Hashtag Promotions Archives - American Sweepstakes

Breathe Easy Sweepstakes from Poo-Pourri requests participants to produce and post their own videos

You might have seen some of the very unique video ads that Poo~Pourri has created on YouTube while you’re waiting for another video to start. They’ve produced some very engaing and funny videos to talk about a product that no one really wants to talk about. If you haven’t seen this lady in the blue dress who is in the ads and has a nice English accent then click on this link to watch.

Poo-Pourri is a pure blend of natural essential oils that stops bathroom odor before it begins developed by Scentsible LLC. We are currently assisting them with their 2018 Breathe Easy Sweepstakes. They have invited people to show how the chemical-free formula of Poo~Pourri helps them to Breathe Easy by producing and posting their own video for a chance to win up to a $500 Amazon gift card.

Participants can enter multiple ways. They can post their video to their personal Instagram or Twitter account using the promotional hashtag #BreatheEasySweepstakes and tagging @poopourri. They can also post it on Facebook by visiting the Poo-Pourri Facebook page, finding the sweepstakes post and including the link to their video in a comment to the post. There is also this sweepstakes webpage that participants can visit and fill out the sweepstakes registration form and include a link to their video.

There are actually four periods to this sweepstakes and it’s now in the final countdown ending tomorrow, May 31st. Each week one random winner is drawn who will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. Once the sweepstakes ends, one Grand Prize winner will be randomly selected from all entries who will receive a $500 Amazon gift card.

We are again using the Shortstack application to assist with this sweepstakes. We have created this online webpage that pulls all the posts from both Instagram and Twitter that have used the promotional hashtag #BreatheEasySweepstakes. I wrote a post last month about two new hashtag sweepstakes we are running for Danmar Equipment that did just that. In their case we are also hosting the promotional websites so participants can enter multiple ways, either on Twitter or Instagram, or through an online entry form. So this is a new feature that we’re seeing more and more of our clients using.

We anticipate doing more of these types of promotions that utilize hashtag entries. 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. Hope you enjoyed the Poo-Pourri ads.

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.

June is the time to celebrate dads and grads

Yesterday was the first of June which officially kicks of the month of grads, dads and weddings, at least that’s what most marketers what us to think. However during the month of May I was honored to attend my daughter’s graduation ceremony which was held at the University of Miami (see photo of her and I). She graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine which is actually located in St. Kitts. Miami was a little easier for many of us in the U.S. to get to. Congratulations to Alex and to all the college grads of the class of 2017. Now we move on to the high school seniors.

Father’s day is also in June, Sunday the 18th this year. We are currently working on several sweepstakes promotions with a company called Infinium Spirits who has many different alcohol beverage brands. They are promoting their Templeton Rye Whiskey brand with their first sweepstakes which is celebrating Father’s Day. The Templeton Rye Whiskey Dad Sweepstakes recently launched and runs till June 30 offering four people a chance to each win a Templeton Rye Gift pack valued at $250.

People are invited to submit a photo of themselves with their dad, or the father figure in their life, by posting it to either Twitter or Instagram and including the promotional hashtag #TRWHISKEYDADSWEEPSTAKES. We are again utilizing the SEEN hashtag campaign management platform since this type of promotion just uses a hashtag as a means of entry. This ease of entry is one of the biggest benefits of using a hashtag only entry, plus it provides additional social sharing that can help increase the reach of the promotion. The platform pulls in all the posts from Twitter and Instagram that use the promotion-specific hashtag and allows for those posts to be shown in the gallery page as you see here. It allows you to moderate the posts so that you may approve or disapprove them before they are posted to the gallery.

One additional benefit of using this hashtag management tool is that it provides a place to post the official rules that are needed for any sweepstakes or contest. The team at Infinium is promoting the sweepstakes at point-of-sale at various retail locations that carry the brand as well as on their social media sites. It appears that they’re off to a good start with participation on the page since I’ve approved a few posts that are now visible in the gallery. I even posted one of myself with my dad that was taken a few years ago the week of his birthday.

Hope all you dads have a very happy Father’s Day. Make sure to give your dad a big hug and kiss, or a phone call if you can’t be with him, and at the very least, give him a toast. I lost my dad this past March so I will just have to settle for a toast this year.

Grillin’ with Dad Sweepstakes helps celebrate Father’s Day

The calendar says it’s June 1 today and the summer season is officially here. It’s a month known in the marketing world as “Dads, Grads and Brides” when we will be celebrating Father’s Day, school graduations, weddings and also the flag. It’s the month where our backyards really come to life again. All the flowers and plants are in full bloom and we have our outdoor living space back again, at least those of us in the northern part of the country.

The month of June provides great opportunities for small businesses to reach out to customers with an incentive to visit their stores, restaurants or websites. According to a National Retail Federation survey, the average person will spend $117 on a gift for Dad which amounts to $12.7 billion in total spending. Wives, moms, children are all starting to think about gift giving and doing something special on June 19 for the fathers in their lives.

Taking dad out for lunch or dinner is a very popular way to celebrate. We’re working with this restaurant chain from Texas to assist them with their “Grillin’ with Dad” Sweepstakes. The Cotton Patch Cafe is inviting people from now till Father’s Day to visit one of their restaurants, located across Texas and in Oklahoma and New Mexico, with the father figure in their life. Once there, they need to take a photo of themselves with their dad and post it on Instagram or Twitter or upload to the CottonPatch Cafe Facebook page and use the hashtags #CottonPatch and #Grill4DadSweepstakes. They also have the option of including a comment explaining their dad’s/father figure’s best grilling tip.

