I'm stuck in a rut here and I know y'all are the folks to ask.

I have a marketing client who wants to give away $5 Gift Certificates to her online shop. All the recipient has to do is visit a contact-collecting website (we're setting up a special site for her to do this) or visit her storefront, either way they will get the G.C. code that will work in her online shopping cart.

She would like to put stickers on her brochures drawing attention to this special promotion, and then the brochures will be put in area brochure racks, etc.

The question is how to phrase the exact wording on these stickers. I'm trying to make the pay-off sound as compelling as possible to the potential customer.

(Side-note: the "story" behind this promo is that she is running the "Top Secret Headquarters" e.g. for the North Pole in her gift shop, all Chirstmas/Santa/Elf themed. We're really super-playing-up the TOP SECRET thing.)


So the line in question on this sticker reads,

(The * ties to "*limited time offer" at the bottom)

Originally I had it saying

But that sounds so run-of-the-mill, yawner-boring. Free Gifts are a dime-a-dozen in retail, making this a very average sounding promo. Pbbbbt!!!

This morning I had this brainstorm to say,

...because she is offering them a no-strings-attached $5 gift certificate to spend however they like at her online store.

But I worry that "cash reward" has a legal connotation/definition and can only be used for real, live, hard, cold, legal tender-type cash. I worry that a gift certificate that's only good at one store/one website would not qualify as a "cash reward" and in fact that the offer could get my client in BIG trouble. I've Googled it and also searched the FTC site but didn't come up with any hard-and-fast definitions for the use of "cash reward" terminology. Maybe I missed something obvious though (wouldn't be the first time!!!) which is why I'm asking the Pros!

We can always use "FREE GIFT," (yawn!), I'm just fishing for something that sounds more exciting. And who doesn't get excited over money???


Suggestions? What's your experience with this??? Thanks so much!!!

Bailey

Why not go the direct route:

Find us and get cash!

Dale King

Even though it's Gift Certificate cash and not 5-Dollar-Bill cash? Is that legal?


Bailey

Oooh, I just thought of this:

Whatcha think?

Bailey

Hello, Bailey!

If this is "all Chirstmas/Santa/Elf themed" why not to make these stickers in the form of a Santa coin and write on them: "Find us and return Santa his coin!!!" or "A gift certificate. Issued by Mr. S. Claus." or "Santa highly recommends you to use our service!".

Katarina

I've seen this technique used in many ads over the years.

Why not try it?

If there's a problem with the wording, the FTC will let ou know.

But I honestly don't see a problem with it.

Besides, the FTC have bigger fish to fry!

Dale King

P.S. Whatever, you do, DO NOT use the word moolah.

Find Us and Cash In (Santa's Elves will Reimburse You in Our Top-Secret Giveaway)...

Katarina, what a neat idea with the coin stickers. Thank you for sharing your creativity! We'll keep that in mind for next year! Unfortunately we're trying to keep our costs down on this for this season, we're under a time crunch, and she has like 2,000 Address Labels (1 x 2-5/8") in her office -- so we're just gonna print the text onto those labels & stick 'em onto her brochure. Not the ideal solution, but it's what she has on hand, can afford to do, and it's better than doing nothing --

But I love the coin idea and I'm sticking that one in the old "idea file" THANK YOU!!!!

Sheri, I think that might nail it -- CASH IN --

Dale, I appreciate your feedback on this. I know you've seen a lot more in terms of promos than I have, so your experience & thoughts are exactly what I was looking for. I know "the FTC will let her know" but she's a small-time operator and doesn't have a legal team & fat checkbook to whip out when this goes bad. I'd rather we be a little boring/conservative than push the envelope too far and p*ss somebody off. It's cheaper to be boring than it is to be edgy in a small town with busybody neighbors. We'd really like to do this as "cleanly" as possible right at the get-go. No sense in dangling lawyer bait out there!

Thank you again for the suggestions ... I knew that copywriters were the go-to people for this kind of thing!

Bailey

You're quite welcome, Bailey! Glad to help.

I agree. It's better to err on the side of caution when you have a nervous client.

But just for the record, its been my experience, the FTC doesn't automatically fine you. They generally warn you first.

But again, better to err on the side of caution.

Dale King