Instagram Contests Archives - American Sweepstakes

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.

Fans of Game of Thrones have their knowledge tested in HBO’s Instagram Contest

The Game of Thrones Season 6 finale was this past Sunday night and I am still talking about it. Yes, I am what you call a hard-core fan of Game of Thrones. I’ve been reading every article that I come across to gain insights of what others saw in the final episode, the Winds of Winter, and to learn more about what theories others think will come true in Season 7. At least now we have a pretty good idea of who Jon Snow’s true parents really are. But no one else knows this, not even Jon Snow.

I came across this Adweek article about this new campaign that HBO launched recently that involves an Instagram Contest for us hard-core fans of Game of Thrones as well as fans of Silicon Valley and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The “Deep Instagram Challenge” tests fan’s knowledge on their Instagram page by having them answer trivia questions to solve clues leading to prizes.

All three challenges are now officially over. The Game of Thrones (GOT) Challenge came first, which launched on June 10. The object of each Challenge was to get to the winning video post by successfully completing multiple levels of word string-type games beginning at the “image of the iconic HBO static” found on HBO’s Instagram page. The first person to successfully complete all the game levels, which led to the winning post, and then make a comment on the winning post, was the Grand Prize winner. There were many dead ends which featured original videos from the show’s stars and fans had to go back and try again.

In the GOT challenge fans knowledge of the seven kingdoms was tested for a chance to win a trip to San Diego Comic-Con and other prizes “worthy of a king or queen”. The Silicon Valley Challenge was launched next on June 13 which offered a chance to win a real-life replica of Erlich’s Aviato car and other prizes “Gilfoyle could only dream of receiving from tech companies vying for his attention”.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was the last challenge which launched on June 15 and ended June 20. The Grand Prize winner received a trip for two people to New York City sometime this Summer to attend a live taping of John Oliver’s show which includes round-trip airfare, 2-night hotel accommodations and ground transportation. Runner-up prizes included 50 “Make Donald Drumpf Again” hats along with some bonus prizes.

“When the iconic HBO static intro lights up their screens, our fans know they’re about to experience something extraordinary,” adds Chris Spadaccini, evp of brand and product marketing at HBO. We think they’ll be excited by this innovative opportunity to go even deeper inside the static intro and engage with the brand on the Instagram platform.”

Here are a couple of the dead-end videos from the GOT Challenges. Stay tuned and follow HBO on Instagram for the next two challenges they have planned. And for us GOT fans, we just have to wait another year for our show to return.

Fans are invited to TOAST, SNAP & POST in Jack Daniels Photo Contest to celebrate Frank Sinatra’s 100th Birthday

Coming from a mostly Italian family in New York we had an early pasta dinner every Sunday and the morning always started out with Frank Sinatra records playing on the stereo. So when I saw this promotion that is celebrating what would have been Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday I couldn’t resist “spreading the news”!

Sinatra passed away 17 years ago and he would have been 100 this Dec. 12. Jack Daniels has launched this Toastmakers contest that invites fans to make toasts in the style of Ol’ Blue Eyes. Now through Dec. 12, people can visit TheToastmakers.com and the Jack Daniels Instagram account to see all the Sinatra-themed toasts.

Frank Sinatra passed away 17 years ago and he would have been 100 this Dec. 12. Jack Daniels has launched this Toastmakers contest that invites fans to make toasts in the style of Ol’ Blue Eyes. Now through Dec. 12, people can visit TheToastmakers.com and the Jack Daniels Instagram account to see all the Sinatra-themed toasts.

The Contest is awarding one Toastmaker the ultimate Sinatra-style weekend. The winner and four friends, the “Rat Pack” will receive a trip to Los Angeles then on to Vegas to spend the weekend hitting some of Frank’s favorite places along the way. This prize package consists of air transportation to Los Angeles, then a tux, or dress, fitting for all to attend dinner in LA (up to $1,000) along with hotel accommodations in LA for all five for a night. Then helicopter transportation from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and hotel accommodations for two nights in Las Vegas.

To enter participants need to TOAST, SNAP and POST. First they need to click the link in the @JackDaniels_US bio on Instagram to connect with the brand and verify their age. Then using Instagram, post one video or photo of their toast and include the hashtag #ToastSinatraContest. A maximum of five unique entries is allowed during the contest period. Videos must be between 3-15 minutes in length.

