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In the United States consumer sales promotions known as sweepstakes or simply sweeps (both single and plural) have become associated with marketing promotions targeted generating enthusiasm and an incentive toward action among customers by enticing consumers to submit free entries into drawings of chance (and not skill) that are tied to product or service awareness wherein the featured prizes are given away by sponsoring companies. Prizes can vary in value from less than one dollar to more than one million U.S. dollars and can be in the form of cash, cars, homes, electronics, etc. For the magazine, see Marketing (magazine). ...
In economics, consumers are individuals or households that consume goods and services generated within the economy. ...
Sweepstakes frequently have eligibility limited by international, national, state, local, or other geographical factors.
Sweepstakes are often referred by marketing promoters as second-chance sweepstakes when utilized in conjunction with the awarding of unclaimed prizes during instant-win promotions.
Basics
UPC-12 number encoded in UPC-A barcode system. A person who enjoys entering sweepstakes as a hobby is called a sweeper. While the majority of sweepstakes promotions are open to sweepers who are eighteen years of age or older, there are many sweepstakes open to entry by children of younger ages. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
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Sweepstakes are generally easier and quicker to enter than contests, and sweepstakes are also legally different from "contests" as sweepstakes promotions are prohibited from requiring a purchase to enterx. Consumer promotions advertised as contests, however, can require an entry fee or proof of purchase (usually in the form of submitting an original proof-of-purchase label or UPC code found on the sponsor's product packaging along with a mail entry). The reason why contests are treated differently is that the winners are not chosen by chance but by an element of skill. Although some sweepstakes ask for a proof of purchase or UPC code, the sponsors must provide an alternate method of entry if they do so. Sweepstakes official rules can specify daily, monthly, one-time, or unlimited entry by sweepers. A contest is an event involving a competition at least two opposing individuals or teams, to be awarded a prize to the champion. ...
A proof of purchase is typically some portion of the package of consumer goods, and is defined by the products manufacturer. ...
The UPC (Universal Product Code) was the original barcode widely used in the United States and Canada for items in stores. ...
For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ...
Etymology The term originated in horse-racing, where each entrant would put up a stake, and the winner would sweep all stakes. The non-plural form sweepstake (U.K.) is probably a back-formation; compare the Belmont Stakes. In etymology, the process of back-formation is the creation of a neologism by reinterpreting an earlier word as a compound and removing the spuriously supposed affixes. ...
The Belmont Stakes is a prestigious Grade I stakes race held yearly in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. ...
Marketing Sweepstakes with large grand prizes tend to attract more entries regardless of the odds of winning. Therefore, the value of smaller prizes usually total much less than that of the top prize. Firms that rely on sweepstakes for attracting customers, such as PCH and Reader's Digest, have also found that the more involved the entry process, the more entrants, in a similar way to casinos inventing games that appear to rely partly on skill.
Sweepstakes in the United States
U.S. Federal Trade Commission shield.
 U.S. Federal Trade Commission headquarters at the Apex Building, Washington, D.C. In the U.S., sweepstakes sponsors are very careful to disassociate themselves from any suggestion that players must pay to enter, as this would bring them into conflict with federal lottery laws. Sweepstakes typically involve enticements to enter a consumer promotion for prizes that range from fantastic wins such as cars or large sums of money to smaller prizes like iPods and beauty products. There should be no cost to the entrant to enter for the prize, with the exception of possibly being placed on a promotional mailing list. Winners should also not be required to pay a fee of any type to receive their prize.[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
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Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 750 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (5938 × 4748 pixel, file size: 4 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 750 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (5938 × 4748 pixel, file size: 4 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
A prize is an award given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
For other uses, see Money (disambiguation). ...
The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...
Because of their potential for abuse, sweepstakes are heavily regulated. The U.S., Canada, and individual U.S. states all have laws covering sweepstakes, resulting in special rules depending on where the entrant lives. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission exercises some authority over sweepstakes promotion and sweepstakes scams in the United States. Notably, Canada and several European countries require entrants to solve a mathematical puzzle, making it a contest of skill, in order to overcome requirements that would classify sweepstakes as a form of gambling. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. ...
A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ...
Skill testing questions are a legal requirement attached to many contests in Canada. ...
Caravaggio, The Cardsharps, c. ...
As an example relating to sweepstakes promotions within the United States, Tennessee residents are prohibited by a policy of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (and not a state law) from entering sweepstakes sponsored by manufacturers of wine and liquor. Tennessee state law also prohibits sweepstakes agencies and sponsors from requiring prize winners to submit to "in perpetuity" publicity releases.
Most corporate-sponsored sweepstakes promoted in the United States limit entry to U.S. citizens, although some allow entry by legal residents of both the United States and Canada.
