It's an honor just to be nominated

Want to attract attention? 

Give out an award.  Doesn't matter for what.  People like to be recognized, and the natural buzz associated with a competition will pay dividends for you as the sponsoring organization.

Exhibit A - The MarketingSherpa top blog awards (for which some of you nominated this humble blog).  Think about how skillful the Sherpa people are in promoting their brand.  They set up a contest for which the only prize is an icon to post on your web site (and the glory that comes with said adornment).  Total cost to them - $0.

Then they set up a survey - well, two surveys. There were some technical difficulties with the first one.  Total cost < $100.

And they send out email to their house list and let 'er rip.

The bloggers themselves, A-listers among them, post "vote for me" articles on their site.  Some (you know who you are - your penance is to have a look at this post by Seth Godin) had their company send email to THEIR house lists, promoting the awards.   

How much free media do you think Sherpa got from this contest?

The results?  Multiple hundreds of thousands voting, coming to the MarketingSherpa site and, presumably, learning about the various products and services Sherpa provides.

By the way, if you haven't yet checked out the "best Podcast" winner Across the Sound yet, you really should.  It's on my short list of the best business shows.

Comments

[Robert J. Ed]

Once again congrats...I haven't been around for a while. I forget that sarcasm or jestful comments don't commute well over the information highway. I love Sherpa; read their reports consistently and hopefully didn't offend anyone over there.

Everyone is branding and selling themselves constantly. Those that do it with tact and content, like Sherpa, are providing me with something in return...a great new blog, an idea for my marketing, etc. and deserve all the name recognition they get.

[Steve Gershik]

Robert, good point. The prize is publicity, but the originators of the contest don't have to lay out any capital to provide a reward, nor do they need to develop a sophisticated method of nominating, screening, balloting and tabulating responses. In may ways, it is a highly effective guerilla marketing tactic.

And while I don't agree that the Sherpa people are narcissists (more down-to-earth people you will never meet), I do completely agree with your conclusion that positive word of mouth is greater than the prize itself.

Thanks.

[Robert J. Ed]

Good post...one key omission: the contest is not limited to one prize, but potentially thousands. The postable icon is precious, but the more important factor is the press and readership of those who delve into an innovative blog such as your own.

You may claim the contest a self serving endeavor and be correct; still, without this contest I would never have read your blog. A good following is worth more than any prize that those narcissists at Sherpa could ever give away.