To play or not to play: The contest industry in the time of data theft worries

On a lazy afternoon not so long ago, Anustup Roy Barman decided to try his luck at playing a contest while watching a matinee show on HBO, and ended up winning an Apple iPhone 8.

The contest required a participant to go on the channel's Facebook page and answer six questions related to the film Barman was watching.

It was tantalising, notwithstanding the concerns over data theft and intrusions on private space on social media sites.

"It read that if I could answer all six questions correctly and post a screenshot of it, I would be eligible for an iPhone 8 (one grand prize) or some other prizes (10 more winners)," Barman said.

"Participating in the contest seemed funny but I went ahead out of curiosity. After a month, I saw a comment under that post asking for my address details, said the Kolkata-based 24-year-old.

After a few days came a courier containing the prized phone.

That contests are merely publicity stunts for brands is common perception, but the recent data leak controversy has made social media users extra cautious about sharing personal details online.

Concerns escalated after disclosures about Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm accused of harvesting personal user data from Facebook illegally to influence polls in several countries.

The UK-based political consulting firm at the heart of the massive data breach of Facebook users worldwide has now announced it is shutting down.

Giving access to third-party online sites by signing-in through Facebook while playing contests puts an individual's data at risk of being used by e-commerce sites.

Barman bit the bait but said he checked for authenticity with friends who have played similar contests in the past before sharing his details on Facebook.

Further correspondence was done on email, he said.

Mugunthan Kesavan from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is amongst those who won big in the years before data theft became a worry.

In July 2014, Kesavan was a lucky Flipkart winner of an e-gift voucher worth Rs 1,00,000 to be redeemed on the online shopping site.

"Initially, I thought it was some scam, but while making a purchase they did not ask for any detail except the code that came with the voucher. It was simply unbelievable," Kesavan, who now lives in New Delhi, said.

He ended up buying three mobile phones, Bluetooth accessories, a washing machine, a refrigerator, a watch, shoes, clothes, and even exchanged it for cash by sharing the code with friends.

About two years ago, Ritika Mathur and her brother won a Tanishq diamond ring worth Rs 2.5 lakh and an all-paid two-day trip to Mumbai in an introductory contest for Close-Up Diamond toothpaste.

Prospective winners were expected to send a certain text message on the company's contact number, which Ritika's brother did "just for fun".

"After a week, he received a call from Close-Up saying he was shortlisted and had won a diamond ring which, however, would be handed over only to a female, so he took me along," the Delhi-based Ritika said.

It's a two-way street with companies pushing the contest game.

While promotion is the obvious objective, apparel brand ONLY says contests "allow them to engage with its target audience".

"With every contest, our focus is to remain relevant through new and fun formats. They also help establish top of mind recall while also increasing consumer trials," an ONLY spokesperson said.

Reebok, which holds contests, both on ground and on social media, said participation was determined by various nuances of a particular contest.

"It (participation) varies from anywhere between 50 to 500 in number," a spokesperson said.

A winner is selected from a pool of entries that fulfill all parameters of being applicable, which are then put into a random function to get the desired number of winners.

"We make sure that we evaluate the most effective candidate who meets the criteria laid for down the contest," a Reebok spokesperson said.

According to clothing and accessories brand Jack & Jones, a contest could be hosted at any point of time depending on its marketing objectives but the company usually conducts one every two months across digital and social platforms.

"Various factors determine the frequency, such as collection launches, trending topics, marketing partnerships, sponsored events, sales and more," a brand representative said.

So, the next time when a contest question pops up, think twice before turning a blind eye.