Month: July 2015

Experience Kissimmee is getting ready to hit the one million mark. At the time of this post they currently have 947,903 fans who have liked their Facebook page. So in anticipation of this memorable event they will be running their “Thanks a Million” Sweepstakes on their Facebook page.

Starting next week and running through the rest of the summer till September 4, Experience Kissimmee will invite fans to visit their page to see a weekly promotional post. These weekly posts by the Sponsor will ask fans to comment on the promotional post by sharing a photo along with a personal thank you note. By doing so the person will  be entered into the sweepstakes.

At the end of each week Experience Kissimmee will  select two of these thank you notes to feature on their Facebook page. Those two people will be the weekly winners who will  each receive a Kissimmee “Thanks A Million” Vacation Essentials set that includes an Apple iPod Nano, a tote bag, sunglasses, sunscreen, Chapstick, a pool towel, a Bluetooth speaker, a drink koozie and a 16″ beach ball. They will also receive an entry into the grand prize drawing to be held at the end of the sweepstakes, right around the time Experience Kissimmee expects to hit it’s one millionth fan!

That grand prize winner will of course win a Kissimmee getaway package for them and up to 3 guests. The package includes round trip airfare and a week’s vacation rental provided by Jeeve’s Holiday Homes. Also included are lots of passes to area attractions including Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. The grand prize package is valued at $11,154 which makes it the highest value prize that Experience Kissimmee has offered in our history of working with them.

Now we all know that building a fanbase isn’t easy. It takes time to get people to like you on your Facebook page. So we have to congratulate the team at Experience Kissimmee for all their hard work that they have put into this page. It now is hopefully starting to pay off for them. However, they still need to work hard though in order to keep these fans.

Running these types of sweepstakes promotions are great ways to engage with fans. This promotion in particular is asking fans to share both a photo and a message. In doing so, two people a week will have their posts featured for all to see. While most of the sweepstakes that we administer on Facebook are done through a 3rd party app on a tab page, this one is a great example of running it on the page itself. While the Sponsor will not be collecting person data on the participants (email addresses, full names, etc), they will instead gain many valuable insights into their brand from the posts people will share. That will hopefully be worth the huge investment that they have made.

Congratulations again to Experience Kissimmee. We’ll be checking your Facebook page throughout the period to read some of the posts.

The annual MLB All-Star Game which was held last night is a clear sign that we are in the middle of the summer. This is when the MLB is on a break for a few days as it prepares for it’s second half of the season.

The game was held in Cincinnati this year and the American League won again, 6-3. Mike Trout from the LA Angels started off the game with a home run and he became the first man in history to win back-to-back All-Star MVP awards. The next team that faces the Angels is of course the Boston Red Sox who have not had a very good first half!

T-Mobile was the presenting sponsor of Fox’s broadcast of the The All-Star Game. This sponsorship also included stadium presence as well as “FanFest” activities scheduled in the game’s host city. T-Mobile used this major platform to promote its latest initiative, “Mobile Without Borders,” which allows customers to call, text and use data in the U.S., Canada and Mexico on one rate plan.

T-Mobile also ran a promotion inviting fans to predict which player (if any) would hit a three-run homer. They asked fans to post the player’s name on Twitter using the hashtag #3for1HomeRun and #sweepstakes. If any player hit one during the game, T-Mobile would then randomly select 10,000 of those Tweet predictions who would win a $500 voucher to be used toward travel to Canada or Mexico. T-Mobile was promoting the sweepstakes through all of its social channels, as well as digital and on-air broadcast advertising and in-stadium signage.

Unfortunately there was not a #3for1HomeRun.

If there was that would have meant  a $5 million payout. T-Mobile secured prize insurance for a much smaller fee from our friends at SCA Promotions who took on the risk for this program. In the event  a player hit a three-run homer the insurance company would have had to pay for the prizes.

So if this type of promotion with big prizes interests you let’s discuss how it may fit into your marketing program. It worked well for T-Mobile in this case and helped them get the most out of their sponsorship dollars.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July Holiday. We realize that many people have taken this week as vacation to add on to the holiday and may be at the beach or the lake. So here is another summer getaway promotion that we’re administering that I thought I’d share that is a great example of  how to promote your destination or brand. And, it just may give you ideas on where to vacation next.

