Legal
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
A Message to Our Clients About GDPR Compliance
On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect. Although the regulation is coming out of the European Union (EU), it has implications worldwide. This regulation is replacing 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 the need … 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
The Marden-Kane Most Read Posts of 2017
Here is a list of our top 2017 posts according to the following categories: GOOD TO KNOW: Criteria for Judging a Video Contest Marden-Kane has provided you with information about “Good Criteria for Judging a Contest” and a follow-up article on “Criteria for Judging a Photo Contest”, well what about Video Contests? Read more… What is a Surprise & Delight? A Surprise and Delight is a marketing tactic similar to a sweepstakes or contest, where gifts are given away to fans, but instead of a posted entry period with rules and a set prize, the giveaway itself is completely unannounced … 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
Sweepstakes Void in Florida and New York
One question we hear frequently: Why are so many sweepstakes void in Florida and New York? The answer is simple: some states require registration and bonding. Many companies either don’t want to deal with that requirement, don’t want to spend the extra money, or they have run out of time to file. We have written other posts about the registration requirements for Florida, New York and Rhode Island, as well as how to bond your promotion, but do all sweepstakes really need all that? Here is a simple checklist to see if your promotion needs to be registered: Does … 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
Running a Puerto Rico Sweepstakes
Account Coordinator Lindsey McLaughlin contributed to this post to help us better understand how easy it is to run a Puerto Rico sweepstakes! Legal restrictions used to keep companies from running a sweepstakes in Puerto Rico. However, in 2009 Puerto Rico lifted their tedious sweepstakes requirements, which now makes it easier to include them when running a promotion. Here is what you need to know to make a Puerto Rico sweepstakes legal. Legal Review: Prior to 2009, any company that was contemplating including Puerto Rico in their instant win game had to build time into their approval process to … Continue reading
Conducting a Background Check on a Winner — Is It Necessary?
This week’s blog on running a background check was contributed by one of our Account Supervisors, Cheryl Thornton. From time to time the topic of running a background check on a winner is discussed with our clients. There are number of factors to consider before determining if a background check is applicable for a promotion. We guide our clients by asking what their goals or needs are, along with the nature and value of their prize or prizes. For example, if they include a meet and greet with a celebrity, an on-field experience at major sporting events, a million dollar … 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
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- 5 Things To Know About Running an Instant Win Game
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