International Sweepstakes and Contest Law
Are you considering running a sweepstakes or contest in multiple countries? International sweepstakes and contest law can be overwhelming. These four steps will help get you prepared for a successful campaign.
1. Plan Ahead
Creating and Approving Rules: The lead time for running an international sweepstakes and contests is longer because you need to allow for feedback and approvals from multiple jurisdictions. Sync Marketing creates the US version of the official rules first, then distributes the approved US rules to legal counsel in each participating country. We receive their feedback and implement it into the final set of rules. This process can take a couple weeks based on the number of countries involved. Recently, Sync Marketing was the administrator for Rapyd’s Hack the Galaxy promotion, which ran in an astonishing 47 countries!
Translations: After the rules are approved, they will need to be translated in the language of the participating countries, which can take up to another week.
Filing Fees: Keep in mind that you will need to bond and register the promotion in NY and FL one week prior to the campaign start date as well as follow the guidelines of each participating country based on the structure of the campaign
Creating official rules, translation and bonding and registering are all services that Sync Marketing provides.
2. Consider a multi-phase approach
If you are hesitating to dive in to a full-blown international campaign, maybe start with a toe dip. Some of our clients start with a North America and UK campaign as those can move forward more quickly. If successful, they will run another the following quarter to include additional markets. If you have the ability for a multi-phase approach, this would be a good concept for you.
3. Budget accordingly
Understandably, running a sweepstakes or contest in multiple countries comes with additional costs. Make sure to consider the legal, programming, filing, and translation costs involved for this larger initiative. Sync marketing frequently runs international campaigns and can provide a same day quote
4. Hire a sweepstakes agency
International sweepstakes and contest law can be overwhelming. That’s why it’s best practice to work with an agency that specializes in all aspects of international sweepstakes and contest law. At Sync Marketing, we can handle all aspects of your next international sweepstakes or contest, including the design, development, legal and prize fulfillment. High profile, international campaigns come with risks if not buttoned up from the start. Hiring a sweepstakes agency for your next international sweepstakes or contest will ensure you can proceed with piece of mind while leaving it to the experts.