We were nothing short of blown away last year when Jeff Click Homes was first named a finalist, and then winner of last year’s 2009 Readers Choice Awards.  It did amazing things for the morale of the company staff, as well as the work force who have muscled through the largest downturn in housing history.  We were at a loss as to how to show our appreciation to those who voted, as “Thank You!” just didn’t seem to be enough.

When our clients and fans nominated us again this year, we decided to add a way we could say “Thank you!” to those who take a few minutes out of their day to cast a vote of support for us.  That’s where our Readers Choice iPad Giveaway, launched this week, came about. 

We chose an iPad not just because it’s a hot item or of significant value, but because…as anyone who knows us, or has been in one of our furnished model homes, or has read an article about us...we’re a company known for building high tech homes, and we’re huge Apple fans.  Apparently our fans are too, as almost every client we’ve built for in the last year totes an iPhone.  Technology, and namely Apple gear, is part of the Jeff Click Homes brand.

We’re also a company that strives to do things differently and we aim for bold outcomes.  It’s evident in our homes, our marketing, and it’s clearly stated in the words of our fans and clients.  We love technology, and our online efforts are the largest component to our promotional strategy.  When we (myself, the Jeff Click Homes staff, and a few others who provide insight and feedback to me on such matters) planned the iPad giveaway, I certainly considered that it might be viewed by some as a form of enticement to stimulate votes we might not otherwise receive.

Patrick Allmond is one of those who doesn’t like our Readers’ Choice giveaway.  For those who aren’t familiar with Patrick, he’s a consultant and active member of the Oklahoma City Metro social media space.  He recently commented on the Jeff Click Homes Facebook Page regarding our Readers Choice iPad Giveaway, and even blogged extensively about it.

It’s worth asking: what exactly is “Readers’ Choice”? 

It’s a popularity contest.  Plain and simple.  It’s an ad campaign for the paper, and a potential marketing campaign for the finalists who play along.  Marketing, in part, is about building popularity.

Readers’ Choice is not unlike other contests where voting is involved, from elections, to American Idol, to the Oscars.  Anything that involves voting to determine the outcome is already based on this proposition…that a voter casts a vote of support on behalf of a person, entity, or idea, with the hopes that there is a chance that the voter gets something out of the outcome of the cumulative votes.

It’s no secret that many other companies provide giveaways or promotions to help motivate their family, friends, staff, and patrons to vote in Readers Choice.  I also know of companies who have, for a fact, bought thousands of copies of the ballot edition of the paper so they can, on their own, “stuff the ballot box” to win.  The former I believe is an acceptable, the latter is not.

Patrick doesn’t pull any punches, and he’s come down pretty hard on Jeff Click Homes to make his point.  According to him, this giveaway is shady.  He’s even insinuated that our giveaway somehow lacks integrity and stands in stark contrast to our company mission statement and core values.  He even challenges whether I can look at myself in the mirror each morning if Jeff Click Homes wins. 

I think Patrick is taking this popularity contest thing a little too seriously, and I disagree that this somehow downgrades my integrity, or compromises my core values.  In fact, I believe this campaign is in alignment with one of our company core values in particular:

He also says we should be showing “the full slate of other choices”...as though we’re somehow limiting our voters from knowing who our competitors are on the ballot.  I’ve got mad geek skills, but I have no idea how I could ever pull this off.  Hack the Readers Choice ballot at NewsOK’s site so that only Jeff Click Homes appears when our tweeps vote?  This notion couldn’t be more blatantly false, as evidenced by a screenshot from our giveaway video…

Free iPad or not, every voter has the choice of any of the five builders.  It’s worth noting that of the five builders in the “Best New Home Builder - North” category, Jeff Click Homes is the smallest building company by a large margin.  In fact, we only build 4% of the number of homes that the largest builder on our ballot built in 2009, and 6% of the volume of the second largest.  So based on potential base of clients, we’re in a position where we have to amplify the voice of our much smaller following in order to reasonably compete.  I have a great deal of respect for every builder we’re up against on that list, and am honored to be among them. If this campaign has upset some of them, as Patrick has suggested, I regret that’s the case and I’m disappointed they’re going to Patrick about this rather than me. 

Either way, considering those stats, it’s apparent who has the advantage.

So this discussion begs the questions…

If incentivizing participation in this contest isn’t acceptable or a legitimate strategy, what is acceptable? 

Is advertising that you’re a finalist acceptable?  OPUBCO thinks so.  This whole event is a common advertising blitz many publications do across the country, and others do it here in OKC.  They approach every finalist to take out a premium-priced ad to help encourage people to vote for you, and then if you win, they offer you an ad to say “Thanks!” to your voters.  The more eyeballs driven to their ballot, and thus their site, the better for NewsOK.

In my view, rather than spending big dollars to pay for a relatively meaningless “Thank you!” ad, I think the better way to show appreciation for your voters is to offer them something of value.

Is leveraging your following to help you achieve an outcome that suits your interests a compromise in your integrity?  If you, as a finalist, have a large following, whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog, is asking for votes going too far?  Unless Patrick has recently changed his mind, he doesn’t have any problem with this method when it comes to promoting his own ambitions.

If emailing, tweeting, and Facebooking is a reasonable tactic, should it be made clear that out-of-towners shouldn’t vote?  What about those out-of-towners who formerly lived in one of your homes or used your product?  What about your out-of-state family members who have seen you grow up and witnessed your growth into a business worthy of nomination for such a contest?  If that’s unacceptable, does it change things if the out-of-towner is still actually a “Reader” of the paper hosting the contest?

I’ll digress, as we’ve already proven we can win this popularity contest in the past without a giveaway.  Our work force was so moved by winning last year against the more “Titan” builders, we’ve placed real effort into winning it again.  We were so excited that so many people found us deserving of winning it that this time, we wanted to do more than just an expensive “Thank you!” ad.  Some will participate and vote for us, some will vote for another builder to spite us or because they like the other builder, and some won’t do anything at all. 

Then there are those like Patrick who will see this negatively and blog about it.  I can live with that, disagree with his opinions, and still respect him and his views.  And while Jeff Click Homes has been been made an example of by him as a company who has, in his view, compromised its integrity in a popularity contest, I disagree and stand behind our reasoning for the giveaway…and the giveaway will continue, as caving to criticism and canceling it altogether would be the real abandonment of my personal and company core values. 

And in the interest of “bold outcomes”, maybe I should just up the ante and give ol’ Patrick an iPad, too, if Jeff Click Homes wins Best New Home Builder - North.

Updated 06.17.10: After making this post, I discovered an interesting tidbit regarding Patrick, who places a premium on integrity, challenging others to “set a higher standard of business.”  In his critical challenge of Jeff Click Homes, he failed to disclose that he was recently hired as a consultant by one of our direct competitors to aid them in their online marketing efforts.  I have what I consider to be a great relationship with the guys behind this competing building company, and don’t believe they instigated or were behind Patrick’s efforts.  I just think it’s worth noting that Patrick was less than transparent regarding this fact when he launched his criticisms of our giveaway.  As he said in his closing words in his post, “Let’s set the bar high and keep it there.”

  Comments (4)   |   Trackbacks (0)   |   Email This   | Digg   | Technorati   | del.icio.us