In the face of declining subscription rates, The Kansas City Star is luring subscribers with a chance to win a $25,000 sweepstakes.
The KC Star sweepstakes is called "Read to Riches." Here's how it works: if you want a chance to win the $25,000 grand prize, you read the print edition every day and look for that day's "game code," which is a numeric 5 digit code printed randomly in the newspaper. Then, enter the code online or by mail for a chance to win a weekly prize of $1,000, and a chance to win the grand prize of $25,000 in April 2009. Official rules here.
Have you seen any other McClatchy papers offering other gimmicks?
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Hat tip: The Plog .
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6 comments:
I think customers are suppose to pay a business for a product? Nope, The KC Star now has to pay customers to read it? You wonder why newspapers are going bankrupt.
There went some employees job.
There are 15 pages of comments to this one referenced article on the Star‘s Web site. Also, McClatchy Watch mentioned in an article at ‘Bottom Line Communications.’ http://tinyurl.com/58gwxa
Subject of article: Mark Zieman’s ‘Dim’ Star health report.
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-STAR PUBLISHER: ALL IS WELL AT NEWSPAPER-
Below the famous picture of the young lovers in the bow of the Titanic.
Blogger writes: “Based on the feedback from readers on the Star's Web site many people disagree: http://tinyurl.com/63wfwf” (Interesting comments for sure. I liked, “Star spelled backwards is Rats.”)
Link***“McClatchy Watch, a blog site devoted to examining the situation at McClatchy-owned papers like the Star summarized his column differently:…….”
I bet the employees who lost their jobs feel proud!
I think your headline should be.
Extra, Extra, KC Star will pay you to read us.
Rats! I like 4:44
I couldn't resist reading the sweepstake rules. At the bottom of the rules it states that they can substitute prizes if they are not available as long as they are of equal value. Huh.
Maybe it will work like this instead. Sorry winner, cash is not available but we are giving you $25,000 of subscriptions to The KC Star.
What will happen is that some insider entrepreneur will crib the game codes before the edition hits the streets.
Then toss those game codes on a various blog sites and RSS feeds so that games players will have the code, without bothering with a print edition.
This sweepstakes thing just seems weird. Or retro, or something. It apparently involves only the print edition. I guess some people will do it. Rats will run through a maze, and dogs will slobber when bells ring.
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