When you're planning your next promotional campaign, you might find yourself using terms like "sweepstakes" and "giveaways" interchangeably. While both tactics can drive engagement and boost brand awareness, they operate under different legal frameworks.
Understanding these differences ensures you choose the right promotional tool for your objectives and comply with regulations.
A giveaway is an umbrella term for any promotion that awards prizes to participants for completing specific actions – whether that's entering their contact information, making a purchase, or even completing a challenge. This broad category encompasses a range of promotions:
Winner selection in giveaways can be skill or luck-based.
There may be an element of skill involved in a giveaway, which can affect winner selection.
A sweepstakes is a specific type of chance-based giveaway. Unlike skill-based contests where judges evaluate submissions, sweepstakes rely purely on luck – with winners chosen at random. This distinction carries significant legal implications that affect how you structure and execute your campaigns.
Still confused? Let’s dive a little deeper.
Sweepstakes are a type of promotion that gives participants the chance to win big prizes in exchange for performing simple actions. For example:
Winners are selected at random from the pool of eligible entries.
The biggest difference between sweepstakes and other types of promotion is the legal foundations that underpins them. Sweepstakes must comply with No Purchase Necessary laws. This stipulates that you must provide a free alternative method of entry (AMOE) for all participants.
Adherence to No Purchase Necessary laws distinguishes sweepstakes from similar promotions, like lotteries.
A well-designed sweepstakes can help you:
The key advantage lies in their broad appeal: everyone loves the thrill of winning something for little effort.
While sweepstakes might seem straightforward from a participant's perspective, running them effectively requires technology to handle entry validation, winner selection, and compliance. Sweepstakes administration platforms help to automate these processes.
In an online sweepstakes, participants enter through web forms, email submissions, or dedicated microsites. Because the entire process is digital, it’s easy to track entries and collect participant data. You can even automate winner selection and notification for a smooth user experience.
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok provide built-in mechanisms for running sweepstakes through likes, shares, comments, and hashtags. Social media sweepstakes can amplify your reach organically as they incentivize participants to share your content. Just remember that you must ensure your promotion’s rules comply with your chosen platform's promotional guidelines.
Members-only sweepstakes reward your most engaged customers while encouraging others, who don’t want to miss out, to join your membership program. By making participants feel like they’re part of an exclusive elite, members-only sweepstakes often have a higher perceived value than other promotions.
These sweepstakes focus on driving traffic to specific retail partners through exclusive, co-branded promotions. They often feature retailer-specific prizes, like gift cards, and may offer different prize tiers based on where customers make their purchases. A retailer-specific sweepstakes is the ideal choice if you want to strengthen key partnerships.
Many brands connect sweepstakes entries to product purchases to drive sales. However, they must still follow No Purchase Necessary laws by offering free entry alternatives. Receipt validation platforms make it easy for customers to submit proof of purchase while keeping the verification process smooth for brands.
The House of Suntory wanted to demonstrate the value of their loyalty program by offering members exclusive opportunities. Their members-only sweepstakes gave select customers a chance to win invitations for two to an exclusive Hibiki event at Carnegie Hall. Members could simply register at an age and state-gated microsite for their chance to win.
Kraft Heinz Canada designed a nationwide sweepstakes to incentivize purchases and strengthen their relationship with Walmart. Customers who purchased at least two qualifying Kraft Heinz products from Walmart were automatically entered for a chance to win a $10,000 store gift card.
Advantage Solutions and NERDS created excitement leading up to Super Bowl 2025 with a text-to-enter sweepstakes. Participants who texted the keyword "NERDS" received a URL where they could register each day in the build-up to the event for the chance to win an epic tailgate party. This approach capitalized on Super Bowl excitement while keeping entry barriers extremely low.
'Giveaway' describes a broad category of contest or promotion that encompasses everything from simple instant win games to sweepstakes. As such, the exact mechanics of a giveaway differ depending on the type of promotion. For example, it might feature random winner selection or some form of skill-based evaluation process.
The same goes for compliance requirements. Skill-based giveaways may not have to adhere to No Purchase Necessary laws, unlike a sweepstakes.
Which giveaway format you choose really comes down to your campaign objectives. Want to showcase customer creativity? Run a photo contest. Need to drive trials or sales? Implement an instant-win game. Looking to build social media following? Create a follow-and-share campaign.
