Pros and Cons of SHN Broadway in San Francisco's guess the new season contest

SHN Broadway in San Francisco had a contest to see who could guess the new season. One winner received a free season subscription. They gave four clues, two of them easy, two of them hard. The contest successfully raised hype about the upcoming season. The lack and difficulty of clues, however, as well as the delay in announcing a winner, did not match up with the contest idea when it came to positive marketing. Contests are good ideas, and SHNSF does a great job of interacting with customers on Facebook and Twitter, but as a participant I would have appreciated a personalized email announcing the news season and the winner and pointing me to the website for more information. This is good public relations and it drives sales.