Why people enter to win competitions

A survey we conducted a few years ago indicated that 57% of people that enter competitions have won a prize in the past five years. We could also conclude that 43% who enter competitions haven’t won … but are still hoping. So if over half those who enter competitions, win competitions, we could have found our answer, but maybe that’s only part of the equation.

It’s often said to us that Aussies love a punt, therefore this should transpire into the main reason that people love to enter competitions.

We don’t necessarily follow the argument, and here’s why. The concept of a punt is a gamble, and with competitions the extent of a financial outlay is fairly few and far between. A person that loves competitions could happily enter away their entire life nowadays without having to spend a cent.

Even when it’s suggested that for “purchase to enter” competitions there is a gamble involved, we don’t see the logic. People are highly unlikely to purchase a block of Mars chocolate with the sole reason of winning a competition. The competition may have swayed them from buying a Cadbury chocolate, but at least there’s something to show for the purchase.

Another phrase that has been thrown about (especially by clients) in the past is “people love something for nothing”. True, but we still don’t believe that this fires the motivation.

Our belief is that people enter competitions because they like entering competitions. There’s lots of variety, it doesn’t really cost much, competitions can require various levels of knowledge and skills, and best of all there’s a chance of a win!

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©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.