Digressions »

Since I’ve launched G.A.S. a GoGo I’ve seen so many giveaways  (and I organized several too) that now I have a pretty good idea of the mistakes you need to avoid if you are a guitar brand (or accessories). If you don’t avoid them, you will miss the point of holding a giveaway therefore you will also miss your goals.

Here are 3 of the biggest and most common mistakes. Yes… You probably made one of these… And they are so easy to avoid!

The Thousandth Fan Wins the Prize

Not cool for the 999 previous fans who were fans without any lure of profit. They were fans just because they appreciate your brand, and wanted to connect… So, the least you can do is to give them a chance to be rewarded for their loyalty.

One more efficient way : When you reach 1000 fans, you will give away a prize to one of your fans! In this case you really are promoting your brand, and your fans won’t be mad at you.

Show us Your Brand X Guitar!

Brand X is your brand, and you want people to show the gear you make in a video or a photo. So that means that you are only targeting your customers? Ain’t that pointless? Your giveaway is made to promote your brand, your gear so why would you limit the entries to the people who already know you as they own one of your guitars?

One more efficient way : You are an electric guitar brand… Ask for a video showing the gear that will go around that guitar you are giving away! You are making amps or effects… The same idea will work! After all, we all like to hear and watch gear! And that way your giveaway is open to everyone whether they already own one of your guitars or not.

The Most Viewed/Voted Wins the Prize

I can understand this one… You obviously want to make sure that your giveaway, and brand are seen by a large audience! So you imagined an awesome creative concept around your competition, and the winner will be the most viewed or voted! I understand but…

First, you will systematically favour the one with a lot of virtual friends over the most creative or the most valuable for your brand! This is not really fair, and this is the best way to have much less entries, and exposure! Even worst… you create frustration!

Last, most viewed or voted doesn’t necessarily mean more sales nor a more targeted audience! Do you really think that the dude with 7000 friends really knows 7000 guitarists?

One more efficient way : Gather a jury together, and get them to judge the entries and designate a winner. You could possibly shortlist a group of finalists after a public vote (the point above will still be valid though). But please, do not make it the other way around!

There are many other mistakes to avoid when you hold a giveaway. You have to  think about an awesome concept to make it interesting. You have to think about how to target your audience, and avoid the “professional giveaway players”. You have to think about the usage, and about terms & conditions of the plateform you are using to hold the giveaway. You have to think about legal issues too, and so many more aspects.  You have to think because your brand equity is at stake here!!