Competitions and fairness

Those of you that have read "Competitions - The Book" will be aware of the stance of CompetitionsGuide.com.au on cheating and what we refer to as the ever present Prize Hog. We wrap the subject up in some humour and references to Clumping Hogs, Scattergun Hogs, Family Hogs, and many more.

The reality of bending the rules however has consequences that many lover of competitions may not be aware of.

Having created and managed competitions for a number of years, it became apparent that fiddling entries in envelope entry competitions was a fairly easy process. Barcodes could be recorded and used for multiple entries, and purchase receipts could be easily photocopied.

Although there was a physical cost involved in breaking the rules (1900, SMS and stamps still cost money) there was evidence that by and large cheating could actually work.

Over time, my consultancy came to know a number of Prize Hogs, and found that beating them at their own game could be a challenge in itself. Proving unfair play is difficult, and in most cases even the most blatant of questionable winners would most likely be awarded a prize.

Technology has mostly come to the rescue, and nowadays online entry methods can weed out those that try to enter more times than the rules stipulate. This is a bonus for all of you (98%+) who play by the rules and enjoy a win along the way.

So, why would a promoter, agent or online competitions guide care whether people play fairly or not?

The simple reason is that the single biggest reason a company will choose not to run a competition is the fear that it will be overrun by Prize Hogs. And, the more this occurs, the less competitions available.

CompetitionsGuide.com.au (and previously ShoppersBonus.com.au) has always taken a firm stance against cheating in competitions.

One final thing, in this industry there’s nothing like telling a first time winner about their prize ………

*Want to know more about how to win online competitions? - You can buy "Competitions - The Book" online here for only $13.95 including delivery. Click here to order


©Craig Bradley Market Engineering Pty Ltd. 2009. All articles are original content and opinions of the author Craig Seitam. Copying of all or part of any content without the expressed permission of the author is prohibited.