Comping Terms
Here are a number of terms and
acronyms you will meet as a result of entering competitions.
Comping
Entering competitions as a hobby.
Comper
Someone who enters competitions.
Chestnut
A tiebreaker that has been used and reworked for many years,
they still crop up as winning slogans even though originality
is asked for.
AIOE - All in one
envelope.
You can sometimes send multiple entries to one address in just
one envelope, This is common for magazine comps e.g.
Wetherspoons. Look out for this it can make you hobby more
cost effective.
CD - Closing Date
The date by which an Entry Form must arrive at its destination
i.e the address on the entry form or in the in-store box.
EF - Entry Form
The official form required to enter a competition, photocopies
are not normally allowed. Sometimes the writing space can be
very limited so make sure you get spares for practice!
FPD – Free Prize Draw
A competition where no qualifier is required and usually very
little effort. At their simplest, you just need to supply your
name and details (address, telephone number, email etc) on a
postcard or an entry form. Others, may require that you to
complete a simple survey-style questionnaire. Eitherway, the
winner is chosen at by drawing the winning entry out of a hat.
LWE
- Long White (Winning) Envelope.
We hope you see lots of these! This is the usual format used
to give notification of a prize.
NPN - No Purchase Necessary
In no skill competitions, there must be an equal opportunity
for those who have not purchased the product. Therefore you
will see a 'No Purchase Necessary' route. This means you can
enter by sending a plain paper entry or a postcard with your
name and contact details.
OEF – Official Entry Form
See entry form (EF).
OOM - Order Of Merit
This a type of competition where items/features have to be
placed into an order usually pre-determined by the judges.
e.g. ordering a number of design and safety features of a car.
PC
- Postcard
These are often required for free prize draws, you just place
your name and address on the left hand side and the
competition address on the right. But avoid to the postcard
being returned to you put your name and address at an angle to
the competition address. To make your postcard stand out you
could use coloured or picture postcards. You do not have to
buy these, if you keep your eyes open, you will find a rich
source of advertising postcards out there, such as the
Boomerang postcards found in cinema foyers and public houses.
PD - Prize Draw
See free prize draw (FPD).
POP
- Proof of Purchase.
This could be a label, a bar code, a ring pull, or most likely
a till receipt. Make sure you circle you purchase you purchase
on the till receipt and do not attach it to your entry form
unless specifically asked to do so. Most competitions will not
accept photocopies of till receipts so if you require
qualifiers for various items in one shop, ask for separate
till receipts.
PP - Plain Paper
These are often used for free prize draws. Plain paper means a
piece of plain paper with your name and address clearly
printed on it and sent to the competition address. You will
save yourself time by word-processing your self a batch of
these. With respect to size, it is sometimes specified, if not
make sure it is a good size, an A4 piece of paper cut into
four makes ideal size plain paper entries.
PH - Phone In Competitions
This is where you will need to telephone the competition phone
number to enter the competition. Take care to check the cost
of the phone call, it is often very high as this is how they
raise the cash for the competition prize and make a large
profit.
SAE - Stamped (Self)
Addressed Envelope
You will be asked to provide one of these if you want to know
the winning entries. Write your name and address on the
envelope, stick a stamp on it and include it in your envelope
to the competition house.
STD
- Spot The Difference
This is where you have to find the differences between two or
more pictures or drawings. You will usually have to 'circle
the differences' on a specified picture but follow the
instructions carefully.
T&C
- Terms & Conditions
Usually in very small print at the bottom of entry forms, so
invest in a magnifying glass!!! These tell you who is eligible
to enter the competition, the number of entries you can make,
age restrictions, closing date, the notification of the
results date, and specific details of the prizes. You must
read these very carefully or you could be disqualified.
TB – Tiebreaker
A slogan often required which will determine the winners of a
competition. It generally involves the phrase "complete the
following sentence in an apt and original manner".
You are usually asked to do this in a set number of words or
less. Always stick to this and be careful when it comes to
hyphenated words and apostrophies, our advice is don't take
any chances.
TXT - Text Competitions
This is where you will need to textin your swer and or details
to the competition. Like phone-in competitions, check the cost
and details of your phone contract as you could be running up
a big bill!
WEM - Winning Email.
This is when you are notified of a competition prize via
email. Internet competitions generally work in this way. You
will probably have to reply to the email to give your address
for the prize.
WTC - Winning Telephone
Call.
This is when you are notified of a competition win via phone.
With so many telesales these days you need to make sure of the
authenticity of the call. Many unscrupulous companies try to
woo you into making a purchase or making an expensive phone
call by guaranteeing a prize, these are usually clever scams.
On the other hand don’t be too quick to put down the phone, it
may not be another double glazing salesman, but that phone
call telling you that you have won a cruise!!
WWW / W3-
Online Competitions
These are Internet competitions, and there are loads of them
around. They are usually run in order to get you email
address, so be ready for the onslaught of junk email you will
receive henceforth. On the other hand they are esy to enter
and do seem to provide a good success rate.
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