October 2016 - American Sweepstakes

Pet Costume Contests are the buzz this Halloween

We’ve been seeing quite a variety of Halloween contests and sweepstakes running this year. Pet costume contests are especially popular and we’ve been helping one of our clients with one.

The folks at Boot Barn, America’s largest Western and Work Wear store, is running the Halloween Giddy Up Contest. Folks are invited to submit a photo of their pet in a costume by tomorrow, October 27th. Their entries will be judged on creativity and originality of the photo they submitted. A grand prize winner will receive a $200 Boot Barn Gift Card and two first place winners will each receive a $50 Boot Barn Gift Card.

In case you’re not sure how to dress up your pet, the team at ShortStack sent us a copy of this fun Halloween promotion that was done for a company called Supreme Source which is running on their Facebook page. Shortstack is the platform that we use to create entry pages on Facebook and online for some of our client’s sweepstakes and contests.

Supreme Source created the Halloween Dog Costume Generator that helps doggie parents choose a Halloween costume for their pups. Once the costume suggestion is revealed, the campaign allows users to share their results on Facebook with their friends and gives users a link to some fun and easy do-it-yourself dog costumes. Plus, when you take the quiz you’re entered in a drawing to win one of three Supreme Source® Prize Pack!

Here’s some interesting news that I just received from Talkwalker, an international social media analytics firm. When it comes to Halloween costumes this year, Talkwalker is reporting that social media is telling us that Donald Trump (9,006 mentions in the past 30 days) is the winner over Hillary Clinton (5,297).

However, the costumes generating the most buzz over the past 30 days are robbery victim Kim Kardashian (11,488 mentions), red sweater debate superstar Ken Bone (6,973) and the Joker’s sidekick, Supervillian Harley Quinn (5,644). During that same period in 2015, the top costumes included Batman (2,835 mentions), Donald Trump (1,773) with Hillary Clinton not even appearing in the top 25 mentions.

So whatever you and your pet decide to dress up for this Halloween, I wish you a fun holiday!

The Cutest Pet of 2016 Photo Contest

The Cutest Pet of 2016 Photo Contest from Pet Parade

If you think that your pet is the cutest dog, cat, or other animal here’s your a chance to get some admiration and agreement from others. The Cutest Pet of 2016 Photo Contest recently launched which has been developed by a new start up company called Pet Parade that we’ve been assisting.

The Submission Period is now open till December 31. To enter a participant must first create an account by signing up through Facebook or by providing their email address and creating a password. They then can register their pet by providing their pet’s name, whether it’s a dog, cat or other type of animal, the breed, the pet’s age, and whether it’s a male or female. You can register more than one pet on this page. The next step is to upload up to 3 photos of your pet. The last step is to complete your own profile by uploading a photo of yourself with your name and your location.

I have registered my golden retriever, Shadow, and included this photo of him. Once submitted you are invited to share and invite others to register via email, Facebook or Twitter. The voting period begins on Election Day, November 8th. The folks at Pet Parade will send everyone who entered their pet an email invite on how to download the Pet Parade Mobile App to participate in the voting process.

There will be two monthly voting periods. The first is Nov. 8 – Nov. 30 and the second, Dec. 1 – 31. To vote you will be presented with several different “Face Off” challenges that consist of a question with two different pets featured and you must answer the question by voting for one of the two pets. The winning pet of that round will face a new Pet with the same question. This will continue into a tenth and final round. A Participant may not vote for their own pets, but they may vote and send virtual treats to other pets to help them earn points and win.

At the end of each monthly voting period, the top 10 pets from each of the three categories (Dog, Cat or Critter) with the highest number of points will become a Finalist and be included in the Finalist judging round. There will be a grand total of 20 finalists (ten per month) for each of the three (3) categories for a total of 60 Finalists. A panel of judges will review all the Finalists and determine a first, second and third Place winner for each category. They will utilize the following judging criteria for determining all the winners: Public Appeal ( Total Points Earned) 40%, Creativity and Originality 30%, Quality of photo 30%.. From these 9 winners they will then choose one Grand prize winner from all 3 categories.

Each of the 10 monthly Finalists will receive a Pet Parade T-shirt. The First Place winners from each category will each receive a 1st Place Ribbon, a custom Pet Parade T-shirt with the Pet’s photo and a gift basket of treats and toys. The Second Place winners will each receive a 2nd Place Ribbon and a gift basket of treats and toys and the Third Place winners will each receive a 3rd Place Ribbon and a gift basket of treats and toys. The one Grand Prize winner will receive a custom engraved trophy cup with the title “THE CUTEST PET OF 2016”, a custom Pet Parade T-shirt with the pet’s photo and a gift basket of treats and toys worth $500.

Pet Parade is planning to run more contests throughout 2017 and this one is just the start. So get your pets ready and spread the word. It should be lots of fun.

Choose Your Travel Adventure Sweepstakes

This Choose Your Travel Adventure Sweepstakes offers 3 great destinations

We’re administering this new sweepstakes that offers the winner a choice of three different destinations to choose from. The “Choose Your Travel Adventure” Sweepstakes was launched a couple of weeks ago by Tokia Marine HCC Medical Services Group. The objective of the sweepstakes is to create awareness of their Atlas Travel Insurance.

