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Employee incentive programs can have a very positive effect on employees output, efficiency and enthusiasm with respect to their jobs. However, there are a number of aspects of these programs that should be reviewed by lawyers who have experience with incentive programs and the application of state and federal sweepstakes and contest laws. READ MORE
Quite often a company will see an opportunity to team with another company to create a sweepstakes or contest that will benefit both of them individually. For example, a manufacturer of insect repellent and the owner of a fishing resort both target the same customers but are not competitors. READ MORE
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has brought a number of cases against broadcasters who conduct or advertise a contest on air. These cases range from failure to accurately disclose the end date for a sweepstakes, to a station’s employee rigging a contest so that his friends and family would win. READ MORE
Our recent post about the possibility that the Federal Communications Commission will no longer require broadcasters to disclose contest rules in their advertisements brought several questions from readers. Most of the questions were about the FCC regulations and enforcement activities. Here is a brief overview of the two major components of the FCC’s Contest Rule. READ MORE
Anyone who watches television or listens to the radio has heard a fast-talking announcer race through the abbreviated rules for a sweepstakes or contest. Or perhaps you’ve seen a copy of the official rules for only a second or two in a microscopic font size on your television screen. READ MORE
This week we’ve been talking with Sandra Grauschopf, a freelance writer and sweepstakes expert who manages About.com’s sweepstakes site and its forum for avid “sweepers.” In Part One and Part Two of this interview, Sandra gave us a variety of unique insights on her favorite types of promotions, and the most frequent mistakes she sees companies making in their efforts to market sweepstakes to potential customers. READ MORE
Early in her career, Taylor Swift was a spokesperson for one of our clients. I drafted the official rules for several contests that were used for her concerts and appearances at the client’s sponsored events. (I am secretly convinced that it was those contest rules that lead to her phenomenal success a singer.) READ MORE
Clients occasionally ask me to create official rules for a sweepstakes or contest that will be conducted in the U.S. and Canada, or in Canada alone. That’s when I contact counsel in Canada who I know have up-to-date experience with Canadian sweepstakes and contest laws. READ MORE
Part 1 of this series discussed how important it is to have contest insurance if the promotion has an expensive prize. It also warned that there are scammers who will sell you insurance but refuse to pay if someone wins the contest. READ MORE
Fitness boot camps are all the rage these days. At these grueling workouts, participants run sprints, flip tractor tires and strain through push-ups, all with a red-faced “drill sergeant” screaming in their face. READ MORE
Pinterest’s guidelines caution companies that many of these requirements vary from place to place. They also urge promotions sponsors to work with a lawyer to make sure they are in compliance. READ MORE
Each sweepstakes is vulnerable to litigation. The number of entries or the value of prizes matters not. So don’t think your modest sweepstakes or contest is immune from a disgruntled entrant who knows her way to the courthouse steps. READ MORE
Broadly defined, “vote farming” involves contest entrants launching broad social media or online “campaigns” with the goal of soliciting votes from strangers and winning the contest. READ MORE
“Like” it, “poke” it, but don’t post your latest sweepstakes on Facebook without some serious thought. Your contest could be violating the site’s promotions rules. READ MORE
Operating in accordance with the rules and alerting entrants to the material terms of the sweepstakes or contest is sound advice when creating any sweepstakes or contest. READ MORE
As a sweepstakes attorney, one of the most frequent questions I’m asked is, “What is the difference between a sweepstakes and a contest?” The short answer: Lots. READ MORE
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