Love is in the prizes; Valentine’s Day Sweepstakes

By: Sync Marketing | In: Contests, Marketing, Sweepstakes

It’s the weekend of love. Whether people are out buying a dozen red roses, a box of chocolates or an engagement ring for their sweethearts, everyone seems to get in on the action of this Hallmark-created holiday. And why shouldn’t they? The world celebrates love. This holiday is a marketer’s dream; from the obvious travel sites, jewelry stores and candy shops to the often overlooked but viable options such as home improvement outlets and car dealerships, everyone can put Cupid’s spin on the products they sell and relate them to love. Below are a list of some extra lovey Valentine’s Day Sweepstakes.

Pick The Pick-Up Line Valentine’s Day Sweepstakes

Bahlsen is giving the customers the chance to shine, or should I say, sparkle in their Pick The Pick-Up Line Valentine’s Day Sweepstakes. The winner will receive a pendant adorned with sapphires and diamonds worth nearly $3,700.

Shower Her with Love Sweepstakes

A Macbook Air, a necklace, free flowers, who wouldn’t want that? From You Flowers is giving their consumers the chance to win from an assortment of fun prizes in their Shower Her with Love Sweepstakes.

Check-in to Romance Giveaway Sweepstakes

Want to get away with your Valentine? BedandBreakfast.com is giving their customers the chance to win a romantic vacation for two in the Check-in to Romance Giveaway Sweepstakes. The winner will receive a trip to a bed and breakfast of their choice, a subscription to The Bouqs, and some delicious chocolates to share with their love.

All Hearts on Deck Sweepstakes

All aboard! Onboard is giving away a romantic cruise for two in their All Hearts on Deck Sweepstakes. The grand prize winner will receive a $1500 cruise voucher.

Make sure to enter today because all of these sweepstakes end tomorrow on Valentine’s Day, just in time for you to spend time with the one or ones you love.

New Year Sweepstakes to Brighten Up Your 2015!

By: Sync Marketing | In: Contests, Marketing, Sweepstakes

As we prepare to ring in 2015, our minds naturally start thinking about possible New Year’s resolutions and ways to make the year ahead our personal best. Topping the list for the most common resolutions are to eat healthier, work out more (or at all), spend more time with family and friends, and to try to incorporate relaxation into the mix. The following companies are offering their consumers a little help by running New Year sweepstakes that reward entrants with prizes that will hopefully help them start the year off right:

Because Your Healthiest Year Ever Could Start Today Sweepstakes

Spa Finder is inviting consumers to start off the New Year right by taking care of themselves and entering the chance to win great prizes including a Take better care of yourself in the New Year with this chance to win a spa vacation for two!

Fly into the New Year Sweepstakes

FromYouFlowers.com wants to give their consumers a vacation in the New Year.  Prize consists of two free gift cards towards flights on Delta Airlines worth $1,000 total.  They are even allowing the winner to share the travel with a friend, or keep it all for themselves.

Dole® Canned Pineapple Juice “Year of Sunshine Holiday Giveaway” Sweepstakes

Dole is giving consumers the chance to enter to win a trip to Hawaii or one of eight SodaStream soda makers!

Sync Marketing wishes everyone a Happy and Healthy 2015 and good luck to all of you who enter the sweepstakes!

Promoting the Big Game

By: Sync Marketing | In: Contests, Marketing, Sweepstakes, Television, User Generated Content

It may only be November, but consumers are already pinning recipes and creating Facebook events in preparation for the “Big Game” this coming February, 2015. Given the excitement and attention this annual event draws from consumers each year, it’s no surprise that you see hundreds of sweepstakes and contests focused on promoting the Big Game.

There are many reasons why these promotions are so prevalent, but the biggest is that this particular televised sporting event appeals to almost all types of consumers; from the football fanatics, the commercials addicts, to those who love watching the performers during the show. Because of this huge draw, it’s no wonder why sweepstakes and contests are one of the main ways this event is promoted. Most specifically contests, which allow companies to gather user-generated content by asking consumers to come up with and enter their own unique content for the chance to win. Contests range from the somewhat labor intensive, but creativity-invoking yearly make-your-own Doritos commercial, to a more simple approach where companies ask their consumers to prove why they deserve to win a trip to the game in 140 characters or less.  It’s a win for everyone….well, except for the losing team.

