Category: Blog

Are you ready for the upcoming Royal Wedding? Here’s a couple of Royal Sweepstakes that are engaging fans.

The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is finally here, this Saturday, May 19th. The wedding takes place at Windsor Castle in England at noon BST (7am ET/4am PT). In the U.S. if you want to watch ABC will start live coverage at 5am ET, CBS and CNN at 4am ET, NBC at 4:30am ET, Fox News at 6am ET, as well others. Many of us in the U.S. are extremely excited about this royal wedding since Megan Markle is an American who is also an actress and will be the first bi-racial to become a royal.

Brands in pretty much every category have found this to be an irresistible opportunity to engage consumers. One of our clients, Sandals Resorts, who we have worked with for several years, has jumped on the bandwagon. They are currently running the “Vacation like a Royal” Sweepstakes. They are offering two grand prizes which are each a chance to win an eight day luxury Caribbean all-inclusive vacation for two to experience the royal treatment at one of their Sandals Resorts which include Sandals Royal Caribbean, Sandals Royal Barbados, Sandals Royal Bahamian and Sandals Royal Plantation.

This royal vacation features luxurious accommodations in one of their Butler suites which comes with butler service, unlimited 5-star gourmet dining, all drinks which include premium spirits and wines, water sports and scuba diving, complimentary green fees at their golf resorts, round-trip airport transfers plus all tips, gratuities and hotel taxes.

U.S residents can enter by visiting Sandals.com and completing the online entry form at www.Sandals.com/royal. The sweepstakes started back on April 1 and ends May 20. Sandals claims to be the undisputed leader of Caribbean vacation experiences with a total of 24 properties in seven countries including Antigua, The Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Turks and Caicos. So this is a great prize.

Also in honor of the upcoming royal wedding Tetley Tea is running the Royal Diamond Teacup Sweepstakes and offering a chance to win the grand prize of Tetley’s “Royal Diamond Teacup”. This teacup has a one-carat diamond embedded in the handle. To enter, U.S. residents 18 and older can go to a Tetley Facebook page or to www.TetleyRoyalDiamondTeacup.com and fill out a “Which Royal Family Member Are You?” quiz, by May 19. Ten runner-up prizes packs are also available to be won which consist of one box of Tetley British Blend Tea, one box of shortbread cookies, and one teacup

Also, U.S. married couples who are named Harry and Meghan, and submit their marriage certificates to [email protected] on May 19, will be eligible to receive a box of Tetley British Blend Tea each month for a year.

So be prepared to either get up early Saturday morning to watch live the ceremony, or remember to set your DVR.

The $10,000 Shopping Spree Contest from Milano Diamond Gallery helps celebrate the Month of May (and Moms)

May is finally here which brings us new life to our gardens and landscapes. It also is the month of Mother’s Day, Graduations and the beginning of the wedding season. So what better month to kick off a new promotion that’s offering a chance to win lots of jewelry! The Milano Diamond Gallery $10,000 Shopping Spree Contest is doing just that.

Milano started out as a small jewelry store in Jamaica over 20 years ago. They now provide exclusive, classically designed diamonds & gemstone jewelry with a modern flair. They carry various boutique designers like Chrysalis and Le Vian and have all types of jewelry including rings, earrings, bracelets, watches and more. You can shop the Milano Gallery at www.shopmilano.com, or at one of their 40 port locations you can easily find coming off a cruise in the Caribbean, Mexico and in the USA.

The contest will be running for a full year up to April 30, 2019. Participants are invited to enter the contest by visiting one of the Milano port locations and taking a photo of themselves wearing or showing their favorite piece of Milano jewelry or watch. They must then Tweet or post the photo either on Twitter or Instagram and include the promotion hashtag, #Milano$10KContest. They must also follow and tag the sponsor on Instagram @milanodiamondgallery or on Twitter @milanodg.

They may also visit the sponsor’s Facebook page and like the page, locate the contest post, upload their photo as a comment to the post and include the hashtag #Milano$10KContest. An alternate way to enter without having to physically be in one of the Milano port locations is to Tweet or post a photo of their favorite Milano jewelry which can be found on their website. Participants must still include the promotional hashtag #Milano$10KContest

At the end of the contest period a panel of judges will review all the posted photos and choose one Grand Prize winner that they will base on the following judging criteria; 34% Creativity and Originality; 33% Enthusiasm; 33% messaging. In the case of a tie, the score for Creativity and Originality will determine the winner. The Grand Prize winner will receive $10,000 in-store credit that may be used in-store in any Milano port location or online at www.shopmilano.com.