To enter the sweepstakes participants visit the online sweepstakes page and fill out an entry form with their name and email address. They must also answer five questions that pertain to the Atlas Travel Insurance. There is this link to open up a new page to use as reference that contains information on the insurance. Participants need to get at least three answers correct to be eligible for the prize and the questions are not too tough.

The winner and their guest will receive airfare to one of the destinations along with five-night lodging at a nice hotel all valued at $5,000. The menu on the top of the sweepstakes page links to other pages that include details about each location to help participants make their choice.

If Reykjavik, Iceland, is chosen, the winner and their guest would fly into Keflavik Intl Airport (KEF) and stay at the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica. Iceland offers countless natural sights to behold from the celestial glow of the Northern Lights to the ethereal beauty of Blue Lagoon’s geothermal spa. The Reykjavik page offers information on the top 8 things to see and do there, such as the Blue Lagoon and the Northern Lights. Iceland’s topography is shaped by both glaciers and volcanoes, resulting in a variety of landscapes that are truly extraordinary including waterfalls, hot springs, lava formations, lakes, rivers, mountains, and cliffs.

If Florence, Italy, is chosen, the winner and their guest would fly into Aeroporto di Firenze (FLR) and stay at the Hotel Brunelleschi, which is very close to the Duomo di Firenze which is at the heart of Florence. Florence is a prime destination for those who desire a vacation rich in history and amazing food. The Florence page offers further information on the top things to see and do here, such as Duomo di Firenze & Giotto’s Bell Tower and to view multiple famous works of art created by Michelangelo including the “David”. Also Florence is located in the middle of Tuscany, which means it’s surrounded by a beautiful array of vineyards, green fields and rolling hills.

If Sydney, Australia, is chosen, the winner and guest will fly into the Sydney Airport (SYD) and stay at Sydney’s deluxe, 5-star Swissotel Sydney located in the heart of Sydney’s central business district, Swissotel Sydney. Sydney stretches from the Blue Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. The city’s northern edges line the southern shore of Lake Macquarie, its southern borders extending just south of Botany Bay. Capital of the state of New South Wales, Sydney is widely recognized for its stunning harbor, vibrant cities, and cosmopolitan vibe. The Sydney page includes information on the top things to see and do there such the Sydney Opera house, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Royal Botanic Gardens, and Bondi Beach.

Entrants can also get two bonus entries, one for following the sponsor on Twitter, @hccmis, and another for tweeting about the sweepstakes with the hashtag #5kTripSweepstakes and an @hccmis mention. The sweepstakes ends soon, October 16, so check it out before it’s gone.

Dream Fan Experience Sweepstakes

BAA Marketing Law Conference – FACE-OFF: Dynamic Technologies vs. Regulatory Controls

I’ll be headed back to Chicago to attend the Annual BAA/PMA Marketing Law Conference which takes place next month, November 9-11, at the Downtown Chicago Marriott. This year’s conference is titled “FACE-OFF: Dynamic Technologies vs. Regulatory Controls”. It is known as the broadest marketing and advertising law conference in this country which features deep, practical legal content presented from speakers from major brands, inside and outside counsel and regulatory agencies. It also includes some great networking and two large cocktail parties.

Last year’s conference, which I attended, had another record attendance of 750, with over 200 major brands present. I summarized the conference in this post in which I stated that there were two central themes that appeared to be prominent. The first was Real-Time Marketing and how more brands were now starting to put much more effort into connecting their product or service with consumers in the moment. The other central theme was focused on the FTC’s Endorsement & Testimonial Guidelines, which even though not new, there were clear signs that the FTC was starting to heavily monitor the happenings online and on social media. So what insights will this year’s conference generate?

Some of the topics at this year’s conference will again include real time marketing and social as well as explore new technologies. Speakers from Oculus, Twitter, Google, Buzzfeed, Whole Foods, Lyft, Airbnb, Spotify and Microsoft will present. In fact one of the keynotes will be from Jordan McCollum who is general Counsel for Oculus VR. Another keynote will be from the FTC Commissioner Terrel McSweeny who will discuss further the FTC policy and enforcement priorities going forward into next year. Sweeps, contests, gaming, loyalty programs and IP issues will again be discussed. Linda Goldstein from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, the first main speaker who always delivers an exciting and chock full presentation, will review the past year as it relates to those topics.

The last day of the conference will again feature another highly anticipated presentation from Ron Urbach, Chairman of Davis & Gilbert LLP, this year titled “Brand Activation: Law in Review”. At last year’s conference Ron showed us a video he and his team created of a group of fictitious millennials who were using social media and technology to launch new products, and of course, not doing it all legally. Besides the key presentations there will be many break-out sessions and round-table discussions covering many different topics. You can see the whole agenda here.

If you’re interested in attending you should register here quickly since regular pricing will increase after Oct. 10. I’ll be right on Michigan Ave. at the Marriott from Wed. Nov. 9 till Fri., Nov. 11, so make sure to say hello if you’re there. Hopefully I will get a chance to run next door for my annual visit to Nordstrom’s shoe dept!