Last week, the CEO of PC builder Artesian Builds came under fire for comments he made about a company promotion during a Twitch live streamed event. All marketers can learn something from this. This is what transpired.
Artesian Builds has given away one custom PC build each to two of their brand “ambassadors” in a sweepstakes drawing streamed live on the company’s Twitch channel every month for the last four months. The CEO allegedly changed the rules during the livestream drawing in February.
The new minimum requirements were not specified by the CEO. The purpose of the rule changes, according to the CEO, is to ensure that Ambassadors continue to fulfill their obligation of supporting and promoting the Artesian Builds brand.
When the CEO drew Twitch streamer “kiapiaa,” he allegedly used her unique Ambassador link to publicly review her follower counts and clicks, determining that she did not meet the company’s threshold requirements. Members of the Twitch community then chastised the CEO for his remarks about the streamer. Kiapiaa claimed she had been defamed on Twitter. As a result, the CEO issued an apology later on.
Every marketer should have official rules in place for any sweepstakes they run. The official rules are an agreement between the marketer and the competitor.
They include, but are not limited to, “No purchase necessary,” the length of the entry period, the prize or prizes (and their values), how to win, the odds of being selected, and eligibility, as required by many state statutes.
Despite the fact that we were unable to review the written rules for the Artesian Brands sweepstakes presented here, marketers should refrain from changing the rules once a giveaway has started. Rule changes made just before a drawing may not be enforceable if there are no written rules allowing them.
In general, a marketer cannot disqualify a winner who is technically eligible based on the original eligibility requirements simply because the marketer is unhappy with the winner selected at random. If a marketer discovers an eligibility issue after a winner has been chosen, it’s probably best to communicate with the “winner” privately rather than in a public forum.