Managing giveaways requires robust technology that can handle everything from social media monitoring and content moderation to purchase validation and prize fulfillment.
A dedicated consumer promotion and contest management solution streamline these complex processes, enabling you to execute skill-based contests, instant-win games, and purchase-driven campaigns from a single dashboard. This integrated approach saves time while helping you comply with relevant rules and regulations.
Social media giveaways leverage platform-specific features – like sharing, commenting, or using branded hashtags. You might ask followers to tag friends, share your post to their stories, or create user-generated content featuring your products. The viral potential of social media giveaways makes them particularly effective for brand awareness campaigns.
Email giveaways allow you to segment your audience and create targeted campaigns based on subscriber behavior or preferences. Want to encourage newsletter subscriptions? Offer enticing prizes to new subscribers. Looking to show loyal customers some love? An exclusive, VIP giveaway is the way to go.
Purchase-based giveaways reward customers for buying your products. You can structure these promotions in several ways. For example, customers could earn sweepstakes entries for each purchase, unlock instant prizes when they spend a certain amount, or find winning codes printed on product packaging. This approach directly connects your promotional activity to sales while giving customers an extra incentive to choose your brand over competitors.
Ask participants to create and share user-generated content (UGC) featuring your brand. Think photos, videos, reviews, or testimonials. You can judge submissions based on creativity, popularity, or alignment with brand values. UGC giveaways generate authentic content while increasing brand visibility across participants' networks.
Referral giveaways reward existing customers for bringing in new ones. This could be anything from providing guaranteed rewards for each referral to entering referrers into larger prize drawings. This approach turns your customer base into a voluntary marketing force.
The U.S. grocery chain celebrated its 120th anniversary by giving away $7,000 in free groceries to 120 Texans. Customers could enter by shopping in-store, through the H‑E‑B app, via curbside pickup or home delivery, or through mail-in entry. By offering high-value prizes with low entry barriers, H‑E‑B generated statewide excitement while reinforcing its reputation as a customer-first, community-rooted brand.
BetMGM capitalized on one of the UK's most-watched racing events for its giveaway. Anyone who placed a £2 wager during the Cheltenham Festival were entered into two separate £250,000 prize draws. The campaign included trip giveaways, free bets, and exclusive event tickets. By tapping into a key moment in the betting calendar, with accessible entry requirements and large-scale rewards, BetMGM drove engagement while positioning itself as both premium and approachable.
Under Armour’s Flow State Challenge promotion combined fitness tracking, gamification, and social engagement into one powerful promotion. Runners logged 30 miles in 30 days using the MapMyRun app to qualify for the chance to win bespoke running experiences. The brand also used Instagram AR filters and influencer support to amplify visibility. The promotion’s unique mix of digital storytelling community participation generated more than 127 million video views – expanding and strengthening brand awareness.
|
|
Sweepstakes |
Giveaways |
|
Overview |
A type of chance-based promotion. |
An umbrella term for prize-giving promotions. |
|
Entry Requirements |
Varies, but must offer a free entry method alongside any purchase requirements. |
Varies by giveaway type. Some contests can require purchases or fees as an entry condition. |
|
Winner Selection |
Random drawing from eligible entries. |
Depends on type. Can be random or skill-based. |
|
Legal Considerations |
Must comply with No Purchase Necessary laws and state-specific regulations. |
Legal requirements vary significantly by giveaway type, industry, and structure. |
The sweepstakes vs. giveaway decision ultimately depends on your marketing objectives. If you want to drive maximum participation while collecting valuable customer data, a sweepstakes is an excellent choice. Their ease of entry and random selection process appeals to broad audiences.
For campaigns requiring more nuanced approaches – showcasing customer creativity, rewarding specific behaviors, or creating tiered engagement levels – another giveaway format might be your best bet. The key is matching your promotional mechanics to your desired outcomes.
That said, it doesn’t have to be an either/or decision. The most successful campaigns often layer multiple promotional elements. For instance, you could combine a sweepstakes grand prize with instant-win components or add social sharing requirements to purchase-based entries. This approach maximizes engagement while providing multiple touchpoints for customer interaction.