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Beat the January blues with these prize promotions!

By Clair Bodie on January 21, 2013

After all the excitement of Christmas everyone at Spark & Fuse HQ is in need of a pick-me-up to beat off the January blues and help us stick with our New Year resolutions. So we have pulled together some prize promotions to do just that.

Resolution 1:
If, like us, you are on a health kick in 2013 then visit yourhealthyliving.co.uk/win to be in with a chance of winning a selection of natural health goodies, register to enter online, or simply send an email or a postal entry – make sure you include the Free Draw Code. Closes on 28th February 2013.

Resolution 2:
Looking to get into shape this year? Then why not enter this prize draw to win a copy of Zumba® Fitness Core on Nintendo Wii™ and get kitted out in the latest vibrant  Zumba® apparel. Just answer a simple question and register to win. Draw closes 25th January 2013.

Resolution 3:
In need of a total makeover then enter facebook.com/niceneasy to win a two-night break in London for two people including travel, accommodation, a shopping trip with a personal shopper, a makeover with a top hairdresser, a professional photoshoot, dinner and £1,000 spending money. You will need to have a facebook account to enter and will need to nominate the person who has shared the best beauty tip to enter. Draw closes 31st January 2013.

Resolution 4:
Do you need a kick-start to your beauty regime after a little too much food and drink over Christmas? Then this could be just the thing – CN Traveller are offering one lucky winner a personalised skincare programme at QMS Medicosmetics’ flagship store on Sloane Square, London. Including a 60-minute deep-cleansing facial, a 90-minute ‘classic collagen’ facial to revitalise skin, and a 90-minute ‘oxygen’ facial to boost circulation. The prize also includes a three-month supply of QMS’ innovative nutricosmetics Intravital, a supplement that targets skin regeneration from within. Visit Condé Nast Traveller to enter and answer a simple question – there is a link to a clue if you are a little stuck – then submit your details online no later than 31st January 2013 for your chance to win.

No New Year resolution?
If you fancy getting away from the chilly weather then this is the prize draw for you. Visit Walkmag.co.uk and enter your details online to win a fabulous holiday to Dominica. The prize includes a five-night stay with breakfast at Castle Comfort Lodge, near Roseau, return flights and all internal transfers, excursions on the Waitukubuli National Trail with Experience Caribbean, whale watching and a guided one-day tour to local sites and attractions. Draw closes on 20th February 2013.

That’s it for this month and as always please let us know if you win anything! We’ll be back in February with our Valentines prize promotions.

Win spooky Halloween prizes

By Clair Bodie on October 12, 2012

pumpkin carving

Fuse's attempt at Extreme Pumpkin Carving

The nights are drawing in and at Spark & Fuse HQ we have been working hard on our Halloween costumes. The time is nearly upon us to eat loads of sweets, ahem, I mean give sweets to scarily dressed children who knock on our doors trick-or-treating. To help you get into the Halloween spirit we have found some prize promotions to get you ready.

If like us, you have a sweet tooth make sure you visit www.goodtoknow.co.uk to be in with a chance of winning a Haribo Halloween hamper, just answer a simple question. Closes on 17th October 2012.

For those of you who like to be spooked by ghosts then enter this prize draw for your chance to win a Halloween break in the Peak District and a set of two Ghost Walk books. Closes on 15th October 2012.

Looking to entertain your little ones? Then winning some Halloween Stamps could be just the thing. Courtesy of Stampin’ Up, CardmakingandPapercraft.com have six wooden sets to give away for frightening Halloween designs that are not for the faint hearted! Closes on 18th October 2012.

Or if your kids are Scooby Doo fans then you will need their help answering this simple question to win some spooky Halloween DVD’s  including Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King, Pooh’s Heefalump Halloween and Spongebob Squarepants Halloween. Closes on 27th October 2012.

For those looking for the perfect family Halloween day out then tickets to ‘Witches and Wizards’ Halloween at Blenheim Palace could be just the prize for you. Closes on 19th October 2012 (we think!).

Think you’ll need some help to recover after this year’s night of ghosts and ghouls?  Then enter this prize draw to win a Yankee Halloween Candle,  you’ll just need to answer a simple question in order to take part. Closes on 31st October 2012.