One of the most notable promotions each year is the Doritos contest where they ask consumers to create their own commercial that will be played on-air during the game. This is one of the best user-generated content promotions out there. 

If you’re a company considering running a sweepstakes before 2015’s “Big Game,” it’s not too late. Given the popularity of this event, you can run sweepstakes for only a week, even days and generate plenty of entries and opt-ins. Contact Sync Marketing today if you’re looking for an agency to run your Big Game promotion!

Sweepstakes 101: Sync’s Guide to a Successful Sweepstakes

By: Sync Marketing | In: Best Practices, Contests, Facebook, Instagram, Sweepstakes, Twitter

Clients run promotions for different reasons, but the list of steps to take below is a good rule of thumb to ensure you are on the road to a successful campaign; one that both accurately represents your brand as well as appeals to your target consumers. Need some help? See below for Sync Marketing’s Sweepstakes 101: Sync’s Guide for running a successful sweepstakes or contest:

Identify your goals:  Are you looking to increase your consumer database and/or social media following, or is your goal to promote a new product or service?  It’s important to determine these goals before you begin planning your campaign.

Consider your audience:  Is your goal to reach the millennial audience or are you promoting a new retirement community?  Know your audience and what type of campaign will appeal most to your target.

Determine the type of campaign:  Are you looking to collect cool user-generated content that you can use to promote your product?  If so, a contest might be your best option.  For a contest, keep in mind that the more you require from an entrant, the lower number of entries you will receive, but the better chance you’ll have of reaching people that are genuinely interested in your company.  Plus, gathering UGC can be helpful for your brand in the future. Or, are you looking to build your email database?  If so, consider running a simple random drawing sweepstakes. This will allow you to gather more entries and opt-ins and reach even more potential customers when you send future email blasts. If you want to learn more about whether or not you should pre-check your email opt-ins, check out our post regarding that subject here.

Select a platform:  What platform works best for you?  If your target audience is constantly on their phones, consider hosting your campaign on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.  Cater to a more traditional consumer? A custom microsite that links from your website is a simple and effective place to host your sweepstakes or contest.

Prize matters:  How big of a prize do you need to offer?  What type of sweepstakes prizing should you give away? In our experience, it comes down to both quality and quantity.  First, you want to get entrants excited about winning your prizing so make sure that what you are offering is appealing to your target.  Think of a grand prize experience; something your consumers don’t have access to on their own such as a celebrity meet-and greet or tickets to an exclusive event.  Second, the more you give away, the better chance your entrants have of winning, so consider offering several secondary prizes.  More winners equal more happy customers. Lastly, it all depends on your sweepstakes budget. If your total approximate retail value is $5,000 or more, you will most likely need to bond and register. If you have question regarding prizing ARV, check out this article by Sync Marketing.

Have very clear and accurate official rules:  Has the fear of possible legal ramifications stopped you from running a sweepstakes or contest in the past?  One way to put that fear to rest is to utilize an agency that specializes in promotion law (hint Sync Marketing).  Our legal teams stay up-to-date on all of the changes in the field and will make sure that you are following the rules to the letter of the law.

Promote your campaign:  Do you believe in the saying, “If you build it, they will come?”  It’s not always the case.  You have created a compelling sweepstakes concept, fun entry method and are offering awesome prizing.  Let people know about it!  Advertising is key to ensuring success.

Hire a sweepstakes agency: This should really be the first items listed for sweepstakes 101, but we will end with it as it’s the most important. There are many reasons why you should considering hiring a sweepstakes agency for your future sweepstakes. A sweepstakes agency can help you with all aspect of a sweepstakes or simply pieces. Sync Marketing can handle all aspects of a sweepstakes campaign including, but not limited to; ideation, strategy, management, design, programming, legal, and prize fulfillment. So whether you need a big idea including the creative around your sweepstakes, or you already have the concept, but need someone who specializes in promotion law (official rules, abbreviated rules, winner release forms, bonding and registering, etc) to handle the legal, hiring a sweepstakes agency that lives and breathes sweepstakes and contests if the way to go. For more information and reasons to hire a sweepstakes agency for your next campaign, click here.