Visit St. Pete Clearwater is running  The Amped Up Giveaway – Summer Sweepstakes which ties directly into their Amped Up summer theme. They are promoting their destination with this “Live Amplified in St. Pete/Clearwater” video that includes their theme song “Solar Power”. You can view the video here on YouTube.

The sweepstakes is offering a chance to win one of 4 monthly “Amped Up” vacation packages which started on June 1 and runs till the end of September. Each package is slightly different, but they all include round-trip airfare, 5 nights hotel accommodations and a St. Pete/Clearwater swag bag. Here are some of the prize packages:

Amped Up Adrenaline Package – This is the only package that is for up to 4 people (all others are for 2 people) and includes the “Best Out There Experiences” Visit St. Pete/Clearwater has to offer: Parasailing, Sky Surfing, JetLev, and Speed Boat Adventures. Accommodations at the TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach in their 2 Bedroom Gulf Front Suite and a $500 resort dining credit.

Amped Up Art & Shopping Package –  An “Art and Shopping” escape that includes tickets to The Dali Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, and Chihuly Collection including VIP access/tours and a $1,000 gift card to pick up a piece of local art. A $500 gift certificate to Sundial St. Pete along with suite accommodations at the Renaissance Vinoy and a $500 resort dining credit.

Amped Up Sea & Food Package – The “Best Gulf Charter Boats and Seafood Grub” Visit St. Pete/Clearwater has to offer: a dolphin watching cruise from Dolphin Landings, St. Pete Beach, a dinner cruise on StarLite Cruises and scrumptious grub at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill. Suite accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa and a $500 resort dining credit.

Amped Up Sunsets & Suds Package – The “Best Rooftop Sunset Bars & Breweries” Visit St. Pete/Clearwater has to offer. Nightly limo transportation to suds and sunset for four days to various bars and restaurants along with  accommodations at The Birchwood Inn in a Premium King- Park View with Balcony room and a $250 gift card.

St. Pete/Clearwater list 13 different white sand beaches in their 35 mile area, a different beach to fit any mood. It is the only destination in America with two beaches in the Top 10 of TripAdvisor’s 2015 Traveler’s Choice Awards of the Top U.S. Beaches, which is based on millions of traveler reviews. There’s laid-back St. Pete Beach, which landed at No. 2 on the list, and bustling Clearwater Beach, which checked in at No. 8.

The first monthly winner for June has already been drawn and contacted. So we have one very happy winner so far with three more to come. Participants can enter each month for a chance to win since each monthly entry period starts over. Check out the website now. I hope you can take the time to find your beach this summer.

Here’s a photo of the Grand Strand, which I recently took during a brief getaway to visit family down in the Myrtle Beach, SC area. The weather was extremely hot there right before I arrived, but cooled off a little resulting in some beautiful beach days.

While I was gone there was much happening in the news and on social media. Seems to always be the case when I’m offline for a few days. The Supreme Court came out with their final rulings for the year and #SCOTUS was everywhere! As most of you are totally aware, one of their rulings legalized gay marriage in all 50 states and the reaction on social media was huge. According to Facebook 26 million users changed their Facebook profile photo to show a rainbow flag to celebrate the historic decision. Some brands also got in on the big moment with social media posts in support of the ruling.

I promised to continue sharing some summer promotions, so here is a new contest launching soon offering a chance to win a great getaway. The Divina All-In Photo Contest from MSC Cruises is also awarding a 7-night Caribbean cruise, this one on their ship, the MSC Divina, for one winner and their guest.

Participates will be invited to submit a photo that they feel depicts how they would go “ALL IN” on a MSC Caribbean cruise. They can enter the Contest by visiting the MSC Cruises Facebook page or MSC Cruises’ website. Porthole Cruise Magazine is also a partner offering a free subscription to the winner along with featuring them in one of their future issue. They are hosting the contest on their Facebook page as well.

Once the submission period ends then the judges will use the following judging criteria to select 5 Finalists: Connection to theme (50%), Photo Quality (25%), Originality and Creativity (25%). These 5 Finalists will then move on the Voting Phase and the Finalist with the most votes will be determined as the Grand Prize Winner.

I realize that many people are taking this week off since most companies are giving Friday off to employees with Saturday being the 4th of July this year. I hope you all enjoy the 4th of July Holiday weekend. Tune in next week for more summer promotional updates.