Soapy Joe's launches third pet costume contest with free washes for entries
The 27-location San Diego County chain is giving every entrant a free wash and offering membership and Petco prizes to its top three finalists.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
Soapy Joe's, a family-owned chain with 27 locations across San Diego County, has opened entries for its third annual Pet Costume Contest, a Halloween promotion that rewards every participant with a free carwash. According to reporting from Professional Carwashing & Detailing, pet owners can enter by uploading a photo of their pet in costume, with submissions open through Oct. 21, 2026.
The campaign has become a recurring community tradition for the operator. Adriana Escobedo, director of marketing at Soapy Joe's, said the contest brings the community together around something that makes people smile, and credited customers with surprising the team with their creativity each year.
How the contest works
Entry is handled entirely online through the company's Halloween contest page, and every submission earns a free wash regardless of outcome. After entries close, the Soapy Joe's team will choose 10 finalists from the pool of submissions.
Public voting opens Oct. 22, 2026, and runs through Oct. 31, with a separate voting site going live on the 22nd. The finalist who collects the most votes wins a Magic Joe annual gift card valued at $429 plus a $200 Petco gift card. Second place receives a two-month Magic Joe membership and a $100 Petco gift card, while third place earns five free Magic Joe wash cards and a $50 Petco gift card. Winners will be announced on Instagram on Nov. 15, 2026.
The prize structure ties the giveaway directly to the chain's membership program, putting unlimited-wash plans in the hands of winners rather than offering only cash or gift cards. The Petco pairing reinforces the pet theme and connects the promotion to a recognizable retail brand.
Why it matters for operators
The Soapy Joe's contest is a low-cost, high-engagement marketing model that many wash operators can adapt. By making a free wash the reward for simply entering, the chain converts a seasonal social media activity into a lead-generation and sampling tool, giving customers a reason to visit who might not otherwise come in during the fall.
The two-phase structure, entry followed by public voting, is designed to extend engagement across several weeks. Entrants have a built-in incentive to share their submissions and rally friends and family to vote, which expands the campaign's organic reach without added ad spend. Running the whole process online keeps administrative overhead low.
Tying the top prizes to membership plans is the most strategic element. Awarding an annual unlimited plan or a two-month membership exposes winners to the recurring-revenue product that drives long-term value, and a winner who enjoys the plan may convert to a paying member when it expires. Operators considering a similar promotion should weigh the cost of giving away memberships against the potential for new recurring subscribers and the goodwill generated across their local community. Repeating the contest annually, as Soapy Joe's has done, builds a predictable tradition that customers come to expect.
