by Karen Jones

Created on: July 06, 2009   Last Updated: March 03, 2011

It is quite natural for potential competitors to talk themselves out of entering competitions offering high-value prizes on the basis that they are 'rigged' or 'fixed' in some way. This is often a protection mechanism, a way of dealing with the high-odds of failure for inexperienced entrants. Competition enthusiasts (known as 'compers') do little to deny this rumor; it works in their favor.

As an experienced comper, prolific prize-winner and author of two competition hobby books, 'Competitive Edge - Prize Winning Secrets' and 'The Greatest Guide to Winning Competitions", I can categorically state that on the whole, the prizes are there for the taking and are certainly not pre-allocated. Prize-rigging is illegal. Competition sponsors and promoters have absolutely nothing to gain from any negative publicity that will ultimately arise from fraudulent acts. The idea of using competitions is to raise and enhance the profile of a product, service, event or a company; not to destroy it.

As with any skill, the more you practice it, the more proficient you will become. The same applies to writing slogans or tie-breakers, which some competitions feature; practice makes perfect.

Competition promoters are looking for something that praises a particular product in a succinct and original fashion. If your slogan or tie-breaker is similar to others, it is unlikely to succeed, irrespective of how good it is. Originality is the key. It is always a good idea to research previous year's winning slogans to see what the promoter is looking for. I once won a brand new Nissan car, all for the sake of a few words on a piece of paper. The idea took two days to perfect, but was well-worth the effort. Was it rigged? Certainly not, though my family did try to dissuade me from entering the competition because they too were convinced that normal people never win the really expensive prizes. I proved them wrong, and have continues to do so time and time again.

Positive thinking, artistic flair and determination are all that are needed for success with this hobby. Even prize draws can be manipulated in your favor, though many compers don't realize this.

I have won so many high-value prizes on a regular basis that I no-longer pay out for luxury goods, I enter a competition instead, and attempt to win it. My wins exceed the odds of winning by chance probability. Techniques can be learned and adapted.

Selfishly, I hope the rumors that competitions are fixed persist for a long time; it reduces the number of entrants for competitions, and gives me more of a winning advantage.

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