You have a limited contest budget. It’s imperative to get the best bang for your buck. How will you spend that money to get the most value? What is the best strategy? Is it better to have more winners at a lower incentive value or fewer winners of a large prize offer? There’s no right or wrong answer, but it is clear that the prize offer affects response.
How The Prize Offer Affects Response
Broadcasters lose a lot of sleep trying to find the perfect prize offer for radio contests. At the head of the debate:
Is it better to have many winners of small prizes or few winners of large prizes?
There’s a lot of research on contest prizes and incentives, and there are some surprises. The bigger the budget, the greater the advantage, but the total amount offered doesn’t automatically lead to success. Many stations have given away tens of thousands of dollars only to go down in ratings. Other stations have gotten more mileage from a small budget.
The prize offer affects response, but there are many variables. Follow these guidelines to manage the prize budget better.
Is Cash King?
For the most part, cash prizes work best to impact ratings, but that may be changing, especially for younger demographics who report they are more interested in experiences than cash. Still, everyone wants more money, making it a universally appealing prize. It’s also easier to deliver and you don’t have to force listeners to come to pick up their prize. Perhaps most importantly, a cash incentive is a primary driver for rating respondents, and manipulating ratings is the most common reason to stage contests.