Among the most commonly known sweepstakes in the United States are the American Family Publishers Sweepstakes (now defunct), Publisher's Clearing House and Reader's Digest Sweepstakes, each of which strongly persuade entrants to purchase magazine subscriptions by placing stickers on contest entry cardstock while promising multi-million dollar (annuity) winners who will be "announced on TV." The American Family Publishers sweepstakes traditionally used paid advertisements during NBC's The Tonight Show to announce its grand prize winners (for many years, its celebrity spokesman was Ed McMahon). American Family Publishing, a Jersey City, New Jersey based company that sold magazine subscriptions, was best known for running sweepstakes where a large amount of money was offered as the grand prize (typically several hundred thousand dollars or even larger amounts of money). ...
Publishers Clearing House (or PCH) is a multi-channel direct marketing company, that offers discounted magazine subscriptions and household merchandise to consumers with the chance to enter to win one of many ongoing sweepstakes. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Edward Ed Peter Leo McMahon, Jr. ...
Sweepstakes are also used by fast-food restaurants to boost business. One of the most popular has been the McDonald's Monopoly promotion (although the odds of winning the McDonald's Monopoly are usually much greater than the odds of winning many U.S. state lotteries). Soft drink companies also sponsor many sweepstakes, such as the Pepsi Billion Dollar Sweepstakes game and the Pepsi Stuff loyalty rewards program that allowed Pepsi drinkers to accumulate points from packages and cups and redeem them for high-quality, free merchandise. Pepsi Stuff was Pepsi's largest and most successful long-term promotion ever and it ran for many years in the US and in many countries around the world. Other sponsors may require the submission of a UPC of a company product (with provision for receiving a "free" UPC code) for entry into the sweepstakes drawing. The McDonalds Monopoly game is a sweepstakes advertising promotion of McDonalds and Hasbro that has been offered in the United States, Canada, UK and Australia. ...
Pepsi Billion Dollar Sweepstakes logo The Pepsi Billion Dollar Sweepstakes was a contest, announced by soft drink company Pepsi Cola on April 10 of 2003, beginning on May 1 and ending on September 14, all of the same year. ...
Pepsi Stuff catalog cover Pepsi Stuff catalog page featuring Cindy Crawford Pepsi Stuff refers to a landmark marketing strategy and global integrated campaign launched by Pepsi, first in North America and then around the world, in the 1990s and continuing into the 2000s featuring merchandise that could be purchased with...
Pepsi Stuff catalog cover Pepsi Stuff catalog page featuring Cindy Crawford Pepsi Stuff refers to a landmark marketing strategy and global integrated campaign launched by Pepsi, first in North America and then around the world, in the 1990s and continuing into the 2000s featuring merchandise that could be purchased with...
Pepsi Cola is a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. ...
The Universal Product Code (UPC) is one of a wide variety of bar code languages called symbologies. ...
Sweepstakes must be carefully planned to not only comply with local laws but curtail forms of entrant fraud and abuse. Before home computers were popular, a common method of entry was a mailed index card with the entrant's name and address. Massive computer-printed entries made a new requirement that entries must be "hand-printed". Laser printers able to mimic ink pen writing are also a problem for sponsors. In most sweepstakes, entrants and their relatives must not be related to the sponsor or promoter.
Many state lotteries also run a second chance sweepstakes in conjunction with the retail sale of state lottery scratch cards in an effort to increase consumer demand for scratch cards and to help control the litter problems associated with the improper disposal of non-winning lottery tickets.[2] As a lottery tickets are considered to be bearer instrument under the Uniform Commercial Code, these lottery scratch card promotions can be entered with non-winning tickets that are picked up as litter. A scratchcard (also called scratch off, scratch game, scratch ticket, scratcher or scratchie) is a small piece of card where an area has been covered by a substance that cannot be seen through, but can be scratched off. ...
The International Tidy Man For other meanings of litter, see Litter (disambiguation). ...
A bearer instrument is a document that indicates that the bearer of the document has title to property, such as shares or bonds. ...
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC or the Code) is one of a number of uniform acts that have been promulgated in conjunction with efforts to harmonize the law of sales and other commercial transactions in 49 states (all except Louisiana) within the United States of America. ...
Sweepstake in the U.K. A sweepstake is technically a lottery in which the prize is financed through the tickets sold. The popularity of the term sweepstakes may derive from the Irish Sweepstakes, which was very popular throughout the world from the 1930s to the 1980s. A lottery is a popular form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. ...
A prize is an award given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. ...
The Irish Sweepstakes was a lottery established in Ireland in 1930 to finance hospitals. ...
Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ...
There is also a tradition of office sweepstakes, which usually take place over large sporting events (Melbourne Cup, Grand National, World Cup etc), where you put in a stake into the pot, and get a horse/team drawn out of the hat. The winner then takes the pot. The Melbourne Cup is Australias major annual thoroughbred horse race. ...
