Curly haired girls unite!

Most of you do not know this, because blogs are not televised or shown in pictures, but I have very curly hair. When I was little my hair was so curly that I had a huge red fro probably until I was seven years old. Strangers would stop at the store or on the street to touch my curly red hair. Now, think about it. You are a little kid and people you don't know start coming up to you and touching you. I was so weirded out by it! I hated my curly hair and the way it was always frizzy and unkempt. As I got older, I started to appreciate my unique hair style because it made me stand out. Now I spend an hour and a half straightening my curls, but that is another story. I was so happy when I came across an article about promotions for curly haired girls published by WebWire on March 5,2008. "How Curly Girls Stay in the Loop- NaturallyCurly.com Unveils a Dynamic New Look for 2008" announces a re-launch of the NaturallyCurly.com website as well as other promotions and contests.

The online community known as NaturallyCurly.com was founded in 1998 by two friends, Michelle Breyer and Gretchen Heber. Both have curly hair and wanted to create a place that empowered and united people of a common interest. In this case it was something that defined them- their curly hair. So the pair set out to attract people who both loved and hated their god given curls. They gained a lot of attention, and will continue to with the launch of the new website. To accomplish this, the new site is easier to navigate and has more graphics and visuals. Breyer and Heber hope this will expand their member base and attract new curly girls from around the would to experience their hard work.

Here is just a taste of whats new on the site:

• Dynamic Publishing- Articles published weekly to keep members up to date with the latest in curl news.
  
• Curly Categories- As we all know, not every curly hairstyle is the same. This feature allows users to pinpoint their own age and style of hair to get the best advice for them.
• Personalization- This gives users the ability to customize their experience with the site by selecting which information you want to read daily, review local salon experiences, and the ability to upload photos.
• Promotions- (Our favorite part!) This informs users of the current contests and promotions the site is running. One already in the works is the "Ringlet Scavenger Hunt"- you can gain "ringlets" by exploring the new site to accumulate points. Grand Prize winners will receive a trip to New York City, a Ouidad makeover, and other free products.

They have also made a few changes to existing NaturallyCurly.com sections:

• CurlTalk- An instant question and answer chat room option. Forums discuss everything from hair and fashion to relationships and politics.
• CurlProducts- Information and reviews on the latest curly hair products.
• CurlReading- Recommended reading material for tips and professional stylist's advice.
• CurlMart- An online store to purchase anything and everything curly. Products are top stylist recommended, only the best for those with naturally curly hair.

Finally! A little recognition for us curly haired girls! I was pleasantly surprised with my visit to the site after reading this article. The page is bright and colorful with links and articles very easy to find. If you have struggled with unruly curly hair, then fret no more! Visit NaturallyCurly.com and be one your way to a happy and healthy curl experience!

Coupons AND Promotions!

If you haven't heard of http://www.couponcrib.com/, it's time you checked them out. Couponcrib is an online publishing site for coupons that is free for consumers to use. Every Monday CouponCrib sends out a coupon newsletter that lists the most popular and latests coupons and discount codes. On March 3,2008 they announced their latest promotion; a chance to win a free DVD for the next ten months.

The article, "Popular Online Coupons Publisher Announces Free DVD Promotion" published by PrWeb, discusses the company and their commitment to providing their customers with the latest in free. The site was launched in 2006 and has been growing in popularity ever since. Spokesperson for CouponCrib Scott Johnson said, "Who doesn't like to get something for Free? We wanted to reward our frugal minded shoppers with a small token of our appreciation and it seems appropriate to give away free DVD's!" Seems to me Jeff that you could probably give away free cows or slippers and they still would appreciate all the discounts CouponCrib provides! To be eligible to win a free DVD all you have to do is sign up for the weekly coupon newsletter and you will automatically be entered to win a free DVD each month for the rest of the year. To sign up for the newsletter you simply go to www.couponcrib.com/coupon-newsletter-signup.php and for complete contest details you can visit www.couponcrib.com/free-dvd-rules.php.

CouponCrib currently offers coupons for more than five hundred popular stores like Target, Dell, Lane Bryant, Best Buy, and many others. While doing some of my own research on their site, I found that CouponCrib was very willing and helpful in answering any questions consumers may have. They even divide their site into separate pages for new coupons, expiring coupons, all store coupons, printer ink coupons, plus size coupons, contact lens coupons, and free shipping coupons. There is also a Deals and Saving section that includes links to online gift cards as well as clearance and outlet deals. So if you are looking for a place to quickly and easily find coupons by category and type, CouponCrib is a great option to try. Hey! You might even win a free DVD! Good luck hunting and winning!

**Wedding Crashers- one of my FAVORITE DVDS!

Way to go Phil!

As we already know, people blog about everything. I blog on Coupons, Contests, and Promotions, my best friend blogs about Crisis Public Relations (Kit's Blog check her out!), and the list goes on. While searching for what to write about today, I came across a very interesting and motivating (at least for me) press release about a fellow blogger. The article, "Contest Blogger Taps into Growing Popularity of Online Contests, Sweepstakes", was released yesterday (March 3,2008) on PRWeb and introduces us to Cleavland-area designer Phil Van Treuren.

