Or your Web site, as the case may be. In the "cool by association" category, master e-tailer amazon.com recently attached its name to the "Harry Potter" bandwagon with the launch of its Harry Potter Magical Candy Contest. The contest challenged kids ages 6-13 to invent a wizard candy "so wonderful, so fabulously strange, with such magical powers that it would impress even Harry Potter." Entrants were asked to draw color pictures of their candy creations, name them "something wild and goofy" and describe the candy's magical powers in 100 words or fewer.
"We look to do activities in our bookstore that demonstrate our knowledge and passion and understanding of what our customers are really looking for," says Paul Capelli, senior PR manager and spokesman for the online retailer.
"The [Harry Potter] books have been dominating the top ten sales since June, with hundreds and hundreds of customer reviews," he says. "We wanted to build on the imagination and fantasy that the books inspire in children. Anything that encourages kids to read is a wonderful thing."
Hence, the contest, which spanned two months and garnered over 20,000 entries nationwide. In retrospect, Capelli says, timing was everything. "Based on our experience, with contests you have a very specific window of time for entries. If it goes on too long, you lose momentum and interest," he warns. Two months was just right.
In the end, the grand prize winner was 11-year-old Vanessa Perkins from Mountain View, Calif., whose invention, "Mr. Fickle's Fabulous Fudge" constituted a magical, fudgy soil that "grows plants completely made out of candy...Sprinkle Mr. Fickle's Fabulous Sugar Fertilizer over the fudge and watch it sprout candy plants before your very eyes!"
For her ingenuity, Perkins received a "Be a Wizard" magic kit (featuring temporary tattoos, a stuffed owl, wizard's cape and magic wand), a 3-D model of her invention sculpted by children's book illustrator Kipling West, a boxed set of three Harry Potter books signed by author J.K. Rowling and a $500 amazon.com gift certificate. Her school also received a $4,000 gift certificate for amazon.com and a set of autographed books.
Meanwhile, amazon.com received a windfall in press coverage, teacher gratitude and parental (translation: shopper) enthusiasm.
For more information, call 206/266-7180 or visit www.amazon.com/candy-contest.