Feel free to send us pics of your costumes and pumpkin carvings  - can you better our very own extreme-pumpkin-carver Fuse’s attempt above?!

Ease into Autumn with our prize promotion round up!

By Clair Bodie on September 14, 2012

So the days of flip flops and summer dresses are behind us for another year. At Spark & Fuse we’re digging out our winter woollies and tucking into mugs of hot chocolate.  Fuse has already been spotted in her wrist warmers (!) to ensure she doesn’t strain her cold muscles while she clatters away at her keyboard.

To help ease your transition into Autumn, we’ve dug out a number of prize promotions with great prizes up for grabs that will help you stay warm in the chilly weather.

If it’s a cosy blanket you’re after, then make sure you visit Sawdays who have £500 worth of vouchers to spend on blankets or throws up for grabs, thanks to their friends Atlantic Blanket Company.  Closes 21st September.

Those with a sweet tooth should take note of this promotion. It’s a monthly giveaway and three lucky people will win two GALAXY mugs and a range of delicious GALAXY Hot Chocolate. Just answer a simple question to be in with a chance of winning.  Closes 30 September 2012.

One we’re all going to enter into this one to win £3,000 worth of state-of-the-art wet underfloor heating from Robbens Systems.  To be in with a chance of winning, simply enter your details below before 4pm on the closing date of 31st October 2012.

Or if you’d fancy just escaping the cold completely this is the one for you. You could win yourself a holiday for two to Mauritius  worth £10,000. To enter you’ll need a copy of Condé Nast Traveller October 2012 issue, turn to page 194-195 of the October 2012 issue, and identify the national park and country where the photograph was taken. Make sure to send your entry to arrive by 31 October 2012.

For those that want to jazz up their winter wardrobe try your hand at winning a pair of Pretty Polly tights. You’ll need to sign up for updates to be in with a chance of winning. It’s a monthly draw and you’ll need to scroll to the bottom of the home page for details.

For those looking to jazz up their winter wardrobe with more than a pair of tights, then check out the White Company’s prize promotion. You could win an Autumn wardrobe up to the value of £1,000 with The White Company and a Coach handbag.

Good luck and happy Autumn!

The problem with voting competitions …

By Spark and Fuse on September 11, 2012

There’s been a huge trend towards online voting competitions and many of our clients are keen to introduce this type of prize promotion into their marketing plans. Here at Spark & Fuse, however, we are less keen on this genre and warn anyone considering implementing a voting competition to proceed with caution. The fact is they spell trouble. Voting competitions are plagued with problems that most promoters either have not considered or of which they simply are not aware. The outcome is often far from what may otherwise be expected – disappointed customers, loads of complaints and negative feedback across all social media. Some really big brands, like Yazoo, Co-op and 118 118, have already experienced first-hand the difficulties of running such a campaign.

To run a voting competition without issue is possible but help from an experienced third party is essential. It’s something we know about at Spark & Fuse and advise our clients that if their brand is looking to create a positive customer interaction, they must give the promotion great thought, compile extremely robust terms and conditions, a well built back-end, and allow plenty of time post promotion to research entrants/winners. In short, voting competitions should not be considered lightly, created within a short timeframe or produced without a budget.

We were planning a blog to outline some of the problems with voting competitions, but our good friend and comping blogger Di Coke, has recently written a great piece on the flaws of this very subject – so here’s a link for you to see for yourself what can go wrong.

Win prizes with our Paralympic promotion round-up!

By Spark and Fuse on August 31, 2012

So the excitement is back in East London – and of course further afield, too – with the start of the Paralympics.  To add to this excitement the lovely crew at Spark & Fuse have pulled together a round-up of some current sporty and Paralympic/Olympic related prize promotions for you to enter. You’ll want to be quick to get your entry in for the first and last ones on our list as entries must be received today (31st August).

So a drum roll please for our first promotion …. your chance to win a day with the one and only Jessica Ennis. You’ll need to be free on 25th October 2012 if you win so mark that in your diary now! If you’re not lucky enough to win the day with Jessica, you could also win one of ten GB & NI Team Adidas kits. All you have to do is send in your details to Back The Team to enter the prize draw via Facebook.

