Country Guide: USA

The US digital advertising and marketing industry is currently at a whopping $460 billion and digital marketing experts estimate that the average American is exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day (Source: Red Crow Marketing). So as a brand why wouldn’t you want to hop across the pond and run a promotion? After all, it’s called the land of opportunity for a reason!   

If you fancy running a promotion in the US, it’s not so wholly “Land of the Free”. There are several things that you need to consider before planning a campaign. Navigating through the requirements can be a right STATE, however, we’ve summarised what you need to know in a list covering the top 13 stripes! 

1. Competitions are labelled as contests.  
2. Prize draws are labelled as sweepstakes  
3. The Promoter of a promotion is listed as a Sponsor.  
4. Prize draws and competitions can be run in the US however depending on the states where the promotion is being run, therefore are various requirements that need to be met. 
5. If the mechanic requires a purchase a no purchase necessary route or alternative means of entry (AMOE) is required! 
6. In Florida and New York, the Sponsor must register a Sweepstake if the prize pool is over $5,000! How’s that for the red apple?  
7. In Florida and New York, you must register and post a surety bond equal to the total value of the prize/s before the start of the promotion. Florida’s not such a sunshiny state now? 😉
8. If registrations are late you will be subject to penalties. 
9. In Rhode Island, sponsors of promotions offered by retail establishments with a prize pool which is more than $500 must be registered.  
10. The State of Florida requires the Sponsor to file a winners list. 
11. Terms & Conditions in the USA follow a very different format to ours. They are longer, more complicated and onerous. 
12. If a US resident wins a prize over $600, the Sponsor will need to collect a W9 form from the winner. 
13. Alcohol cannot be given away as a prize, in any shape or form, even if it is a wine tasting or other seemingly simple treat. 

If you want a route 52 of all the details regarding how to run a promotion in the US, feel free to reach out! PV has helped to run countless promotions in the US and Canada and can assist you with registrations, posting bonds, drafting state-compliant Terms, reviewing marcomms and much more!! We can take you through the process seamlessly.