Is it better to give ONE BIG grand prize or MANY smaller prizes?

[mikewelsh]

We have limited budget to offer cash prizes for a competition. So should be just giving 1 HUGE cash prize for the grand winner or smaller prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd winners?

What's your experience in users' response in this 2 scenarios?

 

[Minuteman Press]

Have been involved in quite a few similar exercises - contributors comment that they prefer multiple prizes - increasing the perceived (actual) chances of winning.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

It completely depends on how much money you have for the prizes.

 

[Clodbuster]

Look at the lottery - ticket sales rocket when the prize is a single large one. I recall reading somewhere that more little prizes reduced sales.

 

[Attaintm]

Having undertaken similar exercises, I have to agree we have always had better responses where multiple prizes were available as opposed to a single prize.

Potential entrants are drawn to the increased chances of winning. The only thing to be wary of is that if you separate the prize budget that you don't make the prizes of so small a value that they lose their perceived value and overly reduce the overall drive for entrants.

 

[mikewelsh]

Assuming I got 1,000 pound budget

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Assuming I got 1,000 pound budget

And now it depends on how big the competition will be, or more importantly, how big the potential entrants believe the competition will be.

It's all about the perceived odds and the potential gain in relation to those odds.

 

[Attaintm]

Who will the entrants be?

Will it be individuals or businesses?

Is this potential prize aimed at getting the entrants to choose you as a supplier over another or for them to try a product for the first time?

 

[mikewelsh]

Who will the entrants be?

Will it be individuals or businesses?

Is this potential prize aimed at getting the entrants to choose you as a supplier over another or for them to try a product for the first time?

Try product for frst time

 

[Davek0974]

We have limited budget to offer cash prizes for a competition. So should be just giving 1 HUGE cash prize for the grand winner or smaller prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd winners?

What's your experience in users' response in this 2 scenarios?

We do competitions here but gift voucher not cash prize.

Personally with a £1000 pot i would go for maybe £500 1st and £250 2nd/3rd prizes.

 

[JazMajor]

if the amount of the prize is really huge, I vote for having 1 grand prize.

 

[sitandstay]

Personally I would have a few small prizes

 

[Attaintm]

If as you say you are looking for the potential entrants to try a product for the first time, I would personally adopt the smaller prize option.

You are really trying to tip them over the edge when making a decision relating on whether to buy or not and the greater chance of winning with smaller prizes is most likely going to do this.

(Does depend on what they are buying though, i'm assuming its relatively low value)

 

[mikewelsh]

Oh, they don't have to buy anything. They just need to register to the website and play the fantasy football game. Oh, did i forget to say it's fantasy football site?

 

[Attaintm]

I would still go with the smaller prize option to be honest as there is the increased statistical chance of winning and so will drive some additional people to register however in this instance I would imagine either would be quite effective.

 

[diggersjohn33]

Generally (this is what the London based agencies go by) the best practice is to have the grand prize and for several other little prizes to support it, elevate worth, highlight attention etc.

This is of course, if you can supply several prizes! Good luck...