A couple of sponsors of Ohio State University’s football team, HER Realtors in Ohio and a home building company in Columbus, Trinity Homes, recently partnered on a big promotion. We worked with them to administered the Great Home Giveaway which offered a chance to win a new home worth up to $250,000. The promotion originally launched on September 3 and concluded this past Saturday, November 26, during the OSU’s football game with Michigan in Columbus, Ohio.
Here’s how it worked. The sweepstakes was only open to residents of Ohio who were invited to visit a promotional page on the HER Realtors website and complete a registration form. They then had to visit a Trinity Homes model home site in Ohio and validate their entry with a Trinity Homes representative by October 29. There was a mail-in option available to receive an entry as well.
On November 10 we drew three first prize winners from all eligible entries who were then eligible for a chance at the big grand prize. Each of these three winners won two tickets to the OSU vs. Michigan Football Game on November 26 were they would get to participate for a chance to win the Grand Prize in a Lucky Key Game.
At one of the intermission times during the game, the three winners came out on to the field, along with the representatives of the sponsors, to play the game. They were each given the opportunity to select one of three keys to try and unlock the door to determine who would win the grand prize. We conducted a random drawing prior to the event to determine the key selection number for each winner. The first winner tried to open the door unsuccessfully. The second winner then took their turn and was also unsuccessful. It was the third winner who’s key opened the door.
Congratulations goes to Kathy Lowery from Columbus who is the Grand Prize winner of the giveaway. She gets to choose between the following options: 1) A $250,000 Trinity Home in an existing Trinity Home subdivision; 2) A $165,000 credit towards building a Trinity Home in a Trinity Home subdivision throughout Central Ohio; 3) $100,000 cash option. Either option Kathy decides, it will be one of the largest prizes we have awarded this year.
The Ohio State Buckeyes ended up defeating the Michigan Wolverines 30 to 27 in double overtime and what was one of the most exciting college football games of the season!
Also we wanted to share that our thoughts and prayers go out to all those on the Ohio State campus that were affected by this week’s attack.
Thursday will already be Thanksgiving Day. I say “already” because we’ve had a very nice, warm fall this year. In fact on Friday we broke a record and hit 72 degrees. But on Saturday afternoon the winds picked up and the temperature starting plummeting. By Monday morning we were looking at our first major snow fall, more than 14 inches in the city which caused most schools to be closed and some traffic delays. I can now say that yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
The Christmas shopping season will be in full swing starting this Friday with many retailers already posting what their Black Friday specials will be. I have taken a peak already at what Amazon will be offering and plan to do most of my shopping online. Here’s a new, interesting online retailer that we are working with this year called ShopRunner. ShopRunner is similar to Amazon Prime, where you have to first be a member. Right now they are offering a free three month trial and they also offer free complimentary membership to eligible American Express members. ShopRunner members receive 2-day free shipping, free return shipping and member-only deals. Participating stores and brands range from clothing & accessories, electronics, home and many more including favorites like Neiman Marcus, Cole Haan, Toys’R’Us and GNC. You can view their most current list of retailers here.
We are assisting ShopRunner this year with the launch of their first holiday promotion, The 12 Days of Giveaways. 78 lucky winners will receive some of the best gifts of the holiday season with a grand prize of a $5,000 shopping spree with Neiman Marcus! Participants can sign up now through December 22. The holiday countdown will begin on Dec. 12 where winners will be chosen everyday, up till December 23. Each day the prizes change and so does the number of winners. The first day there will be 12 winners, the second day 11 winners and so forth, ending with one winner of the grand prize. Prizes include Elizabeth Arden skincare sets, Under Armor duffel bags, Kate Spade watches and wallets, FitBit charges, diamond earrings, XBox One, along with gift cards from some fine retailers. So it’s worth signing up for a free membership, doing a little online shopping and entering for a chance to win.
Hope you all have a very happy thanksgiving. Enjoy the day with good food, drinks and football while sharing it all with family and friends.
We attended the BAA’s 2016 38th Annual Marketing Law Conference which wrapped up last week on Friday, Nov 11th. The organization (Brand Activation Association) had another great year in attendance with over 750 professionals ranging from leading regulators, legislators, corporate counsel, marketers and technology innovators who gathered again at the Marriott Hotel on Michigan Ave. This year’s conference was entitled “FACE-OFF: Dynamic Technologies Vs. Regulatory Controls.
“Ours is an industry of rapid evolution” stated Ed Kabak, SVP, ANA and Chief Legal Officer, BAA who kicked off the first official day of the conference. “Since we deal with best practices and the state of the art in Marketing and Advertising Law and Digital Media; IP and Privacy, FTC, State A.G. and state-regulation, Lanham Act, Class Actions, and other areas, this forum is invaluable for marketers to move responsibly forward.”
The conference started off with a day of pre-conference sessions dedicated to basics as well as advanced subjects. I arrived in Chicago that day in time to attend the “Advanced Social Media Sweepstakes/Skill Contests/The Major Platforms and Pitfalls session. This included a nice review of the major platform promotional guidelines including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat. One case study reviewed was the “Drive a Tank” Sweepstakes where a gaming sponsor awarded a grand prize that allowed the winner to actually drive a tank on top of two cars. There were 1.8 million entries from 40,000 entrants who were awarded extra entries from sharing on Facebook and Twitter. There were several issues, such as they didn’t disclose with a proper hashtag to comply with the FTC’s endorsement guidelines and they had to take out additional liability insurance to allow for someone to actually drive this tank.
As has been the case in past years, once the conference officially opened we heard from Linda Goldstein, a Partner and Head of the Advertising, Marketing and Media practice at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP in New York who delivered her annual industry review. Linda reviewed some of the most newsworthy developments of the year and what they mean for marketing and advertising lawyers and professionals. Linda’s talk is always very informative and entertaining as she reviewed again the basics of sweepstakes and skill contests along with social and digital media legal issues from some of the latest promotions.
