Which contest entries can we promote responsibly?

What does the organizer permit entrants to do?

The contest terms determine whether we can plan promotion. If the rules prohibit entrants from promoting beyond the organizer’s own channels, we decline rather than suggest a workaround.

Look for wording about sharing, soliciting votes, paid advertising, campaigning, or contacting supporters. Check whether a restriction applies to every type of promotion or only to particular channels. A rule that prohibits paid ads but permits personal sharing may leave a suitable route; a ban on all outside promotion does not.

Gather these details

• The full contest rules, including any updates from the organizer.
• The contest page and your entry link.
• Any written reply from the organizer about promotion that is not clearly covered in the terms.
• The deadline and the channels you were hoping to use.

If the wording is open to interpretation, we can help you prepare a specific question for the organizer. Our contest rules and risk consulting can take a closer look at complicated terms. For an overview of suitable approaches, visit contest marketing.

Some contest categories require a clear boundary

Political campaigns, lotteries and gambling projects are not a fit for our contest promotion work. We also decline a youth project when a parent or guardian has not consented to the entry and its promotion.

A poll connected to a political campaign can still be political even if it is presented as a contest. Likewise, a prize draw or activity tied to gambling is different from promoting a skill-based entry. If you are unsure which description fits, send the rules and a short explanation of how participation works; we will tell you how we read the project before discussing campaign options.

For an entry involving a minor, a parent or guardian needs to agree to the participation and the planned promotion. You should also be ready to confirm which images or clips may be used and where, and that the organizer permits the promotion. We do not create ads targeting children. See our guidance for beauty, kids, pets and school contests for more context.

These boundaries are about the project and the promotion requested, not the size of the audience or the entrant’s profile. If a concern can be resolved with clear consent or written clarification from the organizer, we can review the updated information.

Why we refuse requests for vote shortcuts

We do not sell votes, followers or engagement, and we do not use bots, scripts, fake accounts or click farms. If a project depends on any of those methods, we will not accept it.

Our work can include paid advertising through a platform’s own ad system, creative and copy, creator outreach, or community and email outreach with consent. Those activities invite people to find and consider an entry; they are not a way to manufacture voting activity. Supporters should be told the contest’s actual voting steps, including any verification or daily limit, and should complete those steps themselves.

Before choosing a channel, check that the contest allows the type of promotion you have in mind and that supporters can reach the entry without misleading claims. We can help shape a compliant outreach plan when the rules allow it. Our no-bots policy explains the boundary in more detail, and our contest promotion methodology describes the kinds of work we can provide.

What a green light cannot settle on a contest platform

A positive review from MarketingExtra means the plan appears compatible with the rules and information you supplied; it is not an approval from the contest organizer or the advertising platform. The platform still reviews any ad submitted through its own system, while the organizer controls how entries are checked, how votes are validated, and whether an entry is removed under contest terms. We confirm only the agreed work and reporting, and label forecasts as projections: we cannot commit to a win, vote total, rank or the organizer’s final decision; if a rule or platform response changes, we pause and reassess the route before continuing.

Make the first review useful with a short project pack

A clear project pack helps us identify a workable route—or explain promptly why we should decline. You do not need a polished campaign plan; the key is to share the rules and the facts that shape the request.

Include the contest link, your entry link, the full terms, the closing date, and a sentence about what you want promotion to achieve. Add any organizer messages that clarify permitted channels. If a minor is involved, mention who has parental or guardian responsibility and whether consent covers the promotion and creative materials.

We review the information, identify the relevant boundary, and tell you what can happen next. If the project is suitable, we can discuss creative, outreach or paid promotion that fits the rules. If it is not, we explain the reason and, where possible, what clarification or change could make a later review worthwhile. Start with the free contest analysis: send the contest and entry links with the rules, and we’ll give you a clear next step.