What is a Surprise and Delight?

A Surprise and Delight is a marketing tactic similar to a sweepstakes or contest, where gifts are given away to fans, but instead of a posted entry period with rules and a set prize, the giveaway itself is completely unannounced and random.

What can be tricky about a Surprise and Delight is that if you aren’t very careful you may actually be running a sweepstakes which would require official rules, possible registration and bonding and whole set of legal hoops to jump through. For a true Surprise and Delight no one can know it is coming.

5 Surprise and Delight Examples or Ideas:

Giving away a surprise, unannounced free item at an event.
Randomly contacting customers and giving them a reward for something they did or said that was nice about your brand – without asking anyone to say something nice or announcing what you are doing, like Barclaycard did for their #Thanksgifting campaign.
Giving away a reward to people wearing your product at a mall or theme park or run.
Playing Santa and giving people items from their holiday wish list.
If a consumer is complaining about the quality or service of your competitor, you could gain a loyal fan for life by giving them a comparable product or service that your brand offers.

How Do You Make Your Surprise and Delight Successful?

Keep it Legal! Check to make sure you aren’t inadvertently running a Sweepstakes. You might want your recipient to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility or other releases. If you aren’t 100% sure what you should do, speak to a Promotion Expert like Marden-Kane. Contact us and we can help!

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Marden-Kane is one of the nation’s foremost promotional marketing service providers. For over 67 years, we’ve supported leading brands to create the best promotional experiences for their most valued customers.

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575 Underhill Blvd. Suite 222
Syosset, NY 11791-3416
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516-365-3999

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