Fancy heading abroad? Then try your luck at winning a holiday and flights with Nature Valley. To celebrate their role as Official Supplier of Cereal Bars to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games they’ve teamed up with British Airways to offer you the chance to win Family Holidays to Olympic host destinations. Closes 3rd September.

If you’re a fan of Kate Middleton’s style, you’ll want to check out this promotion in Woman Magazine. You can transform yourself into a sporting princess (apparently) with a pendant in the style of Kate Middleton’s Olympic-themed necklace, exclusively from QVC, if you are the lucky winner. There are eight prizes up for grabs including six pendants, two rings and a necklace. Closes 4th September.

If you didn’t manage to get tickets to the Paralympics then this is the one for you. Castrol is running a series of promotions, giving customers the chance to win tickets to some top sporting events including a trip to Sri Lanka to watch cricket plus 1000’s of other sports prizes. All you need to do is enter your details for the chance to win. This one requires a code from promotional packs but doesn’t close until 30th September so still plenty time to take part. Check out out the Ts and Cs first, as some of the prizes have already been and gone (such as Olympic tickets) although there are still plenty up for grabs.

If cycling is your thing (and I think we’ve been recently been given good reason for it to be our thing!) have a look  at this prize promotion today.  To mark The Cycle Show’s return to Birmingham’s NEC this September, Zest is offering 10 lucky readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to this year’s show, which is open to the public between Friday 28th and Sunday 30th September. Whether you are looking to try out the latest mountain or road bikes, get an autograph from some of Britain’s top pros including Olympians Joanna Rowsell and Ed Clancy as well as Junior World Champ, Lucy Garner, or see top flight BMX riders.

So that’s it for this week.  Good luck and don’t forget to let us know if you win anything!

Win with Euro 2012!

By Juliette Thomas on June 28, 2012

football

With Euro 2012 drawing to a close, and just three teams left with a chance to win the tournament (at time of writing) we wanted to keep the excitement levels high by offering you a round-up of some fun footie-related promotions for you to enjoy.  Some are heading speedily towards their closing dates, so make sure you take a running kick over to these sites pronto…

If you fancy a new 26″ Samsung  Freeview TV, head over to Argos who are running a fab ‘Celebrate 2012‘ promotion (scroll to bottom of Argos homepage). This week there are two TVs up for grabs, and all you need to do is send them a snap of  you spurring on your favourite football team (but don’t forget to photobomb it with aliens first!)

Coral is offering people the chance to ‘pass the ball’ in order to win England shirts, iconic stadium tours and also 50” TVs. And thanks to Jane for explaining how this one works …

For all Manchester City Fans out there, you’ve got until 3rd July to try to bag yourself a copy of Manchester City Champions: The Official Film 2011/2012 courtesy of Sky Sports, and for Liverpool fans check out Lovell Soccer, one lucky winner will win two tickets to watch Liverpool at Anfield, two Warrior Liverpool FC football shirts and a Warrior Goody Bag.

Lufthansa have a whopping 15000 prizes to give away in their Lufthansa Fußball Bingo promotion.

You could win prizes with Diamond Football Company in their fun video promotion.  Just tell them where to find your video of you and your friends doing their ‘Stand in line dance’ and the best videos will appear in a mash up video to be released worldwide and the best versions of the dance will win one of a selection of prizes. So be sure to get your entry in and you could be a star!

If it’s an iPad you’re after (and to be honest who isn’t?) head over to Soccer Bible where you can upload your photo of you and your friends supporting your nation during Euro 2012 for a chance to win one of two iPads!

At Spark and Fuse we’re still enjoying football fever…  and I’m thrilled because I still have a chance of winning the office sweepie. Come on Italy!!

Win some bling!

By Juliette Thomas on May 30, 2012

Win some bling

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few months, you’ll be very much aware that the Diamond Jubilee weekend is almost upon us.

To help you get into the celebrations we’ve decided to tell you about a few promotions we’ve come across on the ‘net (all with a Jubilee theme, of course).

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend apparently so we’ll start with the ones where you could land yourself (or your better half) a fabulous big sparkler – one of which is worth a whopping £10k!

Blue Nile has a very glam Signature Round Diamond up for grabs – if you fancy landing yourself something shiny head on over there now.

