Prizes
Can You Use a Coupon as a Prize?
Question: Can you offer a coupon as a prize in a sweepstakes or contest? Answer: It depends. If the coupon or voucher value covers the entire full priced item without any hidden fees (like shipping & handling, etc.) then you can offer it as a prize coupon. But if the coupon offered is for savings on a purchase, or if it does not cover the shipping and handling necessary to receive the prize, then the answer is no. The prize offered and claimed needs to cover an entire product and shipping so that the winner will not incur any expense. … Continue reading
7 Types of Incentives to Use For Your Next Promotion
What motivates customers to interact with your brand? Incentives do! Here are seven types of incentives you can use for your next promotion. 1. Prizes: It should come as no surprise that the #1 type of incentive is a contest or sweepstakes prize. People love to win high value prizes, especially cash, trips, and one of a kind experiences that can be won in a game of chance or a skill-based contest. 2. Discounts: Coupons, vouchers, and “Buy One, Get One” (“BOGO”) type discounts at purchase are another type of incentive that can make the difference between a customer coming … Continue reading
10 Amazing Prizes Under $600 Your Customers Will Want to Win
In the United States, winners are required to pay taxes on prizes they win, but if prizes are valued at over $600 then the promotion sponsor is also required to collect W-9’s and issue 1099’s to each winner. That’s why many sponsors like to find prizes under $600 that are coveted by winners, but don’t require the additional headache of having to collect additional personally identifying information (PII) in order to issue 1099’s. Here are ten prizes under $600 your customers will want to win. 1. A Tool Kit The Milwaukee M18™ Cordless LITHIUM-ION 4-Tool Combo Kit or the DeWalt 20-Volt … Continue reading
Why Do People LOVE Cash Prizes
When asked what prize they want, most people entering sweepstakes and contests overwhelmingly say they want cash prizes. Why? Why not a trip, or a car, or jewelry? Here are the three big reasons: 1. With cash prizes, you can buy exactly what you want. With most prizes, the sponsor customizes the choices or options for a prize, such as selecting the make and model of the car offered as a prize, or the flights and hotels for a trip. With cash, the winner can control how the money is spent, and whether they take a trip or use the … Continue reading
Prize Fulfillment Considerations for Your Next Sweepstakes or Contest
Prize fulfillment is the part of the sweepstakes or contest that consumers may love the best, but for the promotion administrator there is a lot more involved than putting a prize in the mail. Here are 6 things to consider when putting together a plan for prize fulfillment for your next sweepstakes, contest or instant win game. 1. Prize sourcing Giving away the latest goods, services, and experiences takes planning — and potentially lots of vendors and contacts, especially if an item is hard to find or in high demand. Cars given as prizes need to be sourced locally … Continue reading
10 Cool Winter Prize Ideas
As the temperatures continue to drop, businesses wonder what they should give away with during their winter promotions. Here are 10 cool winter prize ideas for the cold weather season: 1. A trip to Iceland A trip to see the Northern Lights is on most people’s bucket lists. Make dreams come true with a trip to Iceland to see the lights up close. 2. Tickets to a hockey game Let’s Go, Islanders! Give the prize of ringside seats to the next game of your local hockey team. Fans will always go out of their way to shop at your store … Continue reading
6 Things NOT to Do When Planning a Holiday Promotion
Frequently we give out ideas or strategies for promotions, but sometimes we need to talk about the failures to prevent companies from making the same mistakes. Here is a quick list of what NOT to do when planning your holiday promotion so your brand can outshine the rest. Don’t forget who your customer is. One of my favorite “they did not just actually do that, did they?” moments was when a client decided to run an online sweepstakes but only promoted it to customers who were already in stores on Black Friday. The high number of entrants they were … Continue reading
What Promotion Incentives Work Best?
We are constantly asked by our clients what promotion incentives work best. Should they give away a lot of small things, or one big thing? What is the ideal value of an incentive or prize? Do small incentives work? Here is a short summary of what promotion incentives work to entice consumers to register for a promotion such as a sweepstakes or contest or loyalty program. But first, we need to understand who your brand’s customers are and identify the types of marketing that work with those customers. There are two types of marketing that work with … Continue reading
5 Reasons to Use Electronic Gift Codes as Prizes
Electronic gift codes, or e-gift codes, are a great option instead of traditional prizes or plastic gift cards in your next Sweepstakes or Contest. E-gift codes can be purchased from big retailers or restaurants and usually consist of a link with a redemption code and/or a confirmation code, or simply as a URL with the code embedded in the link. These e-gift codes can be redeemed online, and the codes and instructions can all be delivered via an email from your brand directly to your winners. Here’s why electronic gift codes make sense: 1. Lower Fulfillment Costs Electronic gift cards … 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
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