Milano is currently offering some great gift ideas on their website for Mother’s Day and for graduates. As a family we traveled to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten for several years where we vacationed with my parents. There was one jewelry store there that we shopped at quite often that my mother really loved. Between my mom, my sister, myself, and also some gifts for my daughters, we expanded our jewelry collection quite nicely. It brings back some very happy memories. I miss my mom very much. Happy Mother’s Day to all moms.

JuJu Smith-Schuster shows off his moves for the Pizza Hut NFL Draft Doorbell Dance Video Sweepstakes

Tomorrow, 4/26, if the first round of the NFL draft which runs till 4/28. If you are a fan of the Cleveland Browns, the NY Giants or, like me, the Buffalo Bills, this draft season is a big one for our teams. There is so much speculation on who’s going to draft who and who is going to trade to get an earlier pick.  Cleveland didn’t win a game last season, so they have first pick and the Giants are second. The Bills really need to draft a quarterback and there are four really good QB players up for grabs this year, so we’re anxious to see what they do.

Pizza Hut is getting in on the action this week since they now have the official sponsorship with the NFL. They picked up the day after previous sponsor, Papa John’s announced it was dropping its affiliation last February. Pizza Hut has recruited Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to take part in their campaign. The player is featured in the ad shown below demonstrating the “Doorbell Dance”, the moves he makes when the doorbell rings celebrating the arrival of a Pizza Hut delivery. Pizza Hut is using this to generate buzz by calling on others to submit their best doorbell dances for a chance to win a trip to an NFL regular season game of their choice.

The Pizza Hut Doorbell Dance Video Sweepstakes invites participants to post an original video of themselves doing a “doorbell dance”, a dance you may do when your doorbell rings and your pizza arrives, and also include the hashtags #PizzaHutHut and #sweepstakes in their post to receive one entry. All entries must be posted to Instagram by 11:59 pm on 4/28. Participants may also receive an entry without posting a video by submitting their information on a 3 x 5 card through the mail. A random drawing at the end of the sweepstakes will determine one winner who will receive a trip for them and a guest to a 2018 NFL football game of their choice on or before Sunday, December 30, 2018.

Pizza Hut is also running what they are calling the “Pi Pick” promotion. This will be the 78th pick of the draft which will be the fourteenth selection in the third round off the draft. The Pi Pick player will receive a year’s worth of free pizza and a pizza party in their honor in the new hometown team that selects him. The Pi Pick will also receive other additional perks from Pizza Hut, including retro brand swag, gift cards for teammates, and more.

At the actual draft Pizza Hut will be hosting an event outside the Cowboys’ Arlington, Texas, stadium where fans can showcase and record doorbell dances, compete in a delivery shuttle obstacle course and sample pizza in a lounge. On social media, they will be giving away pizzas on a random basis, and promoting a special deal good during the Draft (two medium pizzas, an order of wings and bread sticks starting at $19.99).

“One of the things we love about Pizza Hut is that as a new partner, they are committed to bringing even more excitement and entertainment to the NFL draft, one of the marquee events on the NFL calendar,” NFL Partnerships, Sponsorship and Consumer Products Senior Vice President Renie Anderson, said in a release. “Pizza Hut wants to leverage the draft as a national platform to bring more value to the home watching experience, and we are thrilled to see them activating in new and unique ways.”

So us fans in New York will finally have a better idea of what this upcoming 2018 season will look like after this week. However, we’ve made some top picks before that didn’t work out. So you never know!

Hashtags combined with an online form provide two methods of entry for these contests

I wrote this post last week about the NatureSweet Spring Sweepstakes that will be awarding three winners with a Yeti® Cooler Prize Pack. All they have to do is fill out the entry form and submit a photo that shows them, their friends, or their family enjoying tomatoes. They can just upload the photo on the entry form or they have the option to post the photo on Instagram and copy and past the Instagram URL address in the field on the entry form to enter that way. I explained in this post that we used the ShortStack application to build the entry form and collect all the entrant’s data and their photos.

I had also mentioned that we would be starting a couple of new promotions using the ShortStack application that not only allows people to enter and submit their photos from an entry form, but it also allows them to post their photos from either their Instagram or Twitter account using the promotion’s hashtag. It then pulls those into the campaign as entries and posts them on the contest web page. Here are the two promotions we are running for a new client,  Dannmar Equipment, who provide automotive equipment to garages.

