Back-to-school Promotion

By: Sync Marketing | In: international sweepstakes, Legal and Prize Fulfillment, sweepstakes management, Text Message Sweepstakes

From Cart to Classroom: Sweepstakes Ideas That Win Back-to-School Shoppers

Back-to-school shopping is so much more than tossing pencils and notebooks into a cart. It is that magical time when everything feels like a fresh start… new shoes, new schedules, and yes, new opportunities for brands to make a real connection. And in 2025, one of the best ways to do that is with a back-to-school promotion that sparks excitement and keeps your brand top of mind.

The Back-to-School Opportunity

The National Retail Federation reports that U.S. families are spending record amounts this year on school and college essentials. That is a lot of backpacks, laptops, and coffee for late-night study sessions. It is also a huge opportunity for brands to create a back-to-school promotion that reaches not only parents of K-12 kids but also college students, adult learners, and educators. More audiences mean more engagement — and more ways to make your brand part of the season’s story.

Why Back-to-School Promotions Work

I love a good back-to-school promotion because it works on so many levels:

• It gives people something fun to look forward to during an already exciting season.

• It gets customers talking and sharing with their friends.

• It turns your brand from just another store or product into part of someone’s back-to-school tradition.

When you incorporate engaging elements like contests or back-to-school sweepstakes, you take your promotion to the next level. And when you have a team like Sync Marketing running the show, you can relax knowing everything is legally compliant, mobile-friendly, and fully managed from start to finish.

2025 Trends to Boost Your Campaign

If you want your back-to-school promotion to really shine this year, try:

• Mobile-first engagement: Most entries for sweepstakes or promotions now come from smartphones, so make it quick and easy.

• Micro-influencer partnerships: Work with small but mighty influencers in parenting, education, or student life for an authentic boost.

• Customizable prizes: Let winners pick their prize — a laptop or a tablet? Yes, please.

• Short-term flash promotions: A 48-hour giveaway can create urgency and ride the wave of trending topics.

How to Launch a Winning Back-to-School Promotion

Here is my go-to game plan:

1. Layer your promotions: Pair your main campaign with an instant-win game or a user-generated content contest for extra engagement.

2. Tell a story: Ask entrants to share a first-day-of-school memory or a favorite study tip.

3. Track what matters: Measure entries, shares, repeat visits, and new email sign-ups.

Final Bell

The back-to-school season is short but packed with potential. A smart back-to-school promotion can help you connect, inspire loyalty, and boost sales — all while making the season a little more fun for your audience. Add in a well-planned back-to-school sweepstakes and you will have a campaign that delivers both excitement and results.

If you are ready to create a campaign that feels fresh, engaging, and 100% hassle-free, I would love to help you make it happen. Let’s make this school year your brand’s best yet.

Sweepstakes Company

By: Sync Marketing | In: Advertising, Best Practices, Contests, Facebook, Instant Win, Legal and Prize Fulfillment, Marketing, Prize Fulfillment, SMS Campaigns, Sweepstakes, sweepstakes company, Text Message Sweepstakes, Turnkey Sweepstakes

Looking for a sweepstakes company that can handle all aspects of your next online sweepstakes campaign? Look no further than Sync Marketing. Sync Marketing is a Los Angeles-based sweepstakes company that specializes in online sweepstakes.

What we do

The Specifics

Regardless of what type of sweepstakes you want to run, we handle an array of details within every sweepstakes or contest.

Strategy and Management

In this phase of the project, we will go over your goals and ideas and come up with effective solutions for you to exceed your goals. Whether you want to gain email opt-ins or user generated contact, we have the experience and know-how to suggest the right type of sweepstakes for your next campaign.

Design and Programming

Our highly passionate and experienced team of programmers and designers are ready to create a stand out sweepstakes for you. We offer responsive design and mobile-optimized sites to make sure the user experience is seamless for your consumers.

Legal and Prize Fulfillment

This is quite possibly the most important piece to the puzzle. Making sure to hire an agency that specializes in sweepstakes law is integral to the success of your sweepstakes. Especially with social media sweepstakes, because these can be quickly taken down by a social media network if you are not abiding by their policy. Sync Marketing is a sweepstakes company that has got you covered in this area. Not only does our legal team specialize in promotion law, but we attend the latest law conferences and are quite frequently speakers at these events.

Analytics and Reporting

You need to know if your promotion is successful, right? Our programmers provide a 24/7 password protected website so you can access your metrics at any time. We will go over your goals prior to programming to make sure we’re tracking everything you need for your promotion.

Types of Sweepstakes

At Sync Marketing, we offer an array of sweepstakes. Our most popular is our TurnkeySweeps by Sync platform. These are turnkey sweepstakes that launch within a week of receiving approval on the creative. We also run SMS campaigns, instant win sweepstakes, and custom campaigns. If you’re looking for a sweepstakes company who solely focuses  on sweepstakes and contests, then we’re the agency for you. Contact us today for a quote.

