Just curious… has anyone here ever been involved in selecting a winner for a 25-words-and-less competition?
Surely you don't actually read every entry. So do you just read entries until one stands out, and award the prize to them? Or is there some system of random draws where X random entries are drawn, then you read all of those entries and pick the best one.
Or is the 25-words-and-less thing just a smokescreen and the winner is usually picked by random draw anyway?
Creativity. And yes I've been a 1/5 winner
You wrote only five words?
What? No, entered a 25 words or less competition and won a 1/5 prize eg. 5 prizes available
See the recent AMA from Maximum
I've found being funny/creative usually is a winner, I've won quite a few over the years that way. From Facebook competitions (where you can see other peoples entries) I've been amazed at how many people put zero effort into creativity and instead just state they want/need/deserve it.
Having worked in marketing for a long time I can tell you that they won't read every response. Usually they pick a random sample and select a winner from those. Sometimes they just randomly pick a winner without reading any (though they do make sure it is a valid entry).
Anything that is published (eg mentioned on air or in a magazine) will usually go through a more vigorous process as they'll want something that aligns with the brand values. Usually it is best to mention the brand or product.
Agree, also I believe that if a competition is advertised as a game of skill (i.e. not pure chance) then the licencing is less expensive. Or something like that. So it may still just be a random selection in many cases, but the 25 words or less is a token gesture to show that it's not pure chance. As you say, they will probably still check that the random selection is not gibberish.
Wit and originality. If you can get it conveyed in a poetry piece that rhymes, your chances are even higher.
Use the company name in your 25 words. Speak highly of them.
Pretty much kiss thier arse and you have a great chance.
Please answer question in 25 words or less. Thank you.