The first promotion is called the Garage Equipment Supply Contest. Participants are invited to upload a photo of their garage for a chance to win a garage makeover. Three grand prize winners, three second prize winners and three third prize winners will all receive gift cards to the Garage Equipment Supply Store. Total of all the gifts cards amounts to $15,000. There are three different entry periods that will run from now till the end of 2018 and each period will have three winners. A panel of judges will review all the photos submitted at the end of each period to determine the winners which will be based on the following criteria, brand awareness 50% and relevance to the contest theme 50%.

The second promotion is for another one of the sponsor’s brands and is called the MaxJax Contest. Similar to the GES contest, participants are invited to upload a photo of their garage for a chance to win a MaxJax, which is an auto lift valued at $2,000. Again there are three different entry periods that will run from now till the end of 2018 and each period will have a grand prize winner and a first prize winner. A panel of judges will review all the photos submitted at the end of each period to determine the winners and they will use the same criteria as in the GES contest.

So what is unique about these two promotions is that they both have the two methods of entry, the online entry form and the Instagram and Twitter posts. The Garage Equipment Supply Contest participants must use the #GESUSACONTEST hashtag and the MaxJaxContest uses #MaxJaxContest hashtag. All entries from either method go into one database and all the photos can be viewed in one photo gallery that is on each of the contest pages. Since these both just started we don’t have any real entries as of yet.

We hope to be doing more of these types of promotions, so if you would like more details on how to set up a promotion utilizing the Shortstack application, please feel free to contact me. It’s a great tool and it also includes a great support team.

Entrants are invited to upload a photo showing how much they enjoy tomatoes for a chance to win in the NatureSweet Spring Sweepstakes

NatureSweet Tomatoes just kicked off their second sweepstakes that they are running this year with us. They are a new client that we will be working with throughout 2018. The NatureSweet Spring Sweepstakes is offering the chance for three grand prize winners to each receive a Yeti ® Cooler Prize Pack which has a value of $500.

NatureSweet is inviting people to enter online by visiting NatureSweetSweeps.com, filling out the form and submitting a photo that shows them, their friends, or their family enjoying tomatoes. Entrants also have the option of posting their photo to their Instagram account first and then including the Instagram URL address of the posted photo in the proper field on the entry form. The sweepstakes runs till May 21 when we will then conduct the random drawing to determine the three lucky winners.

We are again using the Shortstack Application to build the entry form and collect all the entrant’s data and the photos. All of Shortstack’s entry pages are mobile friendly from the start with Shortstack’s “One Campaign for any screen” design philosophy. They added some new features to the platform last year that make adding CSS coding very easy for those of us that don’t have much programming experience. If you would like more details on how to set up a promotion utilizing the Shortstack platform, please feel free to contact me. It’s a great tool and it also includes a great support team. We will soon be using the application to create a campaign that allows for hashtag entries and pulls in the posted photos from either Instagram or Twitter. So look for that post soon.

NatureSweet started off the year with their Snacking for the Big Game Sweepstakes which coincided with the NFL’s kickoff of the road to the Super Bowl They are promoting this new sweepstakes similar to their first sweepstakes, in various grocery stores with point of sale pieces that match the graphic above.

Since this Spring Sweepstakes just launched this week we don’t see any photos posted yet. We’ve given our client’s team accessibility to the campaign so that they can approve or disapprove the photo to be posted on the site. I recall my very first photo upload sweepstakes about 8 years ago that we did which didn’t have this capability where photos were automatically posted. You would not believe what some people posted. So no inappropriate photos with tomatoes will be seen here!

New website, AllTheFitness.com, runs sweepstakes to gain new members

We recently started working with a new online company, AllTheFitness.com, that is utilizing a sweepstakes to help launch their business. They just kicked off the sweepstakes that we are administering at the end of March. They are inviting people to sign up to become an AllTheFitness.com VIP member which will automatically earn them five entries into each monthly sweepstakes drawing. The membership costs $2,95 per month and it provides members with exclusive content that includes fitness and nutrition guides. They will also have access to discounts and special offers that AllTheFitness.com will be offering with various partners just for their members. These offers will cover everything from fitness apparel, gear, equipment and more.

The sweepstakes is giving away three Concept 2 Model D Rowers, one per month at the end of April, May and June. As the sweepstakes administrators, we will randomly draw a winner about 5 days after each registration period ends. The first period runs through April 30, the second runs May 1 through May 31 and the third runs June 1 through June 30. Besides earning the five entries for each month they are a member, they may also receive bonus entries for making purchases on the AllTheFitness.com website and also by referring friends. So the company is hoping that this sweepstakes will help get the word out about their membership program. Here below is a video they created which is on YouTube and is also featured in online ads they are running.

