Author: mardenkane

Prize Procurement and Fulfillment Services can be Basic or Exotic

Speed and accuracy are must have qualities in simple procurement and fulfillment assignments and most agencies can handle the responsibility. But we have been in planning meetings where we hear clients say keep the prize structure simple. Why? If you have a complex prize in mind that pays off your brand strategy, you just need a more experienced and resourceful agency to make it a reality. We immerse

October 18, 2013

The three scariest promotion scenarios you are likely to ever face.

At Halloween, many of us get a thrill from visiting a haunted house. We get to put ourselves into a controlled kind of scared, something that we can turn off when we have had enough. But what if you start something you can’t turn off? What if your promotion becomes a victim of being at the wrong place at the wrong time? Now that’s scary. Here are our

October 10, 2013

Your Winners List Can Be a Marketing Tool

And the winner is… surprise – your brand! There is an important difference between simply preparing a winners list which is a basic legal requirement, and posting winners. So when addressing the issue of winners lists, use the opportunity to accomplish a few important things. Compliance — First there is the administrative requirement. By law, a winners list must be made available to the public (either online or by

October 1, 2013

Practical Advice on Planning a 2014 Winter Olympics Promotion

Update: See our updated guidelines for the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The next Winter Olympic Games are set to take place in Sochi, Russia in February, 2014. The U.S. Olympic Committee, in tandem with the International Olympic Committee has been lining up sponsors of the games. If you are using the Olympics to promote your brand, or if you are just curious about how to grab some attention for your

September 19, 2013

Millions of dollars of TCPA Fines are closer than they appear

There is a great scene in Jurassic Park where the T-Rex is chasing one of the Jeeps through the park. The driver looks in his mirror and we see the words “objects in your mirror are closer than they appear.” This engraving in the mirror glass is actually part of a variety of mandatory Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards. We think nothing of the message and focus our attention

August 26, 2013

Holiday Planning. A lot of Technology not a lot of Time.

The last two weeks of August are traditionally the time many of us realize we’ve worked too hard this summer and we’re over the limit. So it’s time to kick back and take a vacation before Labor Day. Good advice because once Labor Day passes it is definitely time to get moving on holiday promotion plans. Once you have your creative idea there are three digital technologies

August 12, 2013

Use Content Moderation to Ensure Fair Play

There is a torrent of content being produced and distributed through the various social platforms. The overwhelming volume may have us believe it is impossible to keep watch over it all. That’s not true, at least for content created by marketers. The FTC has refreshed their Truth in .com Disclosures Report. It is a good idea to review their latest take on how to remain within their guidelines

July 25, 2013

The Impact of Instagram Versus Twitter Vine on UGC Contests

Why did Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram introduce 15 second videos now? Because he can? That’s a possible answer since barriers to download speeds have all but disappeared. This is thanks to 80% penetration of smart phones and tablets among adults 18-34. But technology aside for a moment, there is more to it as Systrom suggests; “You can capture a lot in 15 seconds. It’s the right balance

July 8, 2013

The Future of Memory

The future of memory is how Mark Zuckerberg and Kevin Systrom, CEO’s of Facebook & Instagram respectively, described Instagram’s video sharing capability. They noted this new feature “captured moments and experiences you wanted to remember and share with friends.” Jenna Wortham, a writer for the New York Times titled the video capture feature “the death of fantasy.” Those are strong words but she does raise an interesting point of view.

June 26, 2013