Why Run a Sweepstakes?

Sweepstakes not only offer the excitement of a chance to win great prizes, but created effectively they can also work on building the brand and creating awareness around a product or service. They can act as an overlay to an integrated marketing program or they can stand by themselves. Sweepstakes promotions can begin internally within a company with the sponsor’s own sales force and continue through the entire trade and distribution pipeline, right on to the ultimate consumer or end-user.

Here are some of the top benefits of running a sweepstakes:

• Sweepstakes are used to drive traffic to a physical retail location and/or to a website. Online entry is now the #1 way that participants enter sweepstakes.
• Sweepstakes are one of the most effective means of gathering customer/user database information, which can then be used to start an ongoing dialog with this key audience.
• Sweepstakes have the benefit of being a “fixed budget”. Prizes are determined up front and issued so a sponsor doesn't have to worry about going over budget. Other promotional tactics such as games, premiums, coupons and rebates are more open-ended.
• A sweepstakes theme and its prizes often are developed to build the sponsor’s brand or reinforce the features and benefits of a particular product or service. Prizes that leverage an existing sponsorship and offer VIP packages to sporting, music and other entertainment events help build the brand and deliver an engaging prize that a consumer would not be able to purchase on their own.