Update: As of August 2015 the policies were updated again. Please see our most recent article on YouTube Contest Guidelines.

YouTube publishes a comprehensive list of Contest Policies and Guidelines.  While other platforms lack clarity about how they can be used, YouTube contest restrictions do a great job communicating what you can and cannot do.  It is a good place to start when planning your next contest promotion.

One of the benefits of all multi-media UGC contests is the sponsor’s ability to populate their digital channels and in some case broadcast media with entry content.  Using content as a condition of implementing the contest is fine.  But you need to know where a right to the content begins and ends.  When you make use of the YouTube platform you might be surprised to know that “you cannot ask the user to give all rights for, or transfer the ownership of, their entry to you.”

So for some promotions, like the Johnsonville Sausage “Don’t Pierce the Brat Contest,” you probably don’t need the content for anything beyond administering the contest and picking a winner.  But for others the content is more purposeful.   Some contests seek to help advance product development and usage.   In these cases customers must have a deep understanding of the product.   Most likely that means ownership of the product itself which leads to another YouTube surprise. “Your contest must be free to enter.”

For example with the Texas Instruments Design Contest there is a direct link to ownership of TI devices.    Using the product is essential to being able to complete a submission.  And although legislation continues to relax purchase requirements, (scroll down for more info) YouTube has taken another stance.  So TI has gone to great lengths to make free access to their product available. If you were are planning to require a purchase to enter your contest, and you thought you were OK based on legislative restrictions STOP!

You are only in the clear if you are not using YouTube for any part of the contest submission.  

TI is also cautious with how they are going to use the registration data they collect.  The stakes are highest here and the third surprise is probably the most far reaching in consequence.  “You may only use any data collected from entrants for contest administration purposes and cannot re-use the data for marketing purposes (even if the user has expressly opted-in to that use).”

I can’t recall seeing a planning document that didn’t point out the benefit of remarketing to promotion responders.  Not using this data even when the individual has opted-in?  This conservative approach is perhaps an proactive attempt to distance themselves from the growing number of companies being scrutinized for incorrect use of PII (Personally Identifiable Information) obtain through promotional campaigns.  For an example of just how wrong things can go and how expensive a mistake can be to deal with  read Millions of Dollars of TCPA Fines are closer than they appear.

These are by no means all of the considerations you need to think through when using the YouTube platform for a UGC contest.  But they struck me as the most important ones as you begin the strategic planning process for your own concept.  For advice on planning a successful UGC contest please take a look at a few of our case histories or reach out to us at expert@mardenkane.com

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More Info on where a purchase is prohibited to enter a contest

• The list of states that prohibit a purchase has dwindled.  Vermont, one of the remaining hold outs, passed legislation this past spring allowing a purchase in a skill contest.  Colorado will no doubt be revisiting this as well.  But while they do other oddities also remain.
• Maryland prohibits a purchase for skill contests if the prize value is over $200.
• Arizona prohibits a purchase unless the contest is intellectually based.  Not sure how they qualify that to be honest with you “Don’t Pierce the Brat” I vote FAILS. The TI Innovation Challenge – I say PASSES.
• California tops the list on qualifying when and how a purchase can be woven into your concept.  California permits a purchase in a skill contest unless you have a tiebreaker round that would qualify participants for bonus prizes.