It’s exciting to know that a successful campaign can be right around the corner.  All you need to do is just remember to plan, know your audience, consult the legal experts (like Sync Marketing) and get the word out.  It’s a win, win for you and your consumers!

Using an Agency to Handle your Sweepstakes Legal and Prize Fulfillment

By: Sync Marketing | In: Best Practices, Contests, Legal and Prize Fulfillment, Marketing, Sweepstakes

There are many benefits as to why companies, large or small, should consider hiring an outside agency, like Sync Marketing, to be their administrator for their legal and prize fulfillment needs. We’re breaking down our top five reasons as to why your company or agency can benefit from contracting sweepstake fulfillment agency, like Sync Marketing, to oversee all of your sweepstakes legal and prize fulfillment elements for your next campaign.

1. We eat, sleep and breathe promotion law. You may have an internal legal team, but typically they are there to handle a broad scope of legal work for your company. At Sync Marketing, our legal team specializes in promotion law and stays up-to-date on all of the latest legal actions and changes in the field – specific to sweepstakes and contests. They even attend all of the promotion law conferences and are quite frequently speakers at these events. Especially when it comes to running a social media sweepstakes, the sweepstakes rules change monthly, sometimes daily. If you were to hire Sync Marketing to handle your sweepstakes legal and prize fulfillment needs, we handle so much more than official rules and winner release forms, we also review all of your marketing materials and social media posts to make sure they’re legally compliant.

2. Let your legal team do what they do best. They’re there to protect and advise you. If they’re simply reviewing the legal documents for a promotion (official rules, abbreviated rules, affidavit of eligibility and release forms, and travel companion forms) that are created by Sync, they’ll have more time to focus on the promotion’s legal documents and ask questions, rather than spending valuable time creating them from scratch. We even review all of your social media posts and marketing materials to make sure they are legally compliant and are consistent with the promotion.

3. Verifying Potential Winners. This is an extremely important step that often gets overlooked. Sometimes winners are simply selected without being verified for their eligibility or compliance with the official rules. At Sync, our project managers oversee the campaign from start to finish and know the campaign better than anyone, so when it’s time to select potential winners and verify if they’re eligible, you can trust that it’s being done right.

4. Prize Fulfillment. We know that you don’t have time to fulfill hundreds of prizes, so let Sync Marketing help you with that task. We can handle procuring your prize and can fulfill everything from gift cards to booking travel; just let us know what you need and we can help.

5. Sometimes time is of the essence. You’re busy, we know that, and that’s why if you come to us when you’re in a jam and need Official Rules turned around ASAP, we are ready to jump in and start immediately. Plus, we won’t charge you rush fees to do so.

If you need help, or simply have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us today. You can either call us at 323.596.7962 or email info@syncmarketing.net.

Marketing the Insanity Better Known as March Madness

By: Sync Marketing | In: Contests, Marketing, Sweepstakes

Today not only marks the first day of spring, but kicks off the start of March Madness;  a great time of year for marketers, especially in the sweepstakes and contest arena. Many companies create tournament bracket challenges that offer huge cash payoffs for the lucky entrants as they know the appeal is undeniable to the young, sports-minded, social-preoccupied market. And since this dedicated (or obsessed) demographic will be entering into pools regardless; whether it’s with work, friends or family, it’s a winning opportunity for marketers.

Quicken Loans partnered with Yahoo! Sports this year to present their Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge, aka the Tourney Pick’em 2014. Even though the chances are slim, it’s a fun way to get in on the spirit of March Madness. Once you place your bets, you can’t help but think that your bracket has a chance – at least until you realize 50% of your picks are out in the first round.

Another popular bracket bonanza is the ESPN Tournament Challenge, giving participants a chance to win a $10,000 Best Buy gift card. And for those who didn’t start off on the right foot for March Madness (Ohio State anyone?), there is always the Fox Sports Second Chance Bracket.

It’s seems that regardless of whether you’re a marketer, college basketball fan, or just playing for the chance to win, everyone goes a little mad for this month that is March.