If you’re wondering if the no purchase necessary rule for sweepstakes in the United States applies, yes it does. Anytime that you run a sweepstakes which is asking for purchase in order to gain an entry you have to offer what we call an A.M.O.E, alternate means of entry. The AMOE is explained in the full official rules which are posted on the website. For this sweepstakes we have included a mail-in address that people can mail in an envelope including their contact information. They are only allowed one entry per envelope, but in this case can send in up to 140 envelopes per registration period which is the maximum amount of entries anyone can receive. Right now we have received quite a few mail-in entries for the first period.

The Concept 2 Model D Rowers each have a retail value of $900. So that’s a pretty nice incentive to try out the membership. Members can cancel at any time and their initial five entries will still be good for that period’s drawing. So I wish AllTheFitness.com good luck in reaching their goal and either way we’ll have three lucky winners by early July.

Instagram Giveaway from CLUBMAN and barber influencer Tyrik Jackson partner up to promote new products

We started working last year with a company called American International Industries (AII Beauty). They are mostly known by their over 60 different beauty and skin care brands. These brands include Andrea, Ardell Beauty, Body Drench, China Glaze, CLUBMAN Pinaud, EzFlow, GiGi, Hollywood Fashion Secrets, ibd Beauty and Salon Perfect to name a few.

We’ve been assisting them with running many sweepstakes, or giveaways as they prefer to call them, each month for their different brands. Most of these are promoted on the Instagram pages for each brand. This year they have been partnering with different influencers to help spread the news about these giveaways and their products. Right now they launched a new giveaway yesterday that they are partnering with Tyrik Jackson for the CLUBMAN Pinaud brand.  The brand was originally founded in France in 1810, and today its CLUBMAN line of men’s toiletries can be found in virtually every barber shop and men’s club across the United States. These products include colognes, after shave lotions, skin and hair tonics, talcs, deodorants, hair-care products and shave creams.

Tyrik Jackson is is known as the Millionaire Barber who is a Coach, Mentor, Educator Founder and owner of Premier Barber Institute and Sharper Image Barbers. He has 36.8K followers on Instragram, @iamtyrikjackson, and offers the Tyrik Jackson app available for download in iTunes.

CLUBMAN is providing the prizes for this Barber Box and Aftershave Lotion Giveaway. One Grand Prize winner will receive a newly released CLUBMAN Barber Box which includes one of each of the following: Classic Clubman Aftershave, Charcoal Face Mask, Clubman Shave Oil, Molding Putty, Light Hold Pomade, Classic Barber Shave Cream, Beard & Tattoo Oil, No Bumps Gel, Head Shave Gel and Clubman Finest Powder. One First Prize winner will receive three newly released liquor inspired CLUBMAN Aftershaves, one Whiskey Woods, one Brandy Spice and one Gent’s Gin.  Participants need to follow both @Clubmanpinaud and @iamtyrikjackson, then re-post the #Join the Club Giveaway photo shown here on their Instagram page and use the hashtags #ClubmanPinaud, #Clubmanbarberbox, #Tyrikclubmangiveaway and #Free99. Participants are also asked to tag three barbers in their post. By completing all requirements they receive one entry  into the sweepstakes.

Followers have up till  04/03/18 at 9:30am (ET) to submit an entry via Instagram. Winners will be announced on 04/03/18 live on #tyriktalkstuesday.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette launches the Slide, Scratch & Win Instant Win Game with $15,500 worth of prizes

A new promotion for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette just kicked off this week that we are again assisting them with. A few months back we helped them run the Slide Into a Grand Sweepstakes which coincided with the launch of their NewsSlide app in order to encourage downloads. Their new promotion, the Slide, Scratch & Win Instant Win Game is to further help to continue the goal of increasing awareness and downloads of the app.

Once people have downloaded the app they need to navigate to the ad that promotes the sweepstakes within the app. Once they find it they first need to submit their name and email address in the required fields on the entry form. After that’s completed they can then play the game to find out if they are an instant winner.

Entrants are invited to play the game once per day during the sweepstakes period. Ten winners per day have the chance to win the $500 in daily prizes which are two $100 prizes, one $75 prize, two $50 prizes and five $25 prizes. The game runs for  31 days, until April 4, and includes a total 310 winners of $15,500 in prizes. All the prizes will be awarded in the form of an Amazon eGiftCard. We’ve been working with PG’s agency, Garrison Hughes, who is also based in Pittsburgh and who created the instant win mechanic.

