Our Blog

Sweepstakes Winners: W-9’s and 1099’s in 2026

Account Director, Cheryl Thornton provided updates for 2026 in this informative post on what sponsors need to know about filing and processing winner W-9’s and 1099’s for their promotions. There is an important update that all Sponsors of Promotion Games of Chance need to know concerning filing and processing winner W-9’s and 1099’s in 2026. Back in 2016 we posted an article on our website explaining how Sponsors offering and

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What is Promotional Marketing?

Promotion marketing is any message that includes an incentive to persuade the target audience to take immediate action, thereby driving some form of brand interaction that leads to a current or future purchase.  Promotion is different from advertising and other forms of marketing in that the goal is to drive immediate behavioral change. Promotional marketing is an often-misused tool when placed into inexperienced hands. You must ensure that any promotional

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Criteria for Judging a Photo Contest

Fae Savignano, Marden-Kane SVP, follows up on her “Good Criteria for Judging a Contest” blog with this closer look at photo contest criteria. I would like to expand the list of suggested Contest Judging Criteria as it applies specifically to Photo Contests to include updated entry methods, social media trends and promotional knowledge acquired in the past 2 years. Previously suggested Judging Criteria for a Photo Contest: Adherence/Appropriateness to Theme

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The Difference Between Sweepstakes and Contests

Katie Blaney, one of Marden-Kane’s former Account Supervisors, explains the difference between sweepstakes and contests. If your company wants more information on either, give us a call at 516-365-3999. The words “promotion,” “sweepstakes,” “contest,” and “giveaways” are sometimes used interchangeably. However, there are a few very distinct differences between sweepstakes and contests. To start, the word “promotion” can be used to describe many different marketing tactics including Sweepstakes, Contests, Instant

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