The Grand National is the most valuable National Hunt handicap horse race in the United Kingdom. ...
For the club competition, see FIFA Club World Cup. ...
General structure of winning a sweepstakes prize Almost every sweepstakes in the United States offering prizes valued at $600 or greater will typically follow the following structure outlining the lifetime of a sweepstakes: - Sponsor Promotion
- Advertising the sweepstakes, prize structure, and the official rules;
- Opening date for receiving entries;
- Closing date for receiving entries;
- Drawing date to judge winning entries.
- Winner Notification
- Sweepstakes promotion judges contacting prize winner;
- Winner filing publicity release with sponsor's sweepstakes promotion agency;
- Winner filing affidavit of eligibility (compliance with official rules) with sponsor's sweepstakes promotion agency;
- Winner filling any required federal or state tax forms with sponsor's sweepstakes promotion agency;
It should be noted here that the sponsors of legitimate sweepstakes by law do not require the prize winners to pay any shipping or handing charges in order to win or receive their prizes. An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant), and witnessed (as to the veracity of the affiants signature) by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public. ...
Sweepstakes on the Internet Entering sweepstakes by mail is declining in popularity, and many more sweepers are choosing to enter online sweepstakes. Online sweepstakes are quick and easy to enter, provide confirmation when an entry is received, and require no investment in postage and card stock. It is much more convenient, more efficient, and less expensive to enter sweepstakes over the Internet as opposed to preparing and mailing sweepstakes entries by snail mail. Snail mail is a derogatory retronym (named after the snail with its proverbially slow speed) used to refer to letters and missives carried by conventional postal delivery services, and refers to the inevitable lag-time between dispatch of a letter and its receipt relative to the virtually instantaneous despatch and...
Sweepstakes hobbyists who enter by mail are often called "Sweepstakers" or "Sweepers." Many sweepstakers meet locally in "clubs" and nationally at a yearly convention, which 800 people attended in 2006.The 18th National Sweepstakes Convention was held in June, 2007 in Dearborn, MI. Conventions are hosted by a local club in a different state each year.
Cost The direct costs associated with internet sweepstakes are limited mainly to the connection that you receive from your Internet Service Provider and the cost of purchasing and maintaining your computer. These costs can be reduced or eliminated by using public computers, such as those provided at universities and libraries. “ISP†redirects here. ...
Most U.S. sweepstakes promotion agencies require that most snail mail entries have three components:
- an entry form, most often a 3" x 5" piece of paper or index card handprinted with NAZTE (name, address, zip code, telephone number, and email address)
- an envelope, most often a 4 1/8" x 9 1/2" No. 10 business envelope, and;
- first class U.S. postage stamp.
Many other U.S. sweepstakes rules permit snail mail entry on the less expensive 4" x 6" U.S. postal cards. An index card is a piece of heavy paper stock, cut to a standard size and often used for recording individual items of information that can then be easily rearranged and filed. ...
Front of an envelope mailed in the U.S. in 1906 contains postage stamp and address. ...
A selection of Hong Kong postage stamps A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ...
For the computer diagnostic tool, see POST card. ...
It is reasonable to conclude that a traditional, first class snail mail entry costs the typical U.S. sweeper 50 cents (excluding time or travel) to submit each sweepstakes entry via the U.S. mail. Internet sweepstaking permits one to potentially enter hundreds of sweepstakes each day without the stationery and postage expense.
Efficiency Internet sweeping allows sweepers to research and find online sweepstakes forms, to bookmark and organize sweepstakes URLs as a file within web browser software, and to use the web browser "form fill" tools to paste required personal contact information onto the online sweepstakes forms. A Uniform Resource Locator, URL (spelled out as an acronym, not pronounced as earl), or Web address, is a standardized address name layout for resources (such as documents or images) on the Internet (or elsewhere). ...
There are many online sweepstakes directories, some offering advanced features such as tracking which sweepstakes have been entered and possibly providing many different categorizations for the competitions listed.
Sweepstaking newsletters offer additional organizational methods for keeping track of your entries, and finding sweepstakes with the best odds for you to win. Some inlclude local/restricted promotions, which limit the amount of registrations into a particular sweepstakes.
There are also online services, which automatically enter members into sweepstakes. Members sign up once and are entered to various sweepstakes each month. This saves entrants time and effort; however, some sponsors of sweepstakes prohibit entries those kinds of automated sweepstakes entries since they want entrants to interact with the online presentation at the prize sponsors' websites.
See also Sources History of First-Class Stamp Rates The History of Postage Rates in the United States ...
A lottery is a popular form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. ...
References
External links
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