Friday Rant - Moving the Goal Posts

Have you ever entered a competition and then found that the closing date has been extended? The promoter usually says something like "Due to popular demand, we are extending the closing date for another week." And what you think they are REALLY saying is "We haven't had very many entries yet, so let's hang on a bit and see if we can get a few more"

So you feel peeved. You got your entry in on time, so why should your chances be reduced by all the extra entries they are likely to receive in the extra time the competition is open? They've moved the goal posts - just when you thought you were about to score!

Now there ARE legitimate reasons for extending a closing date. In the case of postal competitions, strikes or adverse weather might have delayed entries,  or for online or text entry ones, technical problems may have meant it wasn't possible to enter the competition all through the time it was meant to run. Where a promotional pack or leaflet is needed,  production or distribution problems may have caused hold ups.

But just keeping a competition open to get more entries? NO!!!! It's not fair on people who have already entered, and what's more it is a breach of section 8.17.4e of the CAP guidelines on promotions.

On Facebook and Twitter, things can get even worse. It's quite common to see a promoter say they will give a prize at a certain number of followers or "Likes", so people share  and retweet enthusiastically until they see the total has been reached - only to see the promoter raise the total. Only today, I saw a business on Twitter that had promised a prize at 1,000 followers proudly state that as they had reached 1,000 they were changing the target to 1,500, as if that was a good thing. Well, maybe it is for them, but not for the 1,000 already following them. You start to get a nagging suspicion that when 1,500 is reached, they will decide they really meant 2,000 and so on until people realise no prize is ever going to be given and start to question how legitimate the business actually is. They will start to unfollow in their droves, first making a note to themselves to NEVER risk using that businesses product or service.

So, promoters, if you are running a competition and want us to not only enter, but to trust you and give you our custom and our loyalty DON'T MOVE THE GOALPOSTS!

I'm linking up with Ranty Friday over on Mummy Barrow's blog - why don't you join in too? And if you have any comping gripes you would like me to rant about, please let me know. it feels great to get it off your chest!

 

Football image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net