Contest Critique Before Referencing Contest Critique: Mobility

Contest Critique Before Referencing

Contest Critique: Mobility Today 2007 Slingbox Giveaway

The online site Mobility Today sells mobile technology, and other forms of high-tech gear that is highly desirable to teens and twentysomethings who want the next new thing in computer printers, keyboards, GPS navigation devices and other high-tech accessories and gadgets. The online site must function in a highly online competitive environment where consumers have ample opportunities to shop for products from other vendors and to compare prices of the same product. To generate user interest and traffic Mobility Today recently hosted a 'Slingbox' Giveaway contest offering a Slingbox to the winner. A Slingbox is a device that enables a user to watch his or her home, cable television channels from his or her computer anywhere in the world. This means that someone with a cable connection in New York City can watch New York City local news on their laptop while they are far away at college in Minnesota, for example. The highly 'connected target consumers of Mobility Today are thus likely to have all of the necessary technological implements that would make a Slingbox useful, like a cable subscription and a computer. The Slingbox is expensive, on the cutting edge of technology, and would seem to be a highly desirable prize. But certain elements of the nature and execution of the Slingbox contest promotion scheme seem doubtful.

First of all, the contest does not give away something that makes the site stands out in terms of the value it gives to the consumer. It focuses on a more minor facet of the product base of Mobility Today. Rather than offering a Bluetooth as a grand prize, and added mobile minutes as smaller prizes, for example, television is the focus. This does not draw attention to the name of the site, unless the object of the promotion was to highlight other products sold by Mobility Now. Also, during the Giveaway, there is only grand prize product. The contest takes place during a short period of time, rather than a promotion that was stretched out for several months, encouraging users to traffic the site more frequently, to win smaller items. Although pricey, the object is not so expensive that it would necessarily encourage people to come everyday to Mobility Today.

The way in which the winner was 'honored' is also somewhat problematic, in terms of generating traffic and revenue for the site. There is a picture of the winner watching the Yankees on a laptop. One of the advantages for sports fans living far away from their local cable connection is that it allows them to follow the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Devils, or other local teams and leagues with special cable channels devoted to exclusive games. Thus the sports-angle aspect of the promotion is a 'plus.' However, showing a rather poorly conceived YouTube video of the winning user enjoying the Slingbox does not show any added value conveyed by using mobility today, other than this individual enjoyed momentary luck of winning the contest after using the site. Part of the video does not even relate either to the site, the new technology, or to the happiness of the winner, but the difficulty of extracting the Slingbox from its careful packaging. Although this is supposed to be funny, it makes the technology look ridiculous rather than valuable, and the poorly filmed and not particularly attractive user seems to be more intent upon spoofing the contest rather than showing respect for Mobility Today.