Sweepstakes

Introduction

Offering a prize is a time-proven means of engaging customers in a mobile dialogue.  To accommodate many of the ways marketers design such programs, the Sweepstakes Campaign supports a variety of game formats and is compliant with legal standards.

Step-by-Step

(1) To create a Sweepstakes Campaign, select Create New Campaign from the left navigation panel on the product dashboard.  You will then be taken to a screen (below) presenting a list of text message campaigns available.  In this instance, you click on the Create button alongside Sweepstakes.

(2) The New Contest Campaign homepage (below) is where you establish the parameters for your campaign.

The first step is providing Basic Information about your campaign:

1. Select a shared shortcode to use.  A shortcode is a short form mobile phone number which is used along with a keyword to enable customers to participate in your Sweepstakes.
2. Select a Start Date and Time for your campaign.
3. Select an End Date and Time for your campaign.

(3) Next, provide a description (below) of your campaign for reference only, and enter a Keyword that your players will send to your chosen shortcode to join the contest.  This Keyword must be unique from others associated with the shortcode you selected previously – the system is smart enough to tell you.  There is a many to one relationship between keywords and shared shortcodes.

Here you also choose the type of Sweepstakes to create: Winners randomly selected at end, first N wins, every N wins, instant win or winner manually chosen.

(4) Now you define the rules and messages associated with your Sweepstakes Campaign.

• Establish a limit on the number of contest entries per responder.
• Choose the number of winners to be selected.
• Text message response for initial entries.

(5) Before creating your Sweepstakes Campaign you have the option of gathering data about your entrants to provide insight into those willing to engage with your business.  This is often useful in determining if your program is attracting your target customer as well as for creating follow on campaigns featuring more relevant messaging or content.

Electing this option will initiate one or a series of requests for a variety of demographic attributes, and you can set as well responses for both valid and invalid data to ensure data quality and thank responders for their information.

Click on the Create button once finished configuring your contest.

(6) That’s it!  Your Sweepstakes Campaign is now active.

You will arrive at a new screen summarizing details of your campaign, offering real time charts of contest entry activity and a flow illustrating the messages that comprise the campaign.

Here you also have the ability to establish Alias Keywords which allow tracking of entries by different ways you communicate the contest.  You may also prompt entrants to join a pre-existing Subscription list for engaging customers in dialogues beyond the Sweepstakes Campaign.

(7) Here you have additional options including:

1. Adding an Age Verification step to your message flow, useful when products associated with your business are age restricted, such as alcohol or tobacco.
2. Manage web entry forms.  Sweepstakes require an Alternative Means of Entry (AMOE) form be available and this function allows you to setup a web form that entrants can optionally be pointed to in order to enter the contest.  This form is hosted by our system and offers the ability to register entrants, collect data about them, promote opt in to a pre-existing Subscription Campaign and provides user defined contest rules and legalese information as required by law.
3. Export both entries and messages from the system in comma delimited form.
4. You can also duplicate/rename the campaign if you wish to re-use its attributes or delete it from the system as well.