Well, first things first, a disclaimer: one of our publisher Niches other publications, Desktop, tipped
me off about this example of competition promotion. As a design
and desktop publishing magazine, theyre supporting the Worldwide Printing National Design Awards,
but as a marketing publication, were more interested in how theyve
gone about promoting their competition. So this ones relevant to
marketers interested in running a competition and how to go about putting that together, and to designers interested in winnign a MacBook Air.

Ive included a screenshot of the ad creative on their website that is
promoting the competition, so check out the image below right now, then
read on.

So what do you think of the creative for the promotion?

Well, I guess its festive at least.

For me, the promotion itself is sound, based on the offer and the target market:

The Prize – youre speaking to a design and printing solutions
market, and the product youre offering – a new MacBook Air – is a
design-driven creative innovation from one of the hippest companies
popular among the design community, Apple.

The Entry Criteria -  the message is speaking to designers and printing enthusiasts, and is asking them to design Christmas cards. This is obviously something that designers would be capable of, and more importantly, might well be interested in doing.

But what about the other elements of the promotional mix, the advertising and public relations?

The Advertising – For me, Id like to see the creative in
the advert more obviously focus on the prize, the MacBook Air. Its a
sigificant prize for the entry criteria and fits the target market, as
discussed above. But it doesnt grab your attention that the prize is
on offer. Instead, the most prominent visual is of a Christmas bauble.
I would focus on putting an image of a McBook Air prominently in the
advertisement, as this would draw peoples attention quickly to the
prize, which is, after all, the incentive for entry.

The Public Relations – well, clearly were doing our bit for the contest by discussing it here on the site, but its interesting to note that the Worldwide Printing National Design Awards have run the same creative in both print and online.
The different ways that users consume content (ads and editorial)
online and in print would suggest that different creative should be
developed for both platforms.

Like I said, take a look at the creative below and in situ on the Worldwide Printing National Design Awards website. Id be interested to hear your thoughts on how this promotional campaign is being run:

• What do you think of the prize?
• What do you think of the advertising?
• What do you think of the public relations?

And of course, tell the designers and creatives you know and work
with that if theyre at all interested in winning a MacBook Air, all they have to do is design a Christmas card.