Consultation
Why Asking Questions as Part of a Qualified Entry Sweepstakes is a Good Idea
Fae Savignano, our own EVP, explains what a qualified entry sweepstakes is, and why they could be a great part of your next brand promotion. A sweepstakes entrant may ask…Why do I need to respond to all of these extra questions just to enter a sweepstakes? Are they really required? Don’t they just need my name or email to process my entry? A sweepstakes sponsor may ask…Is it a good idea to ask a few brand related questions? Will I get fewer entries by making the entry process longer? Would this constitute non-monetary consideration? These are all great questions … Continue reading
Father’s Day Contest Prize Ideas
Cheryl Thornton contributed this post about the perfect Father’s Day contest prize ideas. So you have decided to launch a promotion just in time for Father’s Day and want to award the perfect contest prize? Great idea! It gives your customers a chance to honor the special person in their lives. You have a theme and worked very hard on your creative assets and social posts, but there is an important piece that you need to firm up to complete your promotion: the prize structure. What will it look like? What do you want to offer? What would be … Continue reading
Promotional Marketing Predictions for 2018
It’s time to see how we fared on our promotional marketing predictions for 2017, and to make our 2018 predictions. For 2017 here is what we predicted for promotional marketing: 1. Social sweepstakes and contests will become the primary method of entry over online web forms. Results: In 2017 we did almost the same number of social sweepstakes and contests as we did traditional web-based sweepstakes and contests. In 2016 we did less than a third the amount of social versus traditional. Social contests and sweepstakes are a cost effective, fast to market alternative that companies on a budget … Continue reading
Planning a PyeongChang 2018 Olympics Promotion? Check The Guidelines First.
The next Winter Olympic Games will be in PyeongChang, South Korea, from Friday, February 9, 2018 to Sunday, February 25, 2018. This may seem like a great reason to run a promotion, but you might want to think again. The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), in tandem with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have already lined up sponsors of the games. If you are not a Worldwide Sponsor already, like Coca-Cola, Alibaba Group, Atos, Bridgestone, Dow, General Electric, Intel, Omega, Panasonic, Proctor & Gamble, Samsung, Toyota and VISA are, or a PyeongChang Partner, Sponsor or Supplier, or a Team USA … Continue reading
What is Contest Indemnification?
What is contest indemnification and why do you need it? The dictionary definition of “indemnification” is defined as the noun for form of indemnify, and “indemnify” means that you compensate (someone) for harm or loss or secure (someone) against legal responsibility for their actions. In the contest world, indemnification can take two forms, prize indemnification and general contest indemnification. Prize indemnification is when you offer a large prize in your promotion, such as a million dollar cash prize, but the chances of someone actually winning it are very low because the bar is so high and the odds are … Continue reading
What Should Be Required for a Sweepstakes Entry?
This post covering what information should be required for a sweepstakes entry was contributed by Cheryl Thornton, Account Director. We have written about data collection in a past article, but since this is a major concern for both Sponsors and consumers alike, we wanted to discuss the topic further. Before the recent issues of privacy concerns and new privacy regulations, the required standard information – also known as “PII”, or personally identifiable information – collected from consumers via an entry form or online registration form for entry into a Sweepstakes, consisted of first name, last name, street address, city, state, … Continue reading
Win Experiential Marketing with Legal Giveaways
Experiential Marketing is all about brands creating exciting or memorable experiences for their customer, or potential customers, in order to increase brand affinity. These experiences can be in the form of a limited mini-experience like a meet and greet or surprise freebie in-store, or part of a larger event such as a branded booth at a big sporting event, or even as a large event where the brand is the showcase. Experiences like meeting the band instead of just going to the show, or suiting up like a player and experiencing the game instead of watching it from home, … Continue reading
Official Rules vs. Terms and Conditions: A Guide to Help You Choose Correctly!
EVP Fae Savignano contributed this post on Official Rules vs Terms and Conditions. Promotional Marketing can be a key element in promoting your brand, product and/or service through various forms of on and off line publicity and advertising tactics. When executed properly, promotions can increase sales, brand awareness and consumer engagement. All of which are positive reinforcements why promotions are still and will always be a relevant marketing tool. The word “Promotion” has many aliases such as sweepstakes, instant win games, contests, giveaways, reward and loyalty programs, discount and premium offers, point-of-sale and merchandising limited offers, special BOGO offers, … Continue reading
Running a Swiss Contest: Swiss-US Privacy Shield Required
Marden-Kane, Inc. became listed with the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework on April 18, 2017, becoming the first promotional marketing company to meet Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield requirements after applications were opened on April 12, 2017. The Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework was designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Swiss Administration to provide companies a way to comply with data protection requirements when transferring personal data from Switzerland to the United States. The Swiss Government announced the approval of the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework in January of 2017. For more information you can go to the Swiss Federal Council or … Continue reading
Regulated Industries and Sweepstakes
Some regulated industries require special disclosures and/or have special legal requirements for running sweepstakes. These regulated industries include alcohol, tobacco, gasoline, firearms, dairy, banking, pharmaceuticals, and cause-related marketing. It is absolutely essential to know the laws of these industries, or partner with a promotional marketing firm who works with legal counsel who is familiar with these laws, before undertaking a contest or sweepstakes. Here are some basics to be aware of, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. Alcohol “Void in California” used to be fairly common for alcohol-related sweepstakes because California law formerly banned sweepstakes and … Continue reading
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Recent Articles
- Why Asking Questions as Part of a Qualified Entry Sweepstakes is a Good Idea
- A Message to Our Clients About GDPR Compliance
- Father’s Day Contest Prize Ideas
- 5 Things To Know About Running an Instant Win Game
- 9 Funny Mother’s Day Sweepstakes Ideas
