brand gives customers something to believe in, even if it’s just two sunny days in Seattle, they respond.

It’s funny because this isn’t just a game. It’s marketing theater. There’s suspense. There’s nostalgia. There's weather reports. It’s like watching a live show unfold, and customers get to be part of the plot.

Totally. It’s like episodic marketing. Every email wasn’t just a sales push — it was a chapter in a story. And that’s what made it memorable. That’s what made people want to open the next one. Want to participate.

And the best part? Any brand can do this. You don’t have to sell pickleball gear to build a campaign around anticipation or community. The key is finding a narrative that makes sense for your audience and ties into your product in a way that feels authentic.

Yes — it could be weather, a cultural moment, a sporting event, even something random like lunar phases. But when brands use ecommerce gamification and platforms like Shopify engagement tools, they can create campaigns that customers feel — not just click through.

Tell me more about how they protected themselves financially with such a bold offer.

Well by working with PlayAbly they had zero risk. First, we only get paid a percentage of the sales we bring in, no upfront costs. Second, even if they had to payback all of the customers who bought products during the promotion period, they wouldn't pay anything out of pocket. PlayAbly would pay it all for them so it was win-win-win all around. 

That's really clever risk management. What happened after the campaign ended?

Now this is where it gets even more interesting. They offered a $50 gift card for completing a survey, plus entry into a grand prize drawing. So even if customers didn't get the weather-based rebate, they still had another opportunity to win something while providing valuable feedback.

So they turned potential disappointment into another engagement opportunity?

Exactly! And they collected 129 new email addresses in the process that will be helpful when they share their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals . The whole campaign was built native to their Shopify platform, making it seamless for customers while allowing them to track everything in real-time.

Looking at the bigger picture, what do you think made this campaign so successful?

I think it was the ability to turn potential loss into multiple wins. Whether customers got their rebate or not, MYPadL won with higher average order values, new email subscribers, valuable customer data, and increased brand engagement. They essentially created a no-lose situation for themselves by working with PlayAbly.

That's really a masterclass in modern marketing strategy.

And here's the biggest takeaway - successful promotions don't always need deep discounts or huge advertising budgets. What they need is creativity, strong storytelling, and something that brings customers together. This campaign worked because it created anticipation, community, and a shared experience - all while driving real business results.

Sounds like they really found that sweet spot between engagement and commerce.

You know what's really remarkable? They managed to monetize something as universal as weather conversations. Everyone checks the weather, everyone talks about it - they just found a way to turn that common experience into a revenue-generating opportunity that felt natural and exciting.

Thanks Angelo for sharing this case study and stay tuned to the PlayAbly podcast for more in the future!