Westfield Gift Cards taking over Facebook, breaking rules in the process

26 November 2009 | by Willem Reyners Tay

Westfield's new Gift Cards promotion reads straight from the Moonfruit book of social media success. However what works on Twitter might not fit with Facebook and Westfield might soon be navigating through troubled waters.

Moonfruit, makers of SiteMaker website building product, offered a Macbook Pro per day, the catch being you had to mention the #moonfruit hashtag in your update. The response was overwhelming with Moonfruit becoming a trending topic as the competition spread virally through Twitter. It is often used as a shining example of how to leverage social media.

Westfield has similarly attempted to leverage the Facebook status update their new Gift Card promotion, just in time for Christmas. Westfield is offering a $10,000 prize draw to someone who update their Facebook status using the Westfield Gift Card Application.

The application quickly guides you to posts a pre-defined status update:

If my 380 strong Facebook friends are anything to go by, the competition is spreading like wildfire, with the Westfield branding dominating my news feed. So far around 5% of my Facebook friends have participated in the competition.

Whilst the competition is a great idea, the supporting documentation leaves a lot to be desired, with some users suggesting that the competition may be a hoax.

There is no mention of when the competition will be drawn on the Westfield Gift Card fan page and it takes quite a bit of digging to find the competitions Terms and Conditions. It shouldn't be this hard to find more information.

Sydney based digital strategist Tom Kelshaw also noticed that the competition appears to be breaking Facebook's promotion terms and conditions by requiring people to update their status to enter.

Specifically this section:

4.2 In the rules of the promotion, or otherwise, you will not condition entry to the promotion upon taking any action on Facebook, for example, updating a status, posting on a profile or Page, or uploading a photo.

This oversight could see the Gift Card promotion removed at any time by the Facebook gods. At the moment it's a case of wait and see.

UPDATE: As is the danger with these kind of marketing ploys, there is already a 1000 strong Facebook group against the promotion and it's tactics. Actually there are more than one.

Westfield have also released a statement regarding the promotion:

"Westfield said today that its Christmas Gift Card promotion on Facebook is a registered promotion. Westfield worked closely with Facebook to develop the competition and Westfield has legal advice that the promotion does not breach the Spam Act."

Westfield have also updated both their fan page and application to prominently include links to their terms and conditions.

They have also confirmed the agencies involved were M&C Saatchi and Ikon Communications.

How to: Synchronise your social media with Twitterfeed (22/01/2010)

A Marketer’s Guide to Online Earwigging (30/11/2009)

Billion dollar Twitter valuation hard to live up to: MySpace founder (29/09/2009)

Worldwide weekly roundup - the best bits of social media (11/08/2009)

Worldwide Weekly Roundup - the best bits of social media (27/07/2009)

