This past Thanksgiving Day was the coldest ever in New York State and we in western New York received some more snow this morning. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. If you were one of the many who bought online from Black Friday to Cyber Monday here are the current statistics: Cyber Monday raked in a record-breaking $7.8 BILLION and $6.22 BILLION in online sales for Black Friday.

So the 2018 Holiday Season is now upon us. Our friends over at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette started off the day after Thanksgiving with the launch of their Holiday Scratch and Win Instant Win Game. We’ve been assisting them throughout the year with various promotions for their NewsSlide app. The first time they ran a similar promotion, the Slide, Scratch & Win Instant Win Game, was back in March. These promotions help to continue the goal of increasing awareness and downloads of the app.

Once again, the game is giving away $15,000 in prizes, all in the form of Amazon eGift Cards. 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 30 days, until December 22, and includes a total 300 winners. We’ve been working with PG’s agency, Garrison Hughes, who is also based in Pittsburgh and who created the instant win mechanic.

People do have to first downloaded the app and then navigate to the ad in the app that promotes the sweepstakes. They just need to submit their name and email address in the entry form to then play the game and find out if they are an instant winner or not.

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.

We are receiving daily updates on the winners and sending them each an email with their code for the Amazon eCard. So these prizes will help to promote more online sales, however, just for Amazon in this case.

PostNet-Merrymaking-2Holiday promotions that include a donation component are very popular with brands as a way to show that they’re giving back. This season one of our clients, PostNet, aims to encourage acts of kindness with the launch of the #PostNetMerrymakers campaign.

Now through December 31, people can enter for a chance to win a $5,000 holiday shopping spree that will be awarded in the form of a check. Participants need to fill out an entry form located here at thePostnet-Hashtag.

They are then encouraging participants to join them in spreading holiday merrymaking by sharing on social media one good deed that they have done, or promise to do, for someone else during the holiday season. For every good dead that is posted on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram that uses the hashtag #PostNetMerrymakers, PostNet will donate $3 to the winner’s choice of four meaningful charities, including JDRF; The ALS Association; United Way; and ASPCA. The maximum donation from PostNet is $50,000.

PostNet-Merry-o-MeterThere are many posts so far which some are featured on the promotional page. Also PostNet has a “Merry-O-Meter” that shows the amount of money that is currently pledged toward the charity donation. No good dead is too small.

PostNet is the leading business-to-business franchise known for providing personalized, business-enhancing print, marketing and shipping solutions. Locally owned and operated PostNet locations offer full-service digital printing; direct mail; signage; document binding and finishing; graphic design; and ancillary business services, like private mailbox rental and more. They also offer professional packaging services and shipping with UPS, FedEx, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service. So the holiday season is a very busy time for them.