It all started when Phil Van Treuren decided to write a blog about online contests. (Wow what a concept!) Now less than nine months later his site, Contest Blogger, is visited by thousands of people a week and has allowed him to reap the monetary benefits. Van Treuren said that he knew a blog about online contests would be something different but did not expect it so grow in popularity so fast. "The idea was to write free reviews about contests that people were running on their blogs and websites," Van Treuren said. "I noticed that a lot of bloggers had started using giveaways as a way to get new visitors and links to their sites, and I thought that a blog that focused on these contests might interest a few people."


A few people? I'd certainly say maybe a little more than a few. Readers were drawn to Van Treuren's unique writing style and honest reviews about the contests. Technorati, a blog- tracking service that currently tracks more than 50 million blogs, even ranked Contest Blogger among the top 5,000 blogs in the world! Van Treuren prides himself on always being sincere and truthful to his readers. If a contest was a rip- off, he would tell them and in turn his readers showed their appreciation by racking up the hits on his site. He also said that he tried to make his blogs fun to read so people would come back and tell their friends. He started by writing reviews about every contest that was sent to Contest Blogger. However, submissions became too large and he decided to transform Contest Blogger into an online forum where people could post about their own contests for free.

Today, Phil still posts every once in a while, but Contest Blogger has become a place mainly for readers to share their own information. You can do anything there from searching and posting about contests to actually entering sweepstakes and receiving free samples or coupons. Although Van Treuren doesn't write as often, he still is able to enjoy the income he generates from advertising on his site.

Now, some of you might be thinking, "Brit, why did you write a blog on someone who blogs about the same things you do? Isn't that your competition?" Instead of being enemies, I would like to think that Phil and I are kind of on the same team, you know? Just two people writing and wanting to share what they love; free stuff. Phil also gives me somebody to look up to in a way. He started just by writing about a few contests and look at him now! Maybe someday I could follow his path to success. So, from all of us here at Coupons, Contests, and Promotions (basically just me), congratulations on all of your accomplishments Phil!

Vending Machine Marketing?

What will they think of next?  According to an article published by AmOnline.com, we will be seeing multi-promotional vending machines anywhere from colleges to shopping malls. AmOnline.com is an online version of Automatic Merchandiser Magazine that provides information about all types of vending industries.  "Vending Takes New Role in Marketing Promotions" by Elliot Maras introduces us to the new marketing world that involves using vending machines as promotional outlets. 

Now, I don't know about you, but all I've ever used a vending machine for was a soda and maybe a bag of chips.  But conventional vending items are not the only things we are seeing in them now.  Companies are beginning to look at vending as a way to get consumers to buy a wide variety of products from TV and financial services to even vacation packages!  Recently there have been devices developed that attach to existing vending machines that do more than just dispense soda.  They are touch screen video screens and coupon dispensers that allow marketers to reach consumers anywhere you can put a vending machine.  However, when first introduced, there was some concern raised about being able to reach consumers everywhere there is a machine. (Such as offices and school settings.)

The technology that is being used now was developed by Walker Digital, LLC, a company that prides itself in finding the newest ways to use technology to reach consumers.  For all of you tech savvy people, the first device was made in January of 2008 and was called the Quickstore24 TM.  This was a vending machine that had interactive video touch screens, multiple payment options, and dispensers for coupons.  In February, the SPIO system was put into use.  This device also used coupon dispensers and touch screens to provide a unique marketing outlet for products.  Coupons that are dispensed from the machine can range from a free item to $25 off of a purchase at a retail store.  SPIO also provides the dispenser at no extra cost to the vending machine operators.    As an added perk, SPIO will even provide the operator with coupons, plastic or paper.  

The article then goes on to discuss in detail the technological aspects of the vending machines themselves.  If you would like the full text please visit "Vending Takes New Role in Marketing Promotions".  I found this article very interesting and informative.  I think it is amazing how close companies can come to consumers during their everyday routines.  Something as simple as grabbing a soda from a vending machine can now be turned into an entire promotional experience!  Good or bad, think what you want, but you have to admit- that is pretty clever!   

Stock trading contest!

It's finally here- what every stock trader dreams of! A free online contest where you could win more than $14,000 by predicting the direction of stocks! As announced in the PR Web article "Free Online Game Offering Cash Prizes for Prediction of Stocks Launched by Trading Markets", on Tuesday (February 26, 2008) TradingMarkets.com has launched its game called "Up or Down" and is currently accepting new registrations.

So here's how the contest will work. One-thousand dollars will be given away each month to the contestant who makes the most correct predictions. Then, TradingMarkets will give $3,500 to the contestant with the highest percentage of correct predictions from the entire year. According to editor-in-Chief Ashton Dorkins, "Each trading day, we select a stock and display its price chart." Then all you have to do is decide if you think it will close up or down the following day. One perk that increases your chances of winning is that if the stock closes unchanged, it is counted as a win whether you picked up or down.

