We rarely get to tell prize winners face to face, so we can only imagine their reactions when we put down the phone. We can only hope that it’s a little bit like this …

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So our plea to everyone that enters prize draws and competitions is please check your email or listen and reply to phone messages. Perhaps our emails go into your junk folder? Perhaps you think we’re trying to sell you something when we leave a message on your mobile? Please don’t be surprised to receive a notification (occasionally) that you’ve won!

We hate to think you’ve gone to all the trouble (and sometimes expense) of entering a prize draw only to miss out on actually claiming it. And so would our clients, because ultimately they run prize promotions to reward their customers.

Do let us know if you have any thoughts on how we can communicate with winners more successfully.

Here’s an overview of what we covered at Cybher 2012 for anyone that missed it, and for those of you who’d like to see the points again.

We are not electricians

All UK Marketing Communications must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. A prize promotion is a marketing communication.

Name your prize promotion correctly – a competition requires an element of skill while a prize draw/giveaway is a game of chance and winners are chosen randomly.

Under the Gambling Act 2005 it is illegal to charge people an inflated price to enter a prize draw or to pay an entry fee. It is within the law to charge people to enter a competition as long as there is a genuine element of skill. ‘Where do Florida Oranges come from?’ – is an example of a competition question for which there is no element of skill.

There is a code for UK Marketing Communications written by the Committee of Advertising Practice and applied by The Advertising Standard Authority – it’s called The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing and is known as the Cap code. It’s recognised by the courts, OFT and Government and the established means of consumer protection in non-broadcast media. All prize promotions must adhere to the code.

The ASA’s digital remit covers non-paid for space. This includes Facebook, Twitter, websites and blogs. Anyone can complain to the ASA about a prize promotion that is not conducted properly.

This is a real example of a response to a compliant made to the ASA. It will remain on the ASA’s website forever ‘Bentleys of Blackpool stated they had withdrawn the competition because the first winners had left the guest house unimpressed and they did not wish to offer prizes to such people and therefore cancelled the competition’

You can download a copy of the code for free from www.cap.org.uk

Facebook also has its own set of regulations for how prize promotions can be run. These are in addition to the CAP code. You can find them here www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php

It is not acceptable to like something on a wall as a means to entering a prize draw on Facebook.

Rafflecopter facilitates prize draw – but that is all. It is a US application.

Think about who can and can’t enter your prize promotion. Do you really want to send a prize to Hawaii?

Include a closing date and time. And don’t change it once the promotion is live.

State how many prizes you are giving away and make it clear what is, or isn’t included.

Creative competitions require judging criteria. Stating the winner will be the ‘best’ entry is not enough information for anyone to understand what the judges will be looking for.

Pick winners appropriately – draws should be conducted randomly by a person who is independent to you and the results verified. Competitions should be judged appropriately by an independent person with related experience in the subject of the competition.

A real example of how prize draws should not be conducted: ‘I was given some tickets to LEGOLAND. I kept three for myself then picked winners within a reasonable distance from my office so they could come and collect their prize tickets’.

Post promotion, don’t give away entrants details or contact them for any reason other than prize fulfilment, unless you have their permission to do so. Check to see if you should register with the Information Commissioners Office to store entrants data www.ico.gov.uk

We love prize promotions and just want everyone to understand how to conduct them well.

For great inspiration on how to run fun comps and prize draws from your blog, take a look at our Cybher session host Di Coke’s blog.

Thank you.

You could win one of these at Cybher

We are running a prize draw at Cybher – retro style! Leave your business card or just scribble your name and contact details on a piece of paper and drop it into Di Coke’s hat at the end of our session. We’ll have a winner picked on Monday and  the candle with you by the end of the week. You’ll find us talking with Super Lucky Di from 11.05am in the big old Ballroom about how to run really brilliant prize promotions from your blog.

See you then!

Terms and conditions: Prize draw open to all Cybher 2012 attendees aged 18 years and over, and resident in the UK. To enter the prize draw, leave your name and contact details in the Spark & Fuse hat at the ballroom between 11.20am and 12.10pm on Saturday 12th May 2012. Only one entry per person. No responsibility can be accepted for entries which are not received in the hat for whatsoever reason. The winner will be drawn at random by an independent person on Monday 14th May 2012. The winner will be notified by twitter, email or phone within 2 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted within a further 28 days, the prize will be forfeited and a redraw will take place. The prize is a Jo Malone candle worth £38 of the winner’s choice from the Home Range. The prize must be accepted as offered. There is no cash or alternative prize. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, promoter reserves the right to offer an alternative prize of equal or greater value. The promoter’s decision is final and binding. No correspondence will be entered into. Entry implies acceptance of these terms and conditions. Winner’s  name available 28 days after closing date. Send an email to bright.sparks@sparkandfuse.com. The promoter is Spark & Fuse Marketing.

Only two sleeps until Cybher 2012! We’ve polished our talk (and our shoes) and now we’re feeling excited (and actually quite a bit nervous) about the big day. We’re so excited and honoured to be included in such an impressive line up of speakers.

In keeping with the title given to us by @Geekisnewchic as ‘Competition Gurus’ we want to make sure that everyone who comes to hear us talk leaves with lots of best practice advise and the confidence to run a prize promotion properly. We’ll have some handy postcards with top tips for you to take away, too. We’re looking forward to meeting Di Coke as we’ll be taking the stage with her and we can’t wait to meet all our Twitter friends!

