How a contest campaign moves from review to final report

What happens across the five campaign stages?

A contest campaign moves through five connected stages: discovery and rules analysis, a plan with a projection, creative preparation, launch, and reporting through to wrap-up. Each stage answers a different practical question, so you can make decisions before the next part of the work begins.

The exact pace is set by the contest deadline, the review process and the time needed to approve materials. We keep the same account contact involved throughout, so decisions and questions stay connected to the original campaign goals. For an overview of the wider service, see contest marketing.

Which details shape the rules review and campaign plan?

The rules review establishes what kind of promotion is acceptable before any channel or creative is selected. It also helps make the campaign message accurate: supporters should know how to participate and what steps the contest requires.

To begin, send us:

• The contest page and the organizer’s full rules.
• Your entry page, category and the outcome you are aiming for.
• The closing date, including the time zone, and any separate voting deadline.
• The platforms or communities you already use, plus any existing campaign materials.
• Any limits on who can enter, how voting works and how votes are verified.

We check whether the rules permit outside promotion and paid advertising, and note any instructions that need to appear in the campaign. If the rules do not support the proposed approach, we explain that before moving forward. Where the rules call for a closer review, contest rules and risk consulting can help clarify the decision.

Once the review is complete, the plan identifies suitable channels, the message, the proposed schedule and the assumptions behind the projection. A projection is an estimate for planning, not a record of what has happened. The written quote separates our work from advertising spend, which is paid to the platform; both are confirmed before launch.

How do creative approval and launch work in practice?

Creative preparation turns the approved plan into messages and materials that supporters can act on. Before anything goes live, we share the proposed copy and creative for your review and check that the call to action matches the actual voting or entry steps.

You can make approval faster by preparing the original images or video, the exact entry name, any required brand assets, and confirmation that you have permission to use each asset. If the contest includes a confirmation email, account sign-in or another voting step, tell us so the instructions do not leave supporters guessing. Our creative and copy support can cover the campaign materials as well as the wording.

For launch, we check the destination links and the supporter journey, then set up the agreed promotion. That may include paid promotion of contest entries or consent-based outreach through relevant communities and contact lists. Any message that invites people to share or vote must fit both the contest rules and the norms of the channel.

The campaign starts only after the plan and creative are approved and the required account access is in place. During the initial check, we review the live destination and available campaign information, then flag anything that needs your attention.

What do reports show, and where are the boundaries?

Daily reports give you a concise record of the campaign activity visible to us, along with the actions taken and any decisions needed from you. At the end, the wrap-up brings the work into one place so you can see which materials and channels were used and what to consider for another contest.

A useful daily update can include spend and delivery information available in the advertising account, visits or clicks where tracking is available, creative changes, and the next planned action. We also distinguish observed platform activity from the contest’s own voting information; a visit cannot always be connected to a particular vote. The final summary notes the original plan alongside what ran and provides the campaign materials produced for the work.

The organizer sets the contest rules and may change them or review entries, while advertising platforms make their own approval and delivery decisions. We cannot promise votes, a ranking or a win; our commitment is to the agreed work and transparent reporting.

We use white-hat methods in line with platform rules and contest rules: we do not sell votes, followers or engagement, and we do not use bots, scripts, fake accounts or click farms. If a campaign requires those practices, we will not take it on.

To start, send the contest link, full rules, entry link, deadline and your objective to the free contest analysis. We will review the information and come back with a practical next step.