The PG NewsSlide app contains new technology that attempts to take the daily newspaper audience beyond what is possible with the print edition by providing a deeper, more immersive relationship that includes text, video, animation, photographs and interactive elements including charts, graphs and maps. The platform runs on both iPhone and Android mobile devices including tablets and can be downloaded for free from the iTunes or Google Play Store.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette received just over 2,000 entries into the Slide Into a Grand Sweepstakes which amounts to more than 2,000 downloads of the NewsSlide App. They will be promoting the new Instant Win Game on Facebook, so we’ll see if we can beat that number with this promotion.

Here’s two getaway sweepstakes to help cure the winter blues

Here is western New York we’re tired of the winter and the gray days. Many of us would love to get away to a warmer climate so it’s a great time to run a promotion offering a prize that does just that. Here are two sweepstakes we’re administering that are offering a chance to win a getaway.

The first is from the tourism folks for Nassau Paradise Island who have teamed up with Cubbies swimsuits to offer this getaway. We have been working with their agency, Verb Interactive, who specializes in the travel industry. Today actually is the last day that you can enter the “Build Your Bahamas Weekend Getaway with Chubbies and Nassau Paradise Island” Sweepstakes. The prize consists of a three-night stay for two at Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas, All Inclusive, round trip air transportation and a pair of swimsuits from Chubbies. To enter people just have to submit their name and contact information on the entry form for a chance to win this weekend trip for two in Nassau Paradise Island.

Cubbies is launching a new collection inspired by Nassau Paradise Island and they created this video to promote their swimsuits and the new resort. Looks pretty nice!

The other sweepstakes is Joffery’s Coffee To Castle Sweepstakes which runs till March 18. We’ve been running these sweepstakes for Joffery’s for the past four years. They again are offering a chance to win a Walt Disney World® vacation. To enter people just have to submit their name and contact information on the entry form for a chance to win this trip.

Joffrey’s is the Official Specialty Coffee of Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort and Disney Vacation Club. This trip includes a 5-day/4-night grand prize vacation package to the Walt Disney World® Resort including hotel, airfare, theme park tickets, plus a $50 Joffrey’s Beverage Card to use for coffee and treats at Joffrey’s kiosks throughout the Walt Disney World® Resort!

I’ll be heading to warmer climate for a vacation back to Mexico in two weeks. Looking forward to it!

Green Giant offers chance to join them All Aboard in the Hungry Girl Cruise Sweepstakes

The daily morning Hungry Girl newsletter has been coming to my inbox for several years now. I’ve been a fan of Hungry girl and have shared their site with many and have even purchased some of the Hungry Girl cookbooks. HungryGirl.com was first started in 2004 by Lisa Lillien, who now has over a million subscribers to her free daily email subscription in which she sends out recipes, advice and much more. Rather than give up some of the food that she enjoyed, Lisa  realized she could remake such food into more healthy options which she shares with her readers. She also started the Hungry Girl Cruise in which the first one was so successful, she’s hosting another one this April.

The Hungry Girl Cruise includes a 7-night itinerary aboard Holland America’s ms Nieuw Amsterdam. It starts in Ft. Lauderdale and stops at Half Moon Bay in the Bahamas, George Town Cayman Islands, Cozumel Mexico, and Key West Florida. The cruise includes many Hungry Girl onboard events such as cooking demos, presentations and panel discussions, parties and get-together’s, workouts and deck walking and of course Hungry Girl dinner entries from Hungry Girl recipes. Lisa will be on board leading most of these events and interacting with all the guests.

It was a pleasant surprise when we were contacted by the Brandon Agency though our sister company, Alliance Sweepstakes, who requested help with a sweepstakes for one of their clients, Green Giant. I was glad to assist them with the sweepstakes administration for the “All Aboard! Join Green Giant on the Hungry Girl Cruise” Sweepstakes. Participants just need to visit the promotional website and fill out and submit the entry form for a chance to win. The sweepstakes just recently started and runs just till February 28. So I’ll be doing the drawing soon for one lucky winner who will receive accommodations, all the events and on board meals on the Hungry Girl Cruise for them and their guest along with round-trip airfare for two from the winners home to Ft. Lauderdale.

The Brandon Agency stated that they hope to run more sweepstakes for Green Giant this year, so I will report on those as they are launched.

In the meantime, since I did write this post last week about the Winter Olympics, I just wanted to say that I’ve been following the competitions since the games started. I was so glad to watch Lindsay Von last night get the bronze medal in the women’s alpine skiing downhill event. It appeared that she was going to take the silver medal until one of the later skiers from Norway beat her time. This is most likely her last Olympic downhill event but she does have one more event. Tonight we can watch her take on U.S. teammate Mikaela Shiffrin in the Alpine combined, which adds the times of a downhill and one run of slalom. I’ll be watching this as well!