Author: jennifer

COVID-19 Relief and CCV Programs

Throughout 2020 and into 2021, Marden-Kane has helped clients and non-profits work together for COVID-19 relief in their communities with commercial co-venture programs, also called “CCV Programs.” A CCV program is when a business partners with a non-profit organization to make donations of money, goods, events, products or services to benefit the non-profit’s cause. This type of cause-related marketing is regulated in many U.S. states, and may require that the

January 14, 2021

6 Ways to Market in a Pandemic: Rewriting the Marketing Playbook

As COVID-19 continues to take a toll on businesses worldwide, the way we market our business has had to evolve. We spent some time in 2020 rewriting the marketing playbook and posted a series of articles about how to market using virtual events, social, and more. These six posts continue to be our go-to recommendations for any business trying to market themselves in a pandemic. If you have advice for

January 7, 2021

Fun Halloween Giveaway Ideas for Your Business

Trick or treaters are almost at the door! Now is the chance to scare up some new customers with a fun Halloween giveaway. “Scare Up” Some New Leads with an Online Halloween Giveaway or Sweepstakes Ask people for their emails (with an opt-in to your mailing list built into the submission form), and then conduct a random drawing from the entries to give away a great prize. Now that they

October 14, 2020

5 Ideas to Boost Virtual Event Engagement

Since live events have been sidelined for most of 2020, virtual events are having their moment. To keep attendees engaged at virtual events takes lots of preparation and a good plan for virtual event engagement! Here are 5 ways you can boost engagement at your next virtual event: 1. Engagement = Points Towards a Large Sweepstakes Prize Run a Sweepstakes for a chance to win one large prize, like a

October 8, 2020

Best Practices for Creating Instagram Giveaway Rules

Running a giveaway on Instagram is an easy way to engage and build followers, but if you aren’t creating Instagram giveaway rules, you might get into hot water. Here are some best practices: Have actual legal, official rules. Your rules will help protect you in case of a legal dispute. Include all entry criteria in your rules. Without entry criteria, your entrants get to make them up – and you

October 2, 2020

Cooking Contest Best Practices

A cooking contest is a great way to engage your customers and help people think of creative ways to use your brand’s products, be it the food or kitchen products. Keep It Simple As with any contest, the key to a successful cooking contest is to keep the ask simple and the messaging clear. An open-ended call for entries could create issues if you end up having to judge a

September 23, 2020

Promoting “Singles Day” in the U.S.A.

Singles Day originated in China during the 1990’s and is still celebrated on November 11th (11/11) each year. As you can see, the date corresponds with four “ones”, representing four singles. Similar to China’s Singles Day on 11/11, the UK celebrates that day on 3/11 and the U.S.A. on 9/22…this of course is above and beyond our Singles Awareness Day on 2/15, that follows our national Valentine’s Day. According to

September 21, 2020

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

September 17, 2020

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

August 12, 2020

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

July 6, 2020