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Makeover My Mom Contest from Lane Bryant celebrates Moms
Mother’s Day is this Sunday and while I appreciate a day that celebrates moms, I feel it has become a bit too commercial. Whatever form of media you may engage in right now you will see a “Mom” message in one form or another. Marketers have again come out in full force positioning their products as the perfect gift for mom. For me, what I really want this Mother’s Day is warm weather and, as tradition, some flowers to plant.
One of our company’s long-standing clients is Lane Bryant and each year they tend to run a Mother’s Day promotion. Last year I wrote about their Mom and Me Photo Contest. This year we are assisting them with running the Makeover My Mom Contest. Consumers were invited to visit the Lane Bryant Facebook page and click on the Contest app to participate. During the submission period, you could submit an essay (up to 250 words) describing why your mom deserves a makeover.
The Submission Period ended a few days ago and we’re now in the Voting Period of the Contest. All of the submissions are posted in the Contest app and the general public is invited to vote for the one that they find most deserving of the Grand Prize. The three submissions that receive the most votes by the end of Mother’s Day, May 11, will become contest finalists. The sponsor will then have their panel of judges review these three submissions and determine the winners based on the following criteria: Entrant’s genuine love for their mother (50%) and the Entrant’s creativity and uniqueness (50%).
The Grand Prize Winner will receive a trip for two to the Lane Bryant Corporate Office in Columbus, OH, which includes round-trip airfare, 2 nights hotel accommodations and a $500 Lane Bryant makeover for the Winner’s Mother or Mother-figure. The other two finalists will each receive a $250 Lane Bryant gift card. The winners will be contacted next week, around May 14.
We’ve been experiencing some issues with contests that include public voting, so we now make sure that the official rules include a clause that state that the Sponsor may disqualify any vote or voters who tamper or attempting to tamper with the voting process or who may submit more than the one vote per day allowed. The rules also states that the use of any voting board or voting forums are not allowed and anyone suspected of using them may be subject to disqualification. Including a judging component to determine the final winner also allows the Sponsor the ability to choose the submission that best meets the criteria and not just solely determined by votes. This is a recommendation that we consistently make to our clients when setting up a public voting contest.
There appears to be over 800 submissions in the contest and many of the submissions, from what I have read, include some heartwarming stories. So it appears the contest has been a success. Happy Mother’s Day to all those moms who’s stories are shared here as well as the rest of us moms. Mother’s Day is a bit depressing for those of us whose moms are no longer living, which some of the contest stories shared. The holiday now reminds me of how much I miss my mom and how I really miss saying the word “mom”. It is one of the first words we learn and one we tend to take for granted. Happy Mothers Day Mom.