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As the interim CTO and primary product manager for FanLogic Interactive, I led the transformation of an innovative sweepstakes application designed to power large-scale, engagement-driven digital campaigns. FanLogic’s application was originally built to create customizable contests that could encourage user participation through multiple engagement avenues, including social sharing, surveys, and visits to product pages. By the time we completed our overhaul, FanLogic had become a vital tool for major brands to foster high engagement and drive audience growth.

Product Audit & UX Strategy

When I joined, FanLogic had a solid product foundation: a sweepstakes platform built with Scala, using Neo4j and MongoDB databases. The platform was highly functional but required updates to meet evolving client needs and UX expectations. The first step was a thorough audit to identify areas of improvement, particularly in the client portal where contest creation and configuration took place. We observed that the client portal needed an intuitive interface and more flexibility for non-technical users to create, customize, and monitor their contests. To address this, I worked with the team to redesign the client portal as a Single Page Application (SPA), separating the functional logic into APIs to enable future scalability and improve user experience.

Designing a Flexible and Engaging Client Portal

With the foundational UX research completed, I developed new designs for the client portal, focusing on enhancing usability while incorporating additional features. A major part of this redesign was to retain existing functionality that our users valued, such as customizable contest modules, while introducing a streamlined workflow to reduce the time and effort required to launch campaigns. Newly added features included:

  • Detailed Registration and Engagement Reporting: We implemented analytics tools within the client portal, including registration reports and module-specific engagement reports. Clients could now see a breakdown of how different engagement modules (social sharing, surveys, etc.) contributed to contest performance.
  • Enhanced Survey Reporting: As surveys were a key part of engagement, we expanded reporting on user responses, enabling clients to gain deeper insights into audience preferences.
  • Improved Sweepstakes Interface: We refreshed the end-user interface of the sweepstakes, modernizing its design to boost participation and align with brand aesthetics.

Driving Engagement through High-Profile Campaigns

Once the application was updated, we collaborated with several major brands, including Dodge, the Calgary Flames, Gallo Wines, and Mr. Lube, to run high-profile campaigns. These campaigns showcased the platform’s capacity for large-scale engagement by leveraging the new engagement modules. The flexibility we added allowed brands to reward participants with additional contest entries for taking specific actions, such as sharing on social media or signing up for newsletters.

Our updates paid off, as FanLogic’s user base grew from 75,000 to 250,000 users. This growth allowed us to remarket campaigns to an engaged and expanding audience, creating a feedback loop of sustained interest and ongoing value for both users and brand partners.

The Impact: Scaling and Future-Ready

The reimagined FanLogic sweepstakes application not only achieved immediate success in increasing brand reach but also laid a foundation for further scalability. The separation of functional logic into APIs enabled the team to add new engagement modules with ease, while the comprehensive reporting tools became indispensable for brands seeking insights on audience behavior.

This project reinforced the power of UX-focused product design in transforming an application from functional to exceptional, offering users an engaging experience while delivering measurable results for clients. By updating the UX, expanding the feature set, and optimizing the backend, we ensured FanLogic became a preferred platform for brands looking to run impactful digital campaigns.