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What You Need to Know About Using the Tokyo Olympics in Your Advertising and Promotion
The next Summer Olympic Games will be in Tokyo, Japan from July 24 – August 9, 2020. Brands often want to capitalize on the Olympics by offering a promotion or campaign that ties into the Olympics theme, but should not do it. The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), in tandem with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already lined up sponsors of the games. If you are not a Worldwide Sponsor or a Tokyo Partner, Sponsor or Supplier, or a Team USA Sponsor or Licensee, or if you don’t already have an ongoing sponsorship of an Olympic athlete, then you need … Continue reading
Avoid Clickbait Tactics to Make Your Social Sweepstakes a Success
Take a look at your social feed right now. Look on any platform — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat — and start scrolling. How long does it take for you to find a post or story or tweet running a “giveaway?” The “giveaway” is everywhere on social. Mommy bloggers, Instagram dogs, major brands, and influencers are all running giveaways. And while the chance to win some swag might be appealing to some, the giveaway sponsors need to avoid clickbait tactics as social platforms have had so many bad actors and fake giveaways that a legal social sweepstakes could get … Continue reading
Marijuana Marketing Making Us Dizzy and Confused
This post on marijuana marketing was contributed By Fae Savignano, EVP, Marden-Kane Digital. In the United States the use and possession of marijuana/cannabis is illegal under federal law for any purpose. However, the legalization of marijuana by U.S. jurisdiction (State law) is on a roll! As of this date, the medical use of marijuana (with a doctor’s recommendation) is legal in 33 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts. Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, … Continue reading
Sweepstakes Email Opt-in Best Practices
The primary purpose of many sweepstakes is to build a brand’s mailing list; having a valid email opt-in on the sweepstakes registration page is imperative to the success of the promotion. If you fail to use best practices when setting up your opt-in, then your ability to email users for the purposes you had in mind may be at risk. Here are 3 things to keep in mind when crafting an email opt-in for your next sweepstakes or contest. 1. Provide full disclosure. Providing clear disclosure of everything you will be using a consumer’s email address, or phone number, … Continue reading
3 New Year’s Resolutions for a Better Promotional Marketing Plan
As the year winds down, it’s that time again when people start thinking about setting resolutions to make the coming year better than the last one. And while it’s usually personal resolutions that make the headlines, like joining a gym or eating less takeout, it’s also a good time to make some resolutions for your business. This year, why not think about incorporating some simple actions to take your brand awareness and engagement up a notch by making some resolutions for a better promotional marketing plan? Some of you may be asking what exactly that means – and what … Continue reading
Top 5 Marketing Posts 2018
Here they are! They yearly top 5 marketing posts on the Marden-Kane blog from 2018. If you haven’t read them all, what are you waiting for? 2018 #1: Contest Laws by State Before you run a promotion in the United States, you might want to check sweepstakes or contest laws by state. Some states have more vigorous laws regulating sweepstakes and contests and you can’t claim you didn’t know what you didn’t know after the fact – there may be big fines for non-compliance. Continue reading → 2018 #2: A Message to Our Clients About GDPR Compliance On … Continue reading
Contest Laws by State
Before you run a promotion in the United States, you might want to check sweepstakes or contest laws by state. Some states have more vigorous laws regulating sweepstakes and contests and you can’t claim you didn’t know what you didn’t know after the fact – there may be big fines for non-compliance. Here is a sampling of states that have strict laws regarding promotions: Florida: In Florida you must register and bond any sweepstakes where a cumulative total of prizes is over $5,000 and the winners are determined by chance in a random drawing. This must be done at … Continue reading
Taming Your #Sweeps with an Approved Instagram Tracker
Once upon a time, Instagram had no need for an Instagram tracker to gather your promotion entries. People did whatever they wanted because there were no promotion guidelines. It was like the wild, wild west in promotion land: no rules applied. Brands did whatever they wanted. Hashtags were untamed and unfiltered, and people wildly tagged anyone and everyone in their posts for fun. Until the law came to town to clean Instagram up. #TheresANewSheriffInTown Instagram quietly formalized their promotion guidelines and their process for allowing you to search and gather posts by hashtag over the past few years. Here is … Continue reading
Can the Official Rules Be Changed After the Promotion Has Started?
Fae Savignano, EVP, wrote this post dealing with a questions we often get from our clients: Can the Official Rules be changed after the promotion has started? All promotions, such as contests, sweepstakes, instant win games, etc. must have an appropriate set of Official Rules that will govern the promotion. These “Official Rules” are referred to as the contract between the sponsor of the promotion and the entrant. And to further qualify this statement, as each entrant enters the promotion they are asked to accept the Official Rules and therefore agree to be bound by them. The rules will clearly … Continue reading
A Message to Our Clients About GDPR Compliance
UPDATED MAY 25, 2018 On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect. Although the regulation is coming out of the European Union (EU), it has implications worldwide. This regulation replaced the 1995 Data Protection Directive and is intended to protect individuals’ right to privacy. This regulation impacts your business if you collect, process, or store information regarding residents of the European Union – and this includes residents even if they are outside the EU. Marden-Kane’s core focus is the administration and management of sweepstakes, contests and instant win game promotions both domestically and internationally. We understand … Continue reading
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