Different Types of Sweepstakes to Run on a Mobile Device

By: Jennifer French | In: Contests, Facebook, Instagram, Marketing, Sweepstakes, sweepstakes company, Text Message Sweepstakes

Mobile phones are such a big part of our daily life that it’s hard to remember a time without them. If you are anything like me, you are constantly checking email, looking at social media, searching things online and of course sending text messages. And we are not alone.  Marketers are counting on the fact that one’s smart phone is a direct extension of their user. When a company decides to include a sweepstakes as part of their marketing strategy, it is imperative that they make the site optimized for mobile devices. Results show that large numbers of people who enter a sweepstakes do so from their phone. With that in mind, below are different types of sweepstakes to run on a mobile device.

Text-to-Win

An SMS or Text-to-Win sweepstakes is one of the easiest ways to enter a sweepstakes as it doesn’t require much from the entrant. These types of campaigns tend to work well at events where people can quickly and easily text in for a chance to win. Here is a blog article that discusses the benefits of running a text message campaign.

Social Media Campaigns

Twitter and Instagram sweepstakes have become increasingly popular. For companies, they are very low in cost to run and easy to enter. A common sweepstakes has entrants snapping a photo on their phone, including the campaign hashtag, and then posting to enter. Because these types of campaigns typically produce a lot of fun user-generated content, they’re popular among brands. Running a sweepstakes on a social platform is also a great way to get your promotion viral. Here is a post on tips for running a promotion on a social media channel.

Enter by Using an App

More and more brands of all sizes are offering apps to their consumers to make their mobile experience even better. Apps are an effective tool to increase brand loyalty and reward consumers for their frequent purchases or using their app. Adding a sweepstakes component to the app is an additional way to increase consumer engagement and drive sales. McDonald’s has run several sweepstakes to promote their app, most recently the “Shake a Gift Game” in December. Consumers were invited to use their app daily for the chance to win food and prizes. Here is a link to McDonald’s app.

Lastly, one thing to keep in mind is that with any sweepstakes you must have a set of official rules for the campaign. Among other things, the rules must clearly outline how to enter the promotion. If you are considering the different types of sweepstakes to run on a mobile device, Sync Marketing can help. We can guide you on the best type of mobile-optimized promotion for your needs. Contact us today.

Different Types of Sweepstakes to Run on a Mobile Device

Should I Run a Text Message Sweepstakes Campaign?

By: Sync Marketing | In: Ask Sync, Ask Sync Marketing, Contests, Legal and Prize Fulfillment, Marketing, SMS Campaigns, Sweepstakes, Text Message Sweepstakes

We have clients come to us all the time and ask if they should try a text message campaign (sometime referred to as SMS campaign) for their next sweepstakes and contest campaign. At Sync, we not only run online sweepstakes and contests, but we can also set up and manage your next text message sweepstakes campaign. You can see some of our SMS campaigns here. Below are a few common questions we have received from our clients.

What is more effective, a photo upload sweepstakes or an SMS campaign?

In our experience, the simpler you make the entry process, the more entries you will typically receive. Requiring an entrant to text an SMS message instead of a photo as their entry is definitely quicker and easier for the entrant. Of course it all comes down to how and where you are marketing the sweepstakes. If you’re asking entrants to text a code word, make sure it’s clearly displayed on your marketing and POP materials.

How do I know if my brand or product would be a good fit for a text message campaign?

As long as you can focus your text message campaign sweepstakes or contest on a theme that is relevant to your brand or the particular promotion you are running, a text message sweepstakes will work.  Keep in mind, the goal of a text message campaign is to allow people to instantaneously enter on the spot, so the goal is to make your marketing materials and POP compelling to consumers with the hope of capturing their entry on the spot.

What should I ask entrants to text in?

The possibilities are endless, but we will go back to our theme of, the simpler the better. You can ask entrants to take a survey, answer trivia questions, or simply text in a code word that includes the name of your brand or product.

How can I get potential consumers to text in to win, but also engage with our website?

It’s easy! Once the entrant has entered the code word or answered the questions to be entered to win, you can include a link to your website in your thanks for entering SMS response. You can entice them by asking them to check out exclusive content, video contest, trivia, games, etc.

How can I be sure the entrants are of the required minimum entry age?

At Sync, we handle the entire text message set up process and will also create all of the necessary legal documents, including the official rules, for your text message campaign. Not only will the rules include the eligibility requirements, but we will be sure to set up an age gate SMS response during the entry process, if necessary. To learn more about the legal services we provide at Sync, click here.

If you have any additional questions about text message sweepstakes, including pricing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Sync Marketing.