One Grand Prize winner will receive a Weber Performer® 22” Grill valued at $400 and four First Prize winners will each receive a grilling essentials kit. We are again utilizing the SEEN hashtag campaign management platform for this sweepstakes since it has a hashtag only as a means of entry on Instagram and Twitter. The platform pulls in all the posts from Twitter and Instagram that use the promotion-specific hashtags and allows for those posts to be shown in the gallery page as you see here. This platform allows the sponsor the option to moderate the posts so that they may approve or disapprove them before they are posted to the gallery. Since the sweepstakes just started, we don’t see any posts on the gallery page as of yet. This ease of entry method is one of the biggest benefits of using a hashtag only entry and it also provides additional social sharing that can help increase the reach of the promotion.

This is just a good example of how a business can tie in their marketing to the current season with a promotion and social media as well. If you would like to share any promotions that you are doing related to the summer, I would be glad to feature them here as well.

So enjoy the summer and happy Father’s Day to all you dads.

Cranberry Marketing Committee kicks of the #YesYouCranSweepstakes to promote the SuperFood of the month

For those of us in the northeastern part of the country you wouldn’t know it’s now Spring. I came back this weekend from a vacation at the beach in Mexico and woke up to snow on Monday morning. The vacation was very great though and the reason I haven’t written here for a couple of weeks.

One of our new spring promotions is the Yes, You Cran! Sweepstakes sponsored by the Cranberry Marketing Committee. They have partnered with the Compass Group to feature cranberries as the super food of the month in April 2016. The Compass Group is one of the world’s largest foodservice management companies and will feature cranberries in many of its U.S. facilities, which include school and university dining centers, business cafés, healthcare facilities and more.

Accompanying the superfood promotion is the Yes, You Cran! Sweepstakes. During the month of April participating Compass Group foodservice locations will be displaying promotional signage and serving recipes within their facilities. People who visit one of these institutions are invited to enter the Sweepstakes by taking a photo of one of these cranberry promotions that may include cranberry posters, signs, recipe cards, sampling events, demonstrations or dishes, and then posting it on Twitter or Instagram. Participants must also include the promotion hashtag, #YesYouCranSweepstakes and must follow the Sponsor on Instagram @USCranberries or Twitter @USCranberries.

A total of 20 weekly prize winners will each receive a $100 gift card. One of the winners from week four will be randomly selected and win a prize for the facility that they took their photo from who will win a catered cranberry celebration.

“We love that Compass is able to shine a spotlight on cranberries during what some may consider the off season. Cranberries are a versatile fruit that can provide unique health benefits to consumers all year long,” said CMC Executive Director Michelle Hogan. “And we’re particularly eager to reinforce this message across school cafeterias, since cranberries count toward the school foodservice fruit servings required for the National School Lunch Program.”

We are utilizing the SEEN hashtag campaign management platform for these types of promotions that just use a hashtag as a means of entry. This ease of entry is one of the biggest benefits of using a hashtag only entry, plus it provides additional social sharing that can help increase the reach of the promotion. The platform pulls in all the posts from Twitter and Instagram that use the promotion-specific hashtag and allows for those posts to be shown in the gallery page as you see here. It allows you to moderate the posts so that you may approve or disapprove them before they are posted to the gallery. You can read more about the benefits and drawbacks on this entry method by reading the post Alex Ditty from Seen wrote on this blog here.

It appears that they’re off to a good start with participation on the page. One additional benefit of using the hashtag management tool that I almost forgot to mention is that it provides a place to post the official rules that you need for any sweepstakes or contest. That should not be overlooked.

Purina ties into Thanksgiving with #DogThanking Promo

My post today is relevant to this holiday since it is the eve of Thanksgiving . This is when we all should express what we are thankful for. I am personally blessed with many things to be thankful for, most importantly the good health of me and my family and our well-being.

However, today I am especially very thankful for our dogs. Our 12-year old Golden Retriever, Shadow, went under yesterday to have a abscess removed from his eyelid and his teeth cleaned at the same time. The look he gave me as I walked out of the vet’s room and left him with this stranger, would break any mother’s heart. He is very glad to be back home and sleeping it off quite well. I can’t help thinking that he is getting old and won’t be with us forever. This makes me appreciate the time I have with my dogs even more.

Here’s a Thanksgiving-themed promotion from Purina PetCare that is running now through Nov. 29. Purina is inviting dog owners to post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram why they are thankful for their dog. For every original post submitted that includes @Purina and the hashtag, #dogthanking, Purina will donate one dollar to the AKC Canine Health Foundation, up to $75,000, to help further pet health research.

On top of that, Purina plans to share some of the posted videos, photos and posts during the National Dog Show Presented by Purina on Thanksgiving Day on NBC. This show is a tradition that we watch after the Thanksgiving parade each year. Purina is promoting the initiative on its Facebook page, via its Twitter account and on Instagram.

Purina has had the support of Olympic figure skater and fashion commentator Johnny Weir who helped kick off the campaign by thanking his dog Tema: “Tema is my little prince, and always there wagging his tail when I get home. He brings so much joy to my life, and I am so thankful for his companionship,” Weir said of his Japanese Chin. Weir will also appear on the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving day.

So I’m now going to create my post and share why I am so thankful for my dogs. If you’re a dog owner, please share yours as well.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.