Promotional Compliance is at the heart of all Prizeology projects – not only is it crucial to the success of any promotion, protecting entrants and the Promoter alike, but regulations must be followed to avoid a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Beer and snacks brand, Bier Nuts, found itself on the wrong side of an ASA investigation recently when two people challenged its prize promotion. The headline read “1,000,000 Beer Giveaway? & Everyone who enters is a guaranteed winner!’ You can see the full details of the prize draw on the ASA site, but in short, the promotion offered a first prize of £120,000 worth of beers, snacks and merchandise, 500 runners-up prizes of £100 worth of beers, snacks and merchandise and 3rd prizes of £5-£20 in vouchers redeemable on the Bier Nuts site.
The first complaint challenged whether the giveaway ran fairly, as they could find no evidence that all of the 500 runners-up prizes had been awarded. While the second complaint came from a runner-up who challenged that although their prize was promoted as being worth £100, it was only worth £70.
The CAP Code (written by the Committees of Advertising Practice, endorsed and enforced by the ASA) states that promoters must publish or make available upon request a full winners’ list. Winner lists are vital as they proves to entrants that the Promoter ran a fair draw and all stated prizes were awarded. An entrant can ask for their name to be removed from a public winner list, but the Promoter must make all winners available to the ASA if required. The CAP Code also asserts that Promoters should not misrepresent the value, nature, or number of prizes.
Bier Nuts did not respond to the ASA, therefore there was no information about how the promotion had been administered and no evidence to demonstrate that prizes had been awarded as described. Consequently, the ASA concluded that the promotion had not been conducted fairly and that it breached the Code. There was also confusing messaging for this promotion – the element of “gifts” and “prizes.” If ‘Everyone is a winner’, then it cannot be a prize draw as there is no random draw element to select winners, yet the headline promised a first and second prize.
The ASA a considered that the nature of the promotion was not clear and both consumer challenges were upheld.
A good prize promotion must have clarity and structure. As Prizeologists we create clear and efficient promotions underpinned always by excellent promotional compliance.
If you are looking for a clear, well-thought out, and compliant prize promotion, give our team of expert Prizeologists a call on +44 0(2)0 7856 0402 or email us at hello@prizeology.com.
Leonela Gonzalez is Prizeology’s latest addition to the team.
