Sweepstakes
Trick or Treat with These Halloween Contest Ideas
Fall is almost here and we have heard rumblings about Halloween decorations and pumpkin spice already being in stores! Don’t get left behind; it’s time to start your Halloween contest planning. Here are a few Halloween contest and prize ideas to help celebrate the new season: Pumpkin Carving Contest: Fall is the time to head to the farm for pumpkin picking, hay rides and fresh apple cider donuts – yum! You can challenge your customers to take their freshly picked pumpkins and carve them into something unique and fun. Then ask them to upload a photo of their creation to Instagram or … 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
Teen Trends for Back to School Promotion Planning 2018
Can you hear it? It’s the school bell ringing. Time for your back to school promotion planning! So what trends should you know about as you plan for this back to school season? Here is where it’s at for kids, tweens and teens this year: Snapchat. Snapchat is still a top social app of choice for today’s teens, even though popularity seems to be waning a bit. Why do they keep using it? Maybe it’s because no one wants to break a snap streak, a fire or number emoji next to a friend’s username that shows how many consecutive days you have been … 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
What is a Sweepstakes?
What is a sweepstakes? A sweepstakes is a chance promotion, where a winner is randomly selected from all eligible entries. Entries into a sweepstakes must either be free for all, or if you want to encourage purchase for entry, then an alternate, free method of entry (AMOE) must also be available. Luck determines a sweepstakes winner rather than any skill or payment. For a sweepstakes you typically collect only the information you need from an entrant to award the prize, but sometimes more information is gathered to generate user content (such as in a qualified entry sweepstakes) or to add an entrant to a mailing … Continue reading
10 Questions to Ask Before Partnering with a Promotion Agency
A contest, sweepstakes, instant win game or other promotion concept may be a great way for your client to increase sales and build their branding efforts, but if you have never done a promotion before don’t try to do it alone. You will need an experienced, knowledgeable promotion marketing agency to partner with you to make sure you run a legal, compliant, successful promotion. But what should you look for when partnering with a promotion agency? Here are ten questions you should be asking before you select a promotion agency to partner with for your next contest or sweepstakes: How well … Continue reading
Red, White and Blue Promotion Ideas
This post on patriotic promotion ideas was contributed by Marden-Kane EVP, Fae Savignano. Don’t use up all of your great patriotic ideas just for a Fourth of July promotion, save some for the rest of the year. That’s right, the calendar is full of patriotic and national holidays where a red, white and blue promotion can be a Star-Spangled hit! Maybe it’s a little too late to run a promotion this 4th of July, so here are some Patriotic and National Holidays coming up for you to consider: Constitution Day, Labor Day, Patriots Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans Day, … Continue reading
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
5 Things To Know About Running an Instant Win Game
Marden-Kane is your source for custom or pre-built instant win games that can be used for your next promotion. Not sure what an instant win game is? Check out our demo, and read on for 5 things to know about them: What is an instant win game? An instant win game is a game of chance where a player finds out instantly if they have won a prize. The game itself usually involves some kind of user interaction, such as spinning a wheel or using a scratch off card. The game can be online or offline, and can be simple … Continue reading
9 Funny Mother’s Day Sweepstakes Ideas
Fae Savignano, EVP, Honorary Office Mom, and sweepstakes expert extraordinaire, provided this Mother’s Day sweepstakes post. Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. Now if you are considering running a traditional Mother’s Day Sweepstakes, please take a look at our previously shared Mother’s Day ideas and blogs, Double The Mother’s Day Fun! and Mother’s Day Promotion Ideas for inspiration and thought starters. However, if you want to “step outside the box” consider adding some Mother’s Day humor into your next sweepstakes. Here are some … Continue reading
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Recent Articles
- Trick or Treat with These Halloween Contest Ideas
- A Tribute to Rosemary
- Contest Laws by State
- Teen Trends for Back to School Promotion Planning 2018
- Taming Your #Sweeps with an Approved Instagram Tracker
