Apr 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Amy Johannes

Fueled by the need to keep consumers engaged, technology gains ground as a prime tool for games, contests and sweepstakes. Whether it's a text messaging campaign, online sweeps or an interactive game, the Internet continues to dominate the field.

Marketers prefer cyberspace largely for its cost efficiency, immediate data collection capabilities and ability to keep consumers engaged.

Some 34% of brands use interactive promotions — including games, contests and sweeps, according to PROMO's 2006 Industry Trends Report. In 2005, just 12.8% of marketers listed offline games, contests and sweepstakes in their top three spending tier.

The methods in which games, contests and sweeps are deployed are changing to ensure a more engaging consumer experience across multiple touch points, says Robert Borman, VP of the sweepstakes, games and contest division for Archway Marketing. In addition, the level of interactivity has increased and prizes are not only bigger, but more customized and lifestyle based.

“There is more and more movement away from the standard program where you enter your name in a hat to more of an experience for a consumer to interact with a brand,” Borman says. “There's a growing focus on how [you] engage a consumer and build brand loyalty. Marketers are becoming smarter about how these things are being implemented and executed.”

In one example, Westin Hotels & Resorts ran an online sweeps last fall tied to NBC's The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, in which consumers designed their own hotel suite based on the show's task. The top winner got tickets to the show's finale and a five-day stay in Westin's Renewal Suite.

The promotion drew 46,503 consumers to the micro site and 13,645 registrants. EPrize, Pleasant Hills, MI, handled.

“The sexy, captivating advertising world of the past is colliding with direct marketing creating [more of] a rich brand experience…that creates the same sizzle as traditional advertising,” ePrize CEO Josh Linkner says.

In addition to an Internet component, an offline method is often wrapped into the campaign to generate that personal brand interaction with the consumer, whether its getting the consumer in store, to an event or to try out a sample.

Last July, Best Buy blended both online and offline promotion for a back-to-school sweepstakes. The Tech 101 sweepstakes drove customers via in-store game cards to BestBuy.com where players entered codes to win MP3 players, dorm fridges and notebooks. Richfield, MN-based Best Buy reported nearly 1 million hits to the site; 300,000 consumers opted-in to receive company e-mails, says Jim Lawrence, Best Buy's senior manager, event marketing. Archway Marketing, Chicago, handled game administration.

Best Buy often uses such a promotion to entertain customers and further immerse them in the brand, Lawrence says.

“[A sweepstakes] creates a little bit more excitement from the consumer,” he says. “It really rounds out a campaign and provides that needed incentive to go to the store or go to a Web site.”

SNAPSHOT 2005

34% of marketers use interactive promotion

More games, contests and sweeps shift to the Internet

Experienced-based prizes top the list

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