Love Spark & Fuse x

This is Fuse

Name: Juliette ‘Fuse’ Thomas
Twitter ID: @sparkandfuse
Blog: www.sparkandfuse.com/news
Height: 5ft 5
Hair: Brown 

Five things you should know about me:
1. I am Scottish
2. I once won a Landrover Freelander in a prize draw
3. I lived in Japan for a year
4. I love travelling and have just returned from Beijing where I was offered cricket, tarantula or scorpion for my tea
5. It’s a popular misconception that I am a Bruce Springsteen fan
 

This is Spark

Name: Sarah ‘Spark’ Burns
Twitter ID: @sparkandfuse
Blog: www.sparkandfuse.com/news
Height: 4ft 11
Hair: Brown (with help) 

Five things you should know about me:
1. I used to be a Thai kickboxer
2. I once left my baby at the dentist (not intentionally)
3. I love MGM musicals and named my son after the legendary Gene Kelly
4. I am very envious of anyone that can breakdance
5. I have absolutely no sense of direction and frequently get lost even with a map, GPS system or any other direction-helping device.

For entry details just follow the instructions below. You’ve got until 12.01 (EST) on 3rd May 2012 to enter. Full terms and conditions are on Rafflecopter.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unfortunately we’ve seen this approach too many times, and it does not comply with the CAP code and IPM best practise guidelines. The CAP Code states ‘Promoters of prize draws must ensure that prizes are awarded in accordance with the laws of chance and, unless winners are selected by a computer process that produces verifiably random results, by an independent person, or under the supervision of an independent person’.

We’ve heard all manner of excuses from promoters as to why they don’t need to use an independent source or verifiable computer process, ‘it’s not a serious prize draw’ and ‘it’s not a very high value prize’ or ‘I’m just a blogger so it doesn’t apply to me’. Some businesses are simply unaware of this requirement altogether.

Fact is, if you are hosting a prize promotion, it must comply with the CAP code. It matters not if you’re a micro business and the pool of entrants is a bit on the teeny tiny side. A draw has to be conducted appropriately. If entrants take the time to interact with your promotion, then you, as the promoter, must run the draw fairly and ensure everyone has an equal chance of winning. All promotions, big or small are devised to create excitement around a brand or product, so stating ‘it’s only a bit fun’ is not an excuse to flout the code.

Prize promotion entrants can be a vocal bunch, and, quite rightly, don’t appreciate it when a draw is conducted in an unfair manner. And don’t think you won’t get found out either! Every week we are sent numerous Twitter and Facebook examples where promoters have clearly awarded a prize on a basis which suits themselves. And who can forget the Blue Peter fiasco? Don’t open yourself (or a client) to public outcry and criticism. It only takes one person to complain to the Advertising Standard Authority and you could be expected to fund additional prizes, pay a fine or face a social media and PR nightmare. Can you imagine a potential customer googling your brand instead to be taken directly to the ASA site with details of the breach? Persistently flout the code and this is exactly what will happen. We don’t make this stuff up!

Call us biased, but we know that running a prize draw IS fun and it IS a brilliant way to create excitement and positive discussions around your brand on- and offline. It’s a great way to engage old and new customers. Have your winners properly selected and you’ll see how satisfying it can be. Pick them because they’re your mates, and it might end up being the last promotion you ever want to see …

Is this how you do your draw?

The answer is, no. Well, not if you ask Apple. It’s old news that Apple does not give permission for anyone to give away its latest iPad and iPhone models and that it will enforce this rule. In the first instance Apple will not sell these products if the sole purpose is a prize promotion and anyone who buys a quantity of units is likely to raise suspicion at Apple HQ and will be denied further purchasing rights.

Protecting the exclusiveness of a brand is fair play, but we would argue that once you’ve paid for a product it’s yours to do with as you will, as long as you don’t imply the brand is actually endorsing the giveaway or break any laws. However, we do believe that it is for these very reasons you should proceed with caution before going ahead with an Apple product giveaway.

For those products which Apple does permit third-party promotional activity, a set of detailed instructions is available as to how these promotions can or cannot look. Like all big companies, Apple controls the way its brand image is used, which is absolutely their prerogative. If your product giveaway is authorised, you can use the Apple logo and make reference to the product in its entirety. If your giveaway is not authorised, you can’t use anything which has been Trademark protected – such as the Apple logo or the word iPad. We’re not lawyers and neither do we claim to be experts in this area, and it’s quite possible we’ve oversimplified the matter, but making your promotion look as though it has been enforced by Apple, or using their icons without permission would breach The Trade Marks Act 1994. It is via this route that Apple could enforce its rule and promoters could find themselves in trouble.

Apple has been known to sue on grounds of breach of trademark but we do not know if it is actively pursuing misuse under these circumstances.  We do know though that every day there are a huge number of promotions offering much coveted Apple products as prizes and all promoters should be aware of The Trade Marks Act 1994 before deciding whether or not to offer one as a prize.

We’d love to know what you think, especially if you’re giving away an iPad or iPhone. And we’d be keen on feedback from anyone better qualified to comment on trademark laws – are we right?

We’re delighted to announce that both Spark and Fuse will be speaking at Cybher 2012 – the first female blogger event of its kind in the UK. This one-day event will bring together the most influential bloggers and speakers from all corners of the blogosphere to network, inspire, share and learn. It’s taking place on 12th May 2012 at 8 Northumberland Avenue in the heart of London. The line-up of speakers is seriously impressive with some heavyweight bloggers taking to the stage. We’ll be there to share our expertise, wisdom and experience on how to conduct online prize promotions properly. We’re looking forward to advising everyone how to get the details right on their blogs, twitter and Facebook. And we’re really excited about meeting all the great bloggers we’ve met on Twitter in person. Do come and say hello if you’re there!

Read more here …

You can see a full list of Cybher 2012 speakers here and book your place here.