Social media product contests - no I DON'T "Like"!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29TH, 2011

The first time I encountered a "forced" Facebook contest, was with a Stanley Cup shaped USB stick included in a case of beer. I don't remember what the prize was, but the gist of the contest was that you inserted the USB stick (a paltry 128mb, making it pretty much useless for anything but landfill-fodder after it's promotional use) and clicked an .exe (never a good sign) to register the stick and be entered in a contest. You were also linked to the facebook sign-in page.

It seems whatever contest they were having, the grand prize required that I have (or create) a Facebook account.

I formatted the stick, and gave it to my kid brother (who, being over 50, probably doesn't appreciate the "kid-brother" moniker). I have a Facebook membership only because it is impossible to delete a facebook membership. I certainly have no interest in a contest that requires me to expose myself to a data-mining social network site.

Look, I know this is being read by people who love Facebook. Indeed, I used to use Facebook to promote this blog. I have simply made a conscious decision to no longer participate in social media of any kind (blogging excepted of course).

Part of this choice is based on the fact that I'm simply not that superficially "social". I love my friends, but hate even talking on the phone if there's nothing important to talk about. Of greater significance though, I just don't appreciate that Facebook's revenue model is based primarily on acquiring, maintaining my personal information and selling me to advertisers. If that doesn't bother you, then go for it.

Lisa Kittelsen, assistant brand manager for Budweiser, claimed at the time that Budweiser's goal (Labatt's in Canada)  was on growing it's Facebook fan base rather than using it's contest to collect data about customers. "We’re moving away from the traditional, ‘give us your mailing address and phone number’ and moving toward, ‘like us on Facebook, become a fan and engage with us on a long-term basis’”, said Kittelsen.

Um. Excuse me? How does requiring a membership to a website who makes money by collecting and maintaining personal data, move Labatt/Budweiser AWAY from collecting data?? OK, they're not collecting the data THEMSELVES, but the release of personal information is still required to participate fully in the contest. It's just now you share this information more publicly than ever!

Companies aren't "moving away" from data collection... social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have simply provided a more cost effective (and intrusive) way to do it. To sweeten the pot, they can then maintain an active marketing link with their "fans" 24/7 with little cost or effort, by insinuating themselves into their customer's online social media activities.

I'd rather give them my address and phone number with a promise that they won't share the data, thank you very much. Facebook is a far more insidious form of data collection since the user gets no say in the matter.

Since the Labatt promotion, everyone from soda pop vendors and cosmetics firms, to automobile manufacturers and banks have jumped on the Facebook promotional bandwagon. It seems that anytime there's a contest nowadays, I'm asked to access my Facebook account to participate. How does this not alienate a huge swath of customers?? I know Facebook is popular, but I still know a lot more people who are not active members than those who are! (might be an age/gender thing though)

Are these companies promoting themselves, or trying to get more people to join Facebook to create a larger "fan" database? I don't know about you but that is just too "Minority Report" for my liking!

At least Labatt allowed me to register my USB stick and enter the contest without a social networking pre-requisite (although the Grand Prize still required a "like"). Most of the more recent promotions don't even offer a choice.

I've never voiced any concern over these new and invasive marketing initatives, because frankly, the products being promoted never interested me - I wouldn't even have participated in the Labatt/Budweiser promotion (I don't drink) had the Stanley Cup USB stick not been given to me! But when I am not allowed to even participate in a contest that does pique my interest, simply because I don't use Facebook, then I do become insulted and incensed!

Which brings us to Canada Computers' most recent "Build your Beast" cross-promotion with hardware manufacturer "Sapphire Technology".

If I could only receive the above ad by logging into a Facebook account, I'd have little problem with it. First, I never log into Facebook, so I'd never have seen the ad, and second, a promotion which takes place entirely within a social network is certainly OK by me. Problem is, the ad was e-mailed directly to me from Canada Computer, making it nothing but a tease to a non-Facebook user.

If a contest is forwarded to a subscriber mailing list (as this one was), then all subscribers on that list should have equal opportunity to enter. What Canada Computers has done is the same as if they had placed an ad in one magazine, saying you had to purchase a different magazine to respond to the ad!

As a faithful and regular customer, it's not much of an exaggeration to claim that I help pay the rent for more than one Canada Computers store on a very regular basis (food and lodging being the only expenditures that take a larger portion of my paycheque). Over the years, I've spent literally 10's of thousands of dollars at Canada Computers stores, and promoted them with word-of-mouth rants and raves. Additionally, most of my friends and family have Sapphire video cards in their computers that they have inherited from me (make friends with computer hobbyists - the ancillary benefits are truly kick-ass.)

So here are two companies, to whom I have offered enthusiastic support for many many years through both dollars and deeds, who have seen fit to lock me out of a contest just because I do not wish to belong to a particular Web 2.0 site!

Well screw you too!

British Columbia's NCIX is making major headway in Ontario, opening several stores over the past few months with very attractive pricing and selection, and while Tiger Direct is a more consumer-oriented (as opposed to enthusiast-oriented) retailer, they have a stock depth in each store that helps me avoid visiting more than one location (as I often have to do with Canada Computers). Meanwhile tiny little "Filtech" remains the ultimate go-to store for high-end hardware in Toronto.

And none of them thank me for my patronage, by forcing me to join Facebook to participate in promotions.

I am a loyal customer, but Canada Computers is not the only game in town (or in the province).  Since they've decided to slap me in the face by shunning my non-Facebook status, they can also kiss my left cheek! Additionally, my current system build doesn't contain a single Sapphire component (purely by chance), and I can easily keep it that way in all future builds (purely by choice).

Alienating your customers by restricting contest participation is highly counter-productive! Moving  promotions to a Facebook-only model delivers strong implications that those of us who do not use social media are completely insignificant to the companies involved.

And after years of offering my loyal support (and hard-earned cash),  I DON'T  "Like"  being discarded as demographically unimportant!!

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If anyone reading this is similarly bothered by Facebook profiting off of your personal information, you may be interested in the new social media site called "Unthink", which uses a personal endorsement model to pair brands with  members.

If I understand correctly how it works, when you join, you select a single brand (from a list of selected socially and environmentally responsible partners) which you identify most closely with. I read somewhere recently that you can opt out of endorsing any brand and instead pay a small membership fee, but I can't seem to find more information on whether or not that's actually true.

At first appearance, Unthink does seem to give its users far greater control over how their data can be accessed/used, and its marketing plays up the fact that the user retains ownership of posted data, which is a major switch. If there IS a way to join without being forced to endorse a product, they might be on to something that truly is new. At the very least, Unthink's development suggests that I am not alone in my disdain for the revenue models and sleazy tactics that these sites often use.

At the end of the day though, it's still just another social network site and sorry, but  I just fail to see the attraction. Then again, I don't "get" the whole cellphone addiction thing either. (Is it really THAT horrible to spend time quietly with one's own thoughts occasionally?)

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In the meantime, if you don't like the idea of a company making you participate in promotional contest through Facebook, tell them via email, the customer feedback links found on their websites, and (most importantly) your wallet.

George Orwell could never have imagined that we would have given up our privacy so cheaply. In a democracy your privacy should be your most valued possession.

We're giving ours up for the odds-against chance of winning promotional contests!