I’d be lying if I said people are always asking me how to choose the best prize promotion agency. They aren’t. However, it is a question that I’m asked every now and then, so I’ve come up with seven points that sum up what I think you should look for in a prize promotion agency.
C is for compliance
It all starts with compliance, because if your prize promotion agency doesn’t know how to write really robust terms and conditions, run a promotion that is fully compliant with the CAP Code and other regulatory bodies, or get all the right influencer disclosures in place, then your prize promotion could fall apart, exposing you to financial and reputational damage.
O is for objectives
In other words, what do you hope to achieve with your prize promotion? You might want to increase brand awareness, add subscribers to your mailing list or create some user-generated content for utilising in other marketing promotions. A good prize promotion agency will advise you on the most effective structure or format to engage your customers and achieve your objectives.
P is for prizes
A good agency will take your wish list of prizes and fly with it. It will have its finger on the pulse and know exactly what people are mad for at the moment. It will suggest – and be able to source – prizes that fit perfectly with your brand and your promotional theme. It won’t propose 1,000 plastic branded items simply because they’ve already got a job’s lot in the basement.
W is for winners
It isn’t just about getting the prizes into the hands of your lucky winners quickly and efficiently, it’s about answering their questions, making them feel special, sharing their joy. Winners are the best brand advocates, but, you know, it’s true, as is the reverse brand destroyers brand defamers.
A is for attention
To detail, that is – whether it’s making sure point 72 of the terms and conditions covers every eventuality, checking that the celebrity promoting your prize draw is doing it with the right hashtag, or sending out a prize with a nice handwritten note, a good agency will be on top of it all.
F is for flexibility
You may want your agency to run the whole show, right through to prize dispatch and winner lists, or you might simply need a set of terms and conditions, your winners verified or your prizes dispatched. The best prize promotions agencies understand that one size doesn’t necessarily fit all and will allow you to pick and choose which services you need. It will also happily work with all your other existing agencies.
R is for resourceful
And finally, the best prize promotions agencies are good in a crisis. Disasters are rare, but they can happen, so if a problem does arise a good one will think laterally and work incredibly hard to create triumph out of adversity.
I hope this has post has given you a few ideas on how to choose the best prize promotion agency, but you’d be surprised if I didn’t close by pointing out, with suitable diffidence, that at Prizeology we offer all these prize promotions services and a number of others as well. In fact – and I say this in all humility – the most useful piece of advice I can give you on choosing the best prize promotion agency is, of course, to choose Prizeology!
Sarah Burns is Prizeology’s Chief Prizeologist, SCAMbassador for National Trading Standards Scams Team and member of the Fraud Women’s Network.