Just by saying why you deserve a gorgeous, glittering jewel, you could win a glamorous diamond worth £1,000 courtesy of Carmen Reid.

Metro radio is running a fun promotion where the person in possession of the ring at 6pm on Friday 1st June gets to keep the Princess Cut loose diamond worth £2700! Think ‘pass the parcel’ but with a significantly more exciting prize up for grabs.

And the diamond of all diamonds is being offered by Tatler.  Worth a stunning £10k, and with a simple prize draw mechanic, you’d be off you rocker not to enter.

If you’re in the Southwell area in Nottingham be sure to check out this promotion to win a cash prize.  All you need for your chance to win is keep your peepers open for anything strange in the local shop windows …

For the fashionistas out there you could win yourself 12 fabulous Jubilee inspired dresses courtesy of Fuse Fashion (no relation).

And if you think you’ll need help recovering from all the Jubilee celebrations you might want to try to win yourself a little TLC courtesy of Spa Finder.

Finally not forgetting our younger readers … you could win a Kindle, laptop or Nintendo by taking part in this creative competition. Or if you think you have a tea cup design fit for the Queen then check out this competition.  The winning design will be put into production and presented to Her Majesty!

And as Spark & Fuse aren’t linked in any way to these promotions  for once we’re allowed to enter!  The £10k diamond has Fuse’s name all over it …

Whatever happened to the tie-breaker?

By Spark and Fuse on May 21, 2012

postal entries

Spark & Fuse desks circa 2006!

How the prize promotion landscape has changed! When we first started Spark & Fuse in 2006, Twitter was only a few months old, Facebook had been around for a couple of years but people used it mostly to poke each other and none of our clients had even considered either as a platform for prize promotions. In fact most of the projects on which we worked required postal entry only.

Every day the postman would drop off a bulging Royal Mail postbag, and we literally spent hours counting hundreds of thousands of postcards. It was admittedly not much fun. We also oversaw many a competition for which postal response was the only mechanism for entry. One year we received 32,000 posters drawn by school kids as part of an anti-bullying initiative – there were some very late nights (and tears) shortlisting those. And for many years, we helped to judge a Marks & Spencer Christmas shopping competition where customers had to complete a tie-breaker for a chance to win one of 25 £1,000 store vouchers. Each year on average we received about 12,000 entries and the crates of entries actually reached our office ceiling.

But it’s been years since this office has seen a tie-breaker! And what we mean by tie-breaker is complete a sentence or slogan in say, 25 words. It appears to have been replaced with far more creative and sophisticated competitions– thanks largely to social media platforms. We’re not sad to see them go – tie breaker competitions did generate a lot of very similar responses and the search for something truly original and clever was always incredibly difficult. Perhaps we’re not looking in the right places, or maybe they’re just a thing of the prize promotion past, along with sending in postcards… have you seen a tie-breaker competition recently? Let us know!

Oh to be a prize winner!

By Sarah Burns on May 18, 2012

Possibly the best bit of our job is contacting lucky winners to tell them of their good fortune. I once had to call someone to let her know she’d won £10,000. Needless to say, that took some time for her to digest. This week has been truly wonderful for winner notification. Firstly, we sent a tweet to the winner of our Jo Malone prize draw which we launched at Cybher – he was delighted. I then had to call nine mums to tell them their child had won a national story writing competition – not only do all the children win a prize for themselves (a zookeeper’s day at Paradise Park), each of their schools receives a £500 donation to fund new library books. They were all so chuffed and proud of their kids, I actually felt a bit tearful at one point. My favourite call this week was to a Jubilee party prize winner – she’d won £2k in food and drink to throw a party over the bank holiday weekend. I was so excited when I called it took some time for her to make sense of what I was trying to tell her.

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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Are you a winner?

By Spark and Fuse on May 16, 2012

We have an amazing prize to give away – the problem is we can’t get hold of the lucky winner – we have emailed so many times now that we’ve actually lost count. Under the CAP code, there’s a 28 day notification period in which to contact a winner and if that person does not respond within this time frame, we have a further 28 days to try and get in touch with them. We are now coming to the end of the period – and it’s looking very likely that we’ll have to conduct a redraw because the winner hasn’t left any other contact details.

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.

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