HardwareDealz Got 89,411 Entrants From Two PC Giveaways

Campaign Overview

On December 13, 2025, HardwareDealz opened a giveaway for an RTX 5090 gaming PC. On Christmas Eve it opened a second one. Both closed on January 6, 2026, and between them they brought in 89,411 Entrants.

The first was a be quiet! build. The second, a €7,000 MSI build, was the Christmas Eve door of the HardwareDealz Advent Calendar 2025. HardwareDealz promoted both on YouTube, Instagram and its own site, and ran both on Gleam’s Hobby plan.

HardwareDealz tied each entry Action to a YouTube video or a partner product page, and put bonus entries behind Secret Codes hidden in its videos.

Who HardwareDealz Is

HardwareDealz is a German-language site and YouTube channel for PC hardware reviews, deals and builds. It works in a category where reviews, prices and promotions are already everywhere, so a giveaway has to be tied to something its audience already wants.

For HardwareDealz, giveaways do two jobs. They reward the community, and they give hardware brands a way to reach it.

“We use giveaways to give manufacturers the opportunity to connect with our community, and of course also to give something back to the community.”
Gerson Seilnacht, Editor & Social Media Manager, HardwareDealz

Two Gaming PCs, 25 Days

HardwareDealz timed both giveaways for the weeks when its audience was paying the most attention, Christmas and New Year.

• Gewinne einen be quiet! RTX 5090 Gaming-PC, December 13 to January 6, linked from a HardwareDealz YouTube video

• HardwareDealz Adventskalender Heiligabend, an MSI gaming PC, December 24 to January 6

Both were open worldwide.

Results From Both Giveaways

How the two giveaways compared:

• be quiet! RTX 5090 Gaming-PC: 46,995 Entrants, converting about 38% of Impressions

• MSI Adventskalender Heiligabend: 42,416 Entrants, converting about 29% of Impressions

• Both giveaways: about a third of Impressions turned into Entrants

Most Actions sent people to HardwareDealz’s own channels or to the hardware brands behind the prizes.

• YouTube channel visits: about 92,000

• Instagram profile visits: about 42,000

• Partner product page visits: about 132,000

• Secret Code submissions: about 63,000

Secret Code answers sat inside HardwareDealz YouTube videos. After entering, people went back to the videos to find the codes, and each correct one unlocked bonus entries. Codes gave Entrants a reason to do more than the one Action it takes to enter.

Learn more about running a scavenger hunt with the Secret Code Action.

YouTube and the Public Giveaways Page

HardwareDealz promoted both giveaways mainly on YouTube. Each one was linked from the video it belonged to, so viewers went straight from the video to the Gleam giveaway page.

HardwareDealz says its YouTube subscribers grew 2.5 to 3 times faster while the giveaways ran than over a comparable period.

Both giveaways also appeared on Gleam’s public giveaways page. Visitors from that page converted at about 39%.

Brands cannot apply to appear on the public giveaways page. To be eligible, campaigns must have previously run, drawn winners, and announced results publicly.

For more ways to drive traffic, read our contest promotion guide.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Both giveaways were open worldwide, but over 93% of Entrants came from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. That’s HardwareDealz’s core audience, and it publishes in German.

• Germany: about 86% of Entrants

• Austria: about 6% of Entrants

• Switzerland: about 1.6% of Entrants

Key Growth Takeaways

HardwareDealz gave away two gaming PCs over Christmas, and each drew tens of thousands of Entrants. So what can you copy from these two giveaways?

• Hide Secret Codes inside your videos. HardwareDealz put the Secret Code answers in its YouTube videos, and Entrants submitted tens of thousands of codes. Put each code in a different video so Entrants go back and watch.

• Give each hardware brand its own Action. Partner product page visits beat every other Action type, YouTube included. Add a product page visit for every brand whose parts go into your build.

• Link the giveaway from its own video. Each giveaway was linked from the YouTube video it belonged to, so viewers went straight from the video to the entry form. Put the giveaway link on the video about the prize.

• Write the widget in German. The vast majority of Entrants came from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Match the widget’s language to your core audience.

• Put a headline prize behind Christmas Eve. The MSI build was the Christmas Eve door of the Advent Calendar, and it drew almost as many Entrants as the be quiet! giveaway in just over half the time. If you run an advent calendar, save your biggest prize for a door people will be watching.

Start from one of our PC & Gaming giveaway templates.

Want to learn more about Bonus Actions? Read our Bonus Actions documentation.

“We have already run more than 100 giveaways using Gleam, and the setup is very straightforward. Managing participation requirements is flexible and practical.”
Gerson Seilnacht, Editor & Social Media Manager, HardwareDealz