Category: Prizes

Sweepstakes Winners: W-9’s and 1099’s

SVP, Fae Savignano contributed this informative post on what sponsors need to know about filing and processing winner W-9’s and 1099’s for their promotions. Sponsors of Promotion Games of Chance offering and awarding prizes valued at $600 or more should be aware that they are responsible to obtain a signed, legible copy of an IRS form W-9 from every winner that they issue a prize to. This means that

April 30, 2025 42 Comments

The Facts About Prizes Revealed

Fae Savignano, SVP, contributed this post about prizes. Research shows that more than half of all adults in the U.S. enter at least one sweepstakes every year, and this amount increases exponentially. Promoting Sweepstakes and Contests are an excellent way to engage and retain your customers and a properly structured prize offering will definitely enhance your endeavor. Let’s face it, the chance of winning an expensive and alluring prize

April 26, 2025 No Comments

Post-Pandemic Prize Considerations

Things are starting to get back to “normal” as vaccination rates rise and offices reopen at full capacity. Businesses want to get “back to normal,” but what will that look like? And what will your customers’ level of tolerance be for a post-pandemic prize that is awarded as part of a sweepstakes or contest? The types of prizes most coveted by winners may not have changed, but the form or

May 13, 2021 No Comments

Can You Use a Coupon as a Prize?

Question: Can you offer a coupon as a prize in a sweepstakes or contest? Answer: It depends. If the coupon or voucher value covers the entire full priced item without any hidden fees (like shipping & handling, etc.) then you can offer it as a prize coupon. But if the coupon offered is for savings on a purchase, or if it does not cover the shipping and handling necessary to

September 17, 2020 No Comments

7 Types of Incentives to Use For Your Next Promotion

What motivates customers to interact with your brand? Incentives do! Here are seven types of incentives you can use for your next promotion. 1. Prizes: It should come as no surprise that the #1 type of incentive is a contest or sweepstakes prize. People love to win high value prizes, especially cash, trips, and one of a kind experiences that can be won in a game of chance or a

August 12, 2020 No Comments

10 Amazing Prizes Under $600 Your Customers Will Want to Win

In the United States, winners are required to pay taxes on prizes they win, but if prizes are valued at over $600 then the promotion sponsor is also required to collect W-9’s and issue 1099’s to each winner. That’s why many sponsors like to find prizes under $600 that are coveted by winners, but don’t require the additional headache of having to collect additional personally identifying information (PII) in order

July 6, 2020 No Comments

Why Do People LOVE Cash Prizes

When asked what prize they want, most people entering sweepstakes and contests overwhelmingly say they want cash prizes. Why? Why not a trip, or a car, or jewelry? Here are the three big reasons: 1. With cash prizes, you can buy exactly what you want. With most prizes, the sponsor customizes the choices or options for a prize, such as selecting the make and model of the car offered as

May 28, 2020 No Comments

Prize Fulfillment Considerations for Your Next Sweepstakes or Contest

Prize fulfillment is the part of the sweepstakes or contest that consumers may love the best, but for the promotion administrator there is a lot more involved than putting a prize in the mail. Here are 6 things to consider when putting together a plan for prize fulfillment for your next sweepstakes, contest or instant win game. 1. Prize sourcing Giving away the latest goods, services, and experiences takes

March 11, 2020 No Comments

10 Cool Winter Prize Ideas

As the temperatures continue to drop, businesses wonder what they should give away with during their winter promotions. Here are 10 cool winter prize ideas for the cold weather season: 1. A trip to Iceland A trip to see the Northern Lights is on most people’s bucket lists. Make dreams come true with a trip to Iceland to see the lights up close. 2. Tickets to a hockey game Let’s

December 27, 2019 No Comments

6 Things NOT to Do When Planning a Holiday Promotion

Frequently we give out ideas or strategies for promotions, but sometimes we need to talk about the failures to prevent companies from making the same mistakes. Here is a quick list of what NOT to do when planning your holiday promotion so your brand can outshine the rest. Don’t forget who your customer is. One of my favorite “they did not just actually do that, did they?” moments was

October 16, 2019 No Comments