At the end of the contest a panel of judges will determine the grand prize winner based on the following criteria: 30% Creativity, 30% Originality, 30% Relevancy to the themes of Frank Sinatra and Jack Daniel’s and 10% Technical quality of entry.

The brand has released a JD/Sinatra offering which includes a Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Century whiskey. A one-liter bottle of this limited-edition (100 barrels), 100-proof version, packaged in a gift box along with a CD of previously unreleased tracks of Sinatra performing live at the Sands Casino in 1966, which is selling for $499.99. A bottle of JD Single Barrel goes for about $45.

Frank stated in his Playboy magazine interview in 1963: “I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.”

Rest in peace my friend and Happy Birthday.

This contest from Honest Kitchen is looking for honest pets

I have two dogs, and two cats, I’ve spoken at or attended most all of the BlogPaws Social Media Conferences and one of my daughters is in veterinary school. Therefore, those that know me and/or follow this blog are aware that I’m a big pet lover. So I came across this pet-related promotion this week that I thought I’d share. I’m going to work on entering for the fun of it.

The promotion is from pet food company, The Honest Kitchen, who is looking for the year’s “most honest pets.” Their Honest Pet Contest is inviting people to upload a photo of their pet with a confession caption from now till September 14. Participant’s can enter on their promotional website, honestpetcalendar.com , on Twitter or Instagram using the #HonestPetsContest hashtag or on Facebook by uploading it to the promotional comment on the Honest Kitchen’s Facebook page.

There are no limit to the amount of entries, so there will most likely be many. I’ve posted a couple of my favorite entries. The public is invited to vote for their favorite on the website and can only vote on a submission once during the entire contest.

At the end of the contest five finalists will be selected as “Fan Favorites” based on which entries received the most votes. Out of the five finalists, the Sponsor will select one Grand Prize winner who will receive a pet friendly weekend getaway and be featured in The Honest Kitchen’s 2016 Pet Calendar. All five (5) finalists will receive Honest Kitchen products.

This Grand Prize winner will be based upon the quality of the content submitted and how well it fits the brand. The Grand Prize winner’s trip package to a getaway pet resort for two people and their pet includes round trip airfare to San Diego (including a pet fee) along with 3 day/2 night hotel accommodations at the superior, pet-friendly US Grant Hotel, up to $600 in spending cash and drinks with The Honest Kitchen team at Mission Brewery in downtown San Diego and an a tour of the Honest Kitchen office. The Grand Prize if valued at $3,500.

Also each entrant will receive free food samples and coupons from the Honest Kitchen, so even more reasons to enter. Plus I just learned that today, August 26, is National Dog Day! So treat your dog(s) to something special today. They bring so much love and joy into our lives!

COTA inspires Columbus with the #WhatMovesYou Photo Contest

We’re helping the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) run a fun, regional summer contest right now. COTA helps move central Ohio residents, workers and visitors throughout Central Ohio and in return the people move them. So they recently launched the “What Moves You” Photo Contest to engage with their customers and get insights into what moves them.

The contest is only open to residents of the Greater Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. They are invited to post a photo of “What Moves You” that includes inspiring experiences and sites around the city of Columbus. They can post their photo to either their Twitter or Instagram account and include the promotion hashtags, #WhatMovesYou and #Contest. They must also follow COTA on Instagram @COTABus, if that is their method of entry, or Twitter @COTABus, if that is their method of entry.

Submissions will be accepted up until August 31 and then a panel of judges will use the following judging criteria to select the two grand prize winners: Connection to theme (50%), Photo Quality (25%), Originality and Creativity (25%).

Each winner will then receive a prize package that includes unique experiences from some of the Columbus area’s favorite venues, shops, sports teams, and attractions such as PromoWest (tickets to Passion Pit and Alabama Shakes), Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Franklin Park Conservatory, Homage, The Blowout Bar and more.

Here’s a 30 second video that COTA created to the What Moves You campaign.

I just returned from a trip to Europe where my husband and I did most of all of travels using local transportation. We road on the local and high speed trains as well as the metros, subways, buses and trams and really enjoyed getting a taste of how the local residents move. It’s much more common in European cities to use mass transit then in the majority of cities here in the U.S.

So I applaud COTA for encouraging people to use mass transit in a very creative way. Looks like they are getting a great response so far.