Neighbors were able to enter by simply posting an image to Nextdoor with the hashtag #LoveYourNeighborhood and were then prompted to enter across a variety of touchpoints, including Discover, throughout the newsfeed, neighbor emails, house promos and the right-hand rail on desktop.
Neighbors were able to enter as many times as they liked using the hashtag #LoveYourNeighborhood and one of the five category hashtags that best described their submission.
After the entry period closed, a panel of judges reviewed the entries and selected five finalists - one for each category - while neighbors also had the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalist photo and ultimately select the grand prize winner.
In the US, the overall grand prize winner received a prize package including a professional camera kit and all winners received a prize package including gift cards and a one-year MasterClass subscription to continue honing their photography pursuits.
The #LoveYourNeighborhood 2023 global photography contest was Nextdoor’s most successful marketing campaign in driving content in US/AU/IT and one of the most successful in FR/ES. With nearly 40K entries from five (5) participating markets (US, AU, FR, IT, ES), surpassing last year's entries from 9 markets, and representing 1% of global posts during the campaign period. The 2023 edition of the contest witnessed 16% more entries per day than the 2022 campaign, and a 65% increase in total entries compared to the previous year, resulting in 24% higher engagement than 2022.
This year’s global competition inspired submissions from every state in the US, more than doubling the number of entries from the 2022 competition. In its second year, #LoveYourNeighborhood also introduced new competition categories to highlight beloved features of neighborhoods, from the local businesses that anchor their communities, to the furry and feathered creatures that fascinate their human neighbors.
In the US specifically, we received 138% more entries than last year and more than 100K poll votes were generated on platform, representing a 3.2x YOY increase. Internationally, in AU, #LYN-related posts accounted for 5.9% of the overall total posts, while average posts with photos per DAU in FR grew by 41%, the highest among our five markets. In ES, #LYN was the 3rd highest content-generation activation in 2023. #LYN in IT was their most valuable activation in 2023 thus far, generating the highest % of posts.
The campaign generated more than 76M media impressions, including a feature with People.com as well as local broadcast segments in Los Angeles (KCAL-TV, KCBS-TV) Tampa (WTVT-TV) and Miami (WTVJ-TV) in the US.
This year’s grand prize winner in the US was Jose Soares from Florida, representing the #NeighborhoodCreatures category, for his photo of more than 30 dogs smiling into the camera to celebrate their canine buddy’s birthday.
“We love dog photography and doing class pictures,” said Jose Soares, US Grand Prize winner and co-owner of WoofPack Miami, a dog training, boarding and day care business. “Buoy, the birthday boy, is very special to us; he was our motivation to take this one specifically.”
AU Grand Prize Winner, Jared S., Aldinga Beach, SA
Jared is a self-taught photographer who finds peace and solitude behind the lens. The night of the photo, there were no thunderstorms in the forecast, but he heard a rumble and saw a flash outside. So he grabbed his camera and headed to spectacular Port Willunga beach. It was there he captured this stunning photo before the storm rolled in.
ES Grand Prize Winner, Cristina G., Madrid
"One of my favorite places in Madrid is the Retiro Park. On weekends I go to watch the sunsets with my partner and my kids and enjoy the tremendous view and a piece of paradise in the center of the city."
FR Grand Prize Winner, Dominique H., Nantes
"I'm enchanted by this permanent cinemascope when I see this colorful cotton landscape in the sky. It's not the only reason I live in this apartment in the Hauts Pavés district of Nantes, but when the view is of this nature, I'm reassured to have made the right choice."
IT Grand Prize Winner, Neighbor Salvatore S, Maggiolina Nord-Est
"This picture is the result of a long personal journey that lasted years. During this journey, I learned how to focus more and more on grasping the essence of things and neglecting the details. The world around us is full of opportunities to be seized, and this picture wants to be a small demonstration of the fact that, if we put aside our everyday problems and negative thoughts for a second, we can enjoy a moment of happiness.'