To register all you have to do is visit http://www.tradingmarkets.com/trading_contests/upordown/ and then simply start choosing your stocks. The thing I like about this contest is that it forces its participants to really think. You don't just fill out an entry form with your name and address and wait to see if you've won. You actually can research and make wise choices that increase your odds of winning. And if you just want to play a chance game, just log on and pick random answers! Who knows maybe that's the secret to the stock market!

*It should also be noted that "TradingMarkets is not an investment advisory service, not a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer and dodes not purport to tell or suggest which secruities customers should buy or sell for themselves."

Play the game- save money!

There are countless games on the web. You can play anything from solitaire to racing games and checkers to "I Spy". They are fun, most of the time free, and enjoyable to play while at home, work, or lets face it- in class. But why not take time spent playing online games and play a different kind of game instead....

"The Grocery Game" was developed in 2000 by Teri Gault to teach shoppers how to save. To date more than 100,000 households are using it and saving money because of it. In "Saving Money With The Grocery Game" CBS4 reporter Shannon Hori investigates just how this game is played. To do this, Hori joins founder Gault on a shopping excursion. Gault explains that all you have to do to be a part of the game is to pay $10 for an eight week membership to the site. When you do this, you are granted access to "The List" that tells you what products are on sale and at which store near you. "The List" even tells you which coupons to cut out of the Sunday paper to save the most money.

Gault showed her skills when after using a coupon on two bottles of $3.19 juice that were "buy one get one free", she only paid $.60 a bottle. She also suggests to check the prices of buying two smaller sized items with a coupon before buying the larger value size. Sometimes it actually works out to be cheaper to buy the smaller size than the value one. On average Gault said that her shoppers are saving $484 a month for a family of four and sometimes more than 60% on their grocery bill.

When the pair were done shopping the evidence lied in the numbers. Their total was $52.14 with help from coupons and "The List", saving them $86.67! Mother of two, Jennifer Cevallos, also suggests to stock up on staples when they are on sale. She has doubles and triples of most items so when she runs out of something, all she has to do is go shopping in her own pantry! But one thing that both Cevallos and Gault advise before starting any drastic shopping regiment, is to make time and space to prepare before going grocery shopping.

Personally, I don't think its necessary to pay to be told whats on sale and what coupons are available. If you are careful and smart about it, you can do this all on your own. Just keep an eye out when reading the newspaper and magazines for coupons on products that you need or buy often. Then browse the Sunday ads for whats on sale and where to get it. Finally, just simply put the two together and viola! Savings are yours! But if you need a more hands on, informational approach, The Grocery Game is a great option too.

Free? Not free?

Here I am again, coming at you with the latest on promotional stuff. The Boston Globe announced a newcomer, Jackpot Rewards was launched yesterday (February 20,2008) with support from some very famous names. The article, "Rewards site bets it can lure online shoppers", said investors included Boston advertising executive Jack Connors, former Fidelity fund manager Peter Lynch, and Clough Capital Partners chief executive Chuck Clough that backed the site with more than $16.7 million. Jackpot Rewards is a promising hit that will include shopping rewards, sweepstakes, charity, and classified ads.

Jackpot Rewards understands that people want discounts and free things. But they also know that people like to help others. Paying just a $3 weekly membership fee at JackpotRewards.com gives people access to hundreds of online retailer discounts like Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Best Buy. In turn, half of membership profits go to children's charities. Now, I know this violates all that I believe in (free is the only way to be) but I also think that it is a great way for people and companies to give back to the community and those in need.

Media analyst at JupiterResearch, Barry Parr also recognizes the threat that charging for memberships could pose for this company. He said that it will be harder to convince consumers to subscribe to this service online when they are used to getting it for free. In general, sweepstakes have an "unsavory" reputation in Parr's mind. He also says that having customers pay for this type of service raises questions about the company's business model.

Despite this, it doesn't seem like the investors of Jackpot Rewards are too worried. Jack Connors said he understands the risk and the concept of online sweepstakes. He also said that basing your business around giving half of your profits to charity will certainly make it a big number. Other questions involving gambling have also arisen around this new launch. Edgar Dworsky, a former assistant attorney general of consumer protection in Massachusetts who now runs ConsumerWorld.org, advises the company to be careful. Because they only make money from membership fees, it could potentially appear that they are selling 'lottery tickets', thus constituting as gambling. But, Dworsky did give the company credit for providing people a way to enter sweepstakes without paying a fee to keep it legal. (Note: It was not clear from the article just how consumers could enter without paying a fee.)

The heart of Jackpot Rewards lies in its shopper discount program. Members who visit participating retailers can earn cash back on monthly purchases and people can enter the sweepstakes as many times as they want by mail. According to chief executive, Jim Miller, the company needs 300,000 members to keep going. But with tens of millions of people shopping online, Miller and the rest of his investors aren't really worried. They are sticking to the idea of giving back to charities and communities to keep their new project running. It will be interesting to see if that is what really happens...