Live Nation Entertainment Leverages ShortStack’s Hassle-Free Customization and Compliance Features for Contest Success

Below are some examples of legal requirements for sweepstakes, contests, and giveaways in the United States that you may (or may not) be aware of:

• In the games of chance, like a sweepstakes, you cannot require entrants to make a purchase;
• If you are running a game of chance in New York, Florida or Rhode Island, and your total prize pool exceeds $5,000 in value (meaning all prizes added together), then you need to bond and register it; and
• Winners have to pay taxes on prizes, and if the prize exceeds $600, you must inform the winner and the Internal Revenue Service about the prize via a Form 1099-MISC.

And that only applies to the United States! Laws for sweepstakes, contests and giveaways are even more tricky when it comes to contests taking place across multiple countries or in several states.

Tammy LeMelle, Director of Marketing & Promotions, Legal at Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (Live Nation), knows all about the complexities of administering legally-compliant sweepstakes, contests and giveaways. After all, in her role at Live Nation she oversees a LOT of them.

For context, Live Nation is “the world's leading live entertainment company.” According to LeMelle, Live Nation’s primary goal is to “deliver live music experiences to create memories that last a lifetime.” They have a wide range of business units within the organization to help them do this, from B2C offerings like ticket sales, merchandise, and unique VIP experiences to B2B services like the promotion and production of live events.

As part of its marketing strategy, Live Nation runs a lot of sweepstakes and contests. However, LeMelle said they needed a platform that met their legal requirements and could “provide a turnkey solution and scale with [their] volume.” That’s where ShortStack comes into play.

Live Nation’s previous sweepstakes administration problem

As mentioned, Live Nation runs a lot of sweepstakes and contests as part of their marketing strategy. However, before they found ShortStack, they were running into quite a few issues.

LeMelle provided a bit more context. “We were using multiple platforms [with] varying degrees of scalability. And, quite frankly, most of them didn't meet our legal requirements, so it was really a challenge every time [we ran a contest or sweepstakes].” On top of that, the solutions weren’t built to meet Live Nation's need for turnkey campaigns.

Why Live Nation chose ShortStack

Live Nation has been a ShortStack customer since 2018. According to LeMelle, when the Live Nation team first started using the platform, they found that the “user experience is very intuitive, [which is] really important given our high volume.”

They also found their interactions with our sales and support team to be extremely positive. When choosing ShortStack, LeMelle said, “Most importantly, we really enjoyed our conversations with Adam [from the sales team]. Adam was the first person that we talked to that we felt really got what we needed.”

“We liked that [the ShortStack team was] willing to customize templates to meet our needs so that they were fairly turnkey and that you [addressed] our legal compliance concerns and [met our] needs. That was huge.” Furthermore, LeMelle liked that “we really worked as a team for the initial rollout” as well as the continued support her team has gotten along the way.

Live Nation’s needs also helped ShortStack implement some unique features into its platform. One feature that LeMelle uses personally is our legal review and approval options. This allows people like LeMelle to check each campaign her team creates and approve it before it is published.

How Live Nation uses ShortStack today

Live Nation has been a loyal ShortStack customer for years, helping to inspire a number of new features. While they still use ShortStack for their sweepstakes and contests, they have recently ventured into other uses.

Lately, they have been using ShortStack to host RSVP forms and instant win contests. They’ve also worked with Adam, their account manager, to create a consent form template.

LeMelle shared another use for ShortStack that she didn’t foresee when they first signed up: “hosting rules. Initially, I was hosting rules elsewhere, and then I realized, wait a minute, I can host the rules right [in ShortStack], so why would I continue to host in another place?”

How often Live Nation uses ShortStack

Live Nation has a huge team of marketers who use ShortStack. LeMelle mentioned that she uses it “dozens of times a day” and that a lot of people on her team are also daily users.

Live Nation also has a number of brand new team members who are still working to “get their feet wet” in ShortStack. LeMelle pointed out that “another great thing about the product is that it's really easy for somebody with very little skill or a lot of skill to come in, customize it and set up a campaign really quickly.”

LeMelle knows ShortStack has been a massive help in her role. “I just know that it makes my job a lot easier for the review approve publish process. I have more oversight and that's really what matters.”

What Live Nation has been most impressed with while using ShortStack

Beyond the online marketing campaigns they’ve been able to create and the customization they’ve been able to take advantage of, LeMelle is impressed with the support Live Nation has received. “The response and the support we get when we need to roll out or customize something is really helpful.”

Watch what Tammy had to say about Live Nation’s success using ShortStack:

The bottom line: Great service and hassle-free customization

ShortStack was built to meet the needs of marketers. We want to help you create contests, sweepstakes, and other online marketing campaigns that meet your brand’s needs and comply with your organization’s legal requirements.

Our great service and, as LeMelle put it, “hassle-free customization” set us apart from our competitors. Questions on how working with ShortStack might look for your brand? Set up a call with our sales team or shoot us an email: theteam@shortstacklab.com We’re happy to help you get started.