This was the last day of our trip.  We spent most of it shopping and seeing any sights we had missed the past week.

(TRAVEL TIP: Everyone is familiar with Harrods, but if you have the opportunity, pop into Fortnum and Mason, near Piccadilly Circus, to purchase their tea and jam.  You can also have afternoon tea at their in store cafe.)

The highlight of our last day was meeting Kevin Francis.  (Even more exciting for me than meeting Duffy.  I am so sadly addicted to this hobby!)  He is the current President of The London Competition Club, the largest and oldest competition club in the UK.

It was like meeting an old friend. We had the opportunity to have dinner first and the conversation was fantastic. We then came back to the hotel atrium and recorded my blog talk show. We had heaps of fun!

There are quite a few differences between entering in the UK, Canada and the US.  The biggest being the elimination of the NPE (No Purchase Entry option).  A few years ago, companies in the UK got a law passed allowing them to require all competition entrants to purchase their product or service before being allowed to enter.

This is where I feel a body such as the CCA (Canadian Contestors Association) would have been of benefit to lobby against such laws being passed.  Also, I wonder why companies would do such as thing?  As a marketer, charging your customers to enter your promotion seems to go against the grain of building excitement around your brand and forging long lasting relationships with customers.  Annoying or angering your loyal purchasers does not seem like the best way to increase sales.

Listen to the entire show for more of Kevin’s great stories, descriptions and antidotes.  See if you can hear the horrid squeaking of the plastic furniture in the hotel atrium.  Also, doesn’t Kevin looks like a clean shaven Dave Foley?!