In 2009 companies in the U.S. spent $1.83 billion running sweepstakes. Why? They are an effective marketing tool, if executed correctly. The problem is many companies hold a sweepstakes, give away a great prize and do not achieve any benefit for the marketing dollars spent. Again, why? Most companies do not decide on their desired outcome before designing the sweepstakes. Some end results a company may wish to achieve are:
- Brand awareness.
- Product launch.
- Increase their prospect database.
- Better their Google ranking.
Let's assume two companies want to increase their prospect database and decide to run a sweepstakes. A large national firm chooses to run an online sweepstakes advergame giving a prize to a sporting event with an alternative mobile entry method and advertizing across all media platforms. A local restaurant puts out a fishbowl requesting business cards giving away a free meal per month.
The success of the promotion is then determined by what each company does with the data collected. If the large company does nothing and the small company inputs all the contact information collected into a contact database followed by sending each participant a coupon for a discount on their next meal along with adding them to their monthly newsletter subscriber list, the small company's marketing efforts are more successful. It's not about the amount of marketing dollars spent. It's about follow-up and engagement.
Consider adding sweepstakes into your marketing tool belt. Sharpened and honed, it can become your most effective tool.
Author: Carolyn Wilman (aka the @ContestQueen) is the author of You Can't Win If You Don't Enter. As a sweepstakes expert, she helps companies build better promotions from the outside in and has helped others win over $1,000,000 in prizes.