Add a comment24 Comments

at 08:14 PM on 28 November 2009, sean pearce wrote:
what a great idea! good luck everyone.
at 10:38 PM on 27 November 2009, Sherrii wrote:
And... 7.The prize draw will take place on Thursday 14th January 2010 at 11am AEDST. I thought this was for x-mas, this is bogus
at 06:41 PM on 27 November 2009, Walter Adamson wrote:
It's simply a "clever" promotion with all the risks of lack of thinking it through and poor integration with other initiatives. Let's hope they get more out of it then the cost of damage control in resources and brand value. And when that's hosed down back to wait for the next big idea to walk through the door. Since "it was developed in close consultation with Facebook" what is the actual answer to the specific violation of Rule 4.2 In the rules of the promotion, or otherwise, you will not condition entry to the promotion upon taking any action on Facebook, for example, updating a status, posting on a profile or Page, or uploading a photo. Walter Adamson @g2m xeesm.com/walter
at 06:00 PM on 27 November 2009, DebbieR wrote:
I don't like the way you are required to give this application access to your facebook account.... a big fat no from me
at 04:33 PM on 27 November 2009, Erin wrote:
Poaza I think the point of the promo is to utilise social media- free social media- to promote a contest that is purely online. The viral nature (and success) of this campaign does not require offline promotion IMHO. @red - if you read the T&C's proplery it says nothing of the sort: Once an individual’s Facebook status has been updated correctly, the Westfield Facebook application will be deemed successfully completed and individuals are then permitted to update their Facebook status at any time. No other means of status updates will be accepted.
at 04:27 PM on 27 November 2009, Erin wrote:
Poaza I think the point of the promo is to utilise social media- free social media- to promote a contest that is purely online. The viral nature (and success) of this campaign does not require offline promotion IMHO
at 02:05 PM on 27 November 2009, Kirri wrote:
Facebook has been crashing ever since the Westfield app took off - people's profiles are completely disappearing. I call shenanigans.
at 12:39 PM on 27 November 2009, Shopaholic wrote:
A lot of Facebook users don't get the rules and are posting the status without going via the application. They are spreading the word without being able to win anything! Terrible yet clever marketing.
at 12:17 PM on 27 November 2009, Poaza wrote:
Walking around Westfield Southland yesterday, there was no mention of the competition. Now I know people have said it is easy enough to just "google" the competition, but shouldn't the first rule of marketing be "promote, promote, promote"....and I would have thought that promoting the comp in its Westfield complexes would have been the first thing done.
at 10:38 AM on 27 November 2009, Tabitha wrote:
The terms and conditions link was recently added this is why you can find it easily enough YES the Comp is Real, However it is one of the most despicable forms of marketing I have ever seen, can they not afford honest dignified advertising and models? and a competition that will not violate the laws set for privacy?
at 07:50 AM on 27 November 2009, Katrina wrote:
It wasn't hard to find the draw date in Facebook, before you join the application there is a Terms of Service with all the details. Click on that and you'll find everything you need to know. You ain't no Sherlock Holmes are you? # The prize draw will take place on Thursday 14th January 2010 at Anisimoff Legal, Suite 1, Level 1, 34 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065 at 11am AEDST. The Promoter reserves the right to draw additional reserve entries and record them in order in case an invalid entry or ineligible entrant is drawn. # The winner will be notified by email and their name will be published in The Australian on Monday 25th January 2010. The Promoter’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Read before you buy into the crap.
at 07:40 AM on 27 November 2009, Emma wrote:
The T&C's can be clicked on and read BEFORE installing the application and agreeing to it. 7.The prize draw will take place on Thursday 14th January 2010 at 11am AEDST. Read it yourselves.... not complicated whatsoever. http://westfieldgiftcards.com.au/giftcard/alliwant/
at 01:13 AM on 27 November 2009, Mel wrote:
http://westfieldgiftcards.com.au/giftcard/alliwant/ That wasnt hard i just googled it and i also found on there all the dates to say when it will be drawn!
at 01:12 AM on 27 November 2009, Mel Turner wrote:
Word is that the app was created by hackers... any truth to this?
at 12:28 AM on 27 November 2009, Brooke Charters wrote:
Found the terms straight away underneath the entry form! They are on the westfield gift card site! http://westfieldgiftcards.com.au/giftcard/alliwant/ It also goes on to say:- The prize draw will take place on Thursday 14th January 2010 at Anisimoff Legal, Suite 1, Level 1, 34 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065 at 11am AEDST. The Promoter reserves the right to draw additional reserve entries and record them in order in case an invalid entry or ineligible entrant is drawn.
at 11:18 PM on 26 November 2009, Geoff wrote:
All i want for christmas is a westfield gift card.
at 10:37 PM on 26 November 2009, me wrote:
i just read the terms and conditions and it does state when it will be drawn 24th dec and also will be in the australian
at 10:03 PM on 26 November 2009, Lindy wrote:
The rules are on the first page and if you go into them u will see clear as a bell the draw date...click on enter the competition now button and on that page you will see the terms and conditions button...quite easy to find I'd say
at 08:01 PM on 26 November 2009, Nic wrote:
I found the rules on the first page of Google results when I searched, so they're not exactly buried. Don't like the idea of them updating my status willy nilly though! http://westfieldgiftcards.com.au/giftcard/alliwant/
at 08:00 PM on 26 November 2009, Josh wrote:
As this article has stated that there is no mention of when the prize will be drawn, you will find that if you go to www.westfieldgiftcards.com.au you will not only find the terms and conditions, but it also states when the competition ends and when the prize is drawn, it really was`nt that hard to find at all like it was stated just a few simple words in google and you will find it all there
at 06:26 PM on 26 November 2009, confused wrote:
just wondering where you got that info from. I can't find it in the terms and conditions. can you please point me in the right direction. ta.
at 02:50 PM on 26 November 2009, Zoh wrote:
Also, after installing their ap, you can't enter the competition without giving the ap the ability to update your status at any time without asking your permission. Totally dicey.
at 02:49 PM on 26 November 2009, red wrote:
To enter you also have to allow this application to update your status... but the catch is it can continue do that without you having to allow/prompt it each time. This has the potential to be misused in the future by this app.
at 12:05 PM on 26 November 2009, Erin Delaney wrote:
nice work detective! :) i smell a walkley! oh wait, no.. that's my lunch. mmm.. lunch. even if it is 10k i still just feel germy thinking about posting it as my status. might as well just get a pimp and be done with it.