European CGM Contest – The 12-Second Thriller

In Europe, Mazda has an interesting CGM video contest happening. Its promoting the launch of the new retractable hardtop Mazda MX-5 (the sports car formerly known as Miata).

It’s called The 12-Second Thriller because it takes 12 seconds to either open or close the hardtop.

Users create their own video and upload it to the microsite for a chance to win an Mazda MX-5 Hardtop and some Bose hardware. The grand prize winner will be presented with the car at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show. For an automobile-themed contest, you can’t get much cooler than that.

Visitors to the site, on the other hand, have the pleasure of viewing both some funny trailers as well as the user-submitted videos.

Contests We’re Not Fond Of – TorontoLife.com GAP Adventures

TorontoLife.com is currently promoting a contest for G.A.P Adventures, the “Win an adventure to Africa!” contest.

The entry form mentions the prize “… win a 9 day Masai Mara Experience in Kenya!…” Sounds exciting but after reading the official rules and regulations, the prize description is not at all appealing. What the winner actually receives is “…one G.A.P Adventures tour – Masai Mara Experience (DCM). Retail Value of prize package $870. The prize does not include airfare…This prize must be accepted as rewarded, it is non-transferable and has no cash value.”

I have a few issues with this description. What does the actual prize include? Hotel? Ground transportation? Can the winner take any travel partners with him/her? A winner really shouldn’t have to pay for airfare to another continent for a prize like this. You may find other contests that do not include transportation as a part of the prize but typically they offer prizes that are local, within province or within driving distance. It is good practice to include airfare when the winner must travel outside there country or continent. For a company that boasts $100 million in revenues, the least they could do if they are set against airfare or transportation, is to offer cash equivalent for the prize.

I doubt they’ll have a many people entering this contest…or at least a satisfied winner.

Contests We Like – Las Vegas Vacation

Kudos to Custom Marketing Group for their understanding of Canadian contest legislation with their Las Vegas Free Getaway Sweepstakes.

The contest microsite is simple for entrants and has just a single opt-in. Their contest rules demonstrate knowledge of applicable Canadian legislation, which is exceptionally rare among contests managed by American firms. Our only recommendation is to disclose the full prize value in the contest rules. Otherwise, well done, Custom Marketing Group.

Contests We Like – Showcase Miami Vice

OK, this Showcase contest caught our attention simply because it’s about Miami Vice.

We love Miami Vice, old, new, doesn’t matter. The “trivia questions” could be a little more challenging, but we understand that not all contest entrants would appreciate it. The contest offers a grand prize of a $2,000.00 shopping spree at Harry Rosen. Sadly, Harry Rosen’s bespoke suits start at $3,400.00.

All that aside, Alliance Atlantis knows how to build a contest site. It’s simple for consumers, asks for opt-ins and automatically prompts the acceptance of the contest rules from the entrant.

P.S. We’ll be buying the DVD.

Contests We Like – Rogers Video Direct

This contest for Rogers Video Direct has an interesting on-line game.

After entering basic contest entry information, entrants can play the game which involves matching movies to the cities in which the movies take place. For players, the game is fantastic because they can’t actually “lose”. We think the game is fantastic in that respect, but the contest could be better with more tie-ins to the Rogers Video Direct service.

The link to the contest microsite is here.

Enter To Win – Weekly Round Up – Nov. 27, 2006

Most Popular Posts – This Week

1. The Nissan Win A Versa Campaign – Mobile Marketing
2. Bix.com News
3. Contests We Like – Toronto Star Why Ask Why

Most Popular Posts – Historical

1. The Nissan Win A Versa Campaign – Mobile Marketing
2. Contest Opt-In Rates: Subway Canada’s Good Stuff Giveaway
3. An Interesting Promotion With A Lamborghini Gallardo

Search Engine Highlights

– Vonage
– Reader’s Digest (still!)
– Carolyn Wilman, the “Contest Queen”
– and my name was Googled / Yahood only ten times this week…

Cheezey Ways To Build Your On-Line Marketing Database

The folks over at Mirvish are promoting the upcoming musical, We Will Rock You, with a contest offering a trip to London. The contest promises the opportunity to meet Queen.

However, the contest doesn’t let consumers participate unless they sacrifice an email address nice folks at Mirvish. While it may not be perfectly contrary to PIPEDA, it certainly is a violation of best practice.

The contest can be found here.

(I also want to know how I can meet Freddie Mercury)

Contests We Like – Paper Mate Write For Hope Sweepstakes

How can you not like this?

On behalf of the grand prize winner, Paper Mate will make a $500.00 donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. They’ll also throw in some Sanford products, but this is a fabulous way of engaging consumers with a contest and doing some goodness at the same time.

Click here to enter the Paper Mate Write For Hope Sweepstakes.

Contests We’re Not Fond Of – Intuit.ca

Oh boy, this is not good. Last week, Intuit launched their ProFile In Paradise contest, promoting their ProFile tax software.

While the prize itself is appealing–a trip to the Bahamas (did someone say “Bahamas”?)–there are some fundamental problems with this particular contest.

The contest entry form asks the right kind of marketing research questions and we understand the reasons to ask those questions, we’d argue that making those fields mandatory on the entry form is perhaps not contest best practice.

That aside, this is the significant issue–when one develops a contest microsite, one might want to test it first:

There isn’t any evidence that this microsite is actually capturing contest entry data. Hopefully, this is remedied quickly.

Contests We Like – BlackBerry Live Large

The makers of my favourite mobile device have recently launched their Live Large promotion.

Live Large exists to educate potential BlackBerry users about the features and benefits of BlackBerry technology. I love my CrackBerry, hence why we like the contest.

Actually, this is a two-part promotion, the first part being a free companion airfare with the purchase of another and activation of a BlackBerry device during the promotion period.

The other part of Live Large is, of course, a contest offering a grand prize trip for two anywhere the winner wants to travel. With first class airfare, a nice hotel and a maximum prize value of $15,000.00 USD, this is a great prize.