Linda noted that Scavenger Hunts are making a comeback and questioned if these type of promotions pose a time consideration. Delta Airlines ran a Snapchat promotion where participants had to look for filters throughout the LA area. How much time is too much? The Supreme Court did state in a prior ruling that a half an hour is okay. She recommended that you use your gut and impose limits if you feel uncomfortable about the risk.
As far as consideration in mobile promotions, data charges may apply if having to use only a mobile app. Text messages should still have an AMOE and you should disclose that text messaging charges may apply. However, if downloading a free app, there is no consideration, however if the app is a free trial and the participate has to actually cancel to avoid future charges that could be troubling.
Linda entertained us throughout her talk with videos of a new, imaginary app her team created called PizzaMon Go! It included real robots who would come to you and make you a artisan, personal pizza with your choice of toppings. Several issues arose as these young entrepreneurs launched this new technology including privacy issues, in-app purchase requirements, weather related issues that impacted events, and more. In the end, one of the robots was designated as our next Supreme Court Justice.
On Friday morning we were treated to another highly entertaining presentation from Ron Urbach, Chairman/Davis & Gilbert LLP, who also demonstrated how important it is for those in our industry to keep current. His presentation was on the interplay of marketing and advertising law to activate brands. Ron stated that every day attorneys make risk decisions when advising clients so it would probably be helpful for them to know what is on the regulators’ minds. We get asked the question quite often, what are the risks involved? Ron reminded us that Attorney Generals are political animals who will track publicity; that the “reasonable person” standard invoked by the FTC may not be what is considered reasonable at the state level; and that consumer complaints can drive AG actions.
Some recent examples Ron gave was that the FTC charged Lord & Taylor that it deceived consumers through paid articles and paid Instagram posts from the online publication Nylon that came from 50 “Fashion Influencers” promoting a certain dress. Warner Brothers Home Entertainment paid certain gaming influencers, such as PewDiePie, to post positive comments about the Shadow of Modor Game. The Kardashians have been charged that they did not disclose their relationship to the brands that they hype of Instagram.
Ron did emphasize that promotion is one way for a brand to develop trust with consumers. So it’s always best to be transparent. One thing that I have always heard since the early days of social media. The promotional terms for sweepstakes and contests are a contract with the brand and the consumer. So he advised not to use last year’s terms and to learn from the lessons of the last year. Be consistent with what you say to the consumers, in your ads, through your social influencers, entry materials and POS. Ron ended his talk with a video that asked people on the street “If you were a hashtag, what would you be?” Ron’s was #WhatIDoForClients. Here is another one of Ron’s videos that he shared with us on the “Regulators”.
This year’s conference did start off the day after the election. So there was quite a bit of discussion about it during the breaks and cocktail receptions. It was noted that Donald Trump has spoken out against the new privacy rules the FCC has imposed along with some changes to the advertising tax laws that are on the table. So 2017 looks to be the busiest congressional year yet. We can review what these changes will be at next year’s 2017 BAA Marketing Law Conference which will again be back at the Marriott on Michigan Ave. in Chicago starting on Nov. 13. Hope to see some of you again there.
Taco Bell is giving out free tacos today! A free Doritos Locos Taco per person will be offered at participating Taco Bell locations nationwide from 2pm to 6pm. It’s all part of their “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” campaign that they have been running once again during the World Series. You can thank Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, who stole a base in the first inning of Game 1 last Tuesday night.
Now tonight all eyes are will be on Game 7. Last night, the Chicago Cubs tied up the World Series by beating the Cleveland Indians in Game 6. They won 9-3.The Cubs haven’t won the series since 1908. The Indians haven’t won since 1948. That’s 108 years versus 68 years. So there is a lot on the line tonight. One long-suffering fan base will finally be rejoicing. For the other, it will be another year in an endless string of broken hearts. I have to admit I’m cheering for the Cubs. I was at Wrigley Field this summer and it is an iconic stadium.
The Taco Bell “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco”promotion has been running for several years now. The deal is if a base is stolen by any player for either team during any game of the 2016 World Series championship, Taco Bell will offer every person in the U.S. the opportunity to obtain one (1) free Doritos® Locos Taco valued at $1.49 each. So if a player steals a base tonight, the free taco will again be offered on Thursday, Nov. 10. Taco Bell will make an announcement to confirm this. Last year Lorenzo Lamar Cain a center fielder for the Kansas City Royals stole a base and free tacos were given out.
So can the Chicago Cubs come out with a win after being down one game to three and end the curse? We’ll find out tonight!
A couple of sponsors of Ohio State University’s football team, HER Realtors in Ohio and a home building company in Columbus, Trinity Homes, recently partnered on a big promotion. We worked with them to administered the Great Home Giveaway which offered a chance to win a new home worth up to $250,000. The promotion originally launched on September 3 and concluded this past Saturday, November 26, during the OSU’s football game with Michigan in Columbus, Ohio.
On November 10 we drew three first prize winners from all eligible entries who were then eligible for a chance at the big grand prize. Each of these three winners won two tickets to the OSU vs. Michigan Football Game on November 26 were they would get to participate for a chance to win the Grand Prize in a Lucky Key Game.
Congratulations goes to Kathy Lowery from Columbus who is the Grand Prize winner of the giveaway. She gets to choose between the following options: 1) A $250,000 Trinity Home in an existing Trinity Home subdivision; 2) A $165,000 credit towards building a Trinity Home in a Trinity Home subdivision throughout Central Ohio; 3) $100,000 cash option. Either option Kathy decides, it will be one of the largest prizes we have awarded this year.
