You Win! But Who Writes the Check?

Y OU’VE SEEN IT A HUNDRED times. Maybe you’ve done it. JoeFan stands at mid-court, ner-vously dribbling a basketball. “Ladies and gentlemen,” booms the announcer, “this three -pointer, sponsored by Foot Locker, is for one million dollars.” The contestant shoots… the ball soars. . .and sails wide. The crowd groans, the fan returns to obscurity, and Foot Locker nets an arena-full of publicity. But what if the guy had hit? Who actually writes the check when “some lucky fan” scores big on a sports promotion gimmick?

“We do,” says a grinning Doug McCrum, executive vice-president of Dallas based SCA Promotions. SCA dreams up promotional gimmicks like hole-in-one events, field goal contests, even scratch-off coupons for product giveaways. “We’re actually middlemen,” McCrum says. “Insurance companies and other big-ticket investors underwrite the risk, and we arrange a return for them from our fees. Even if we get a big winner, the returns over a five-year period make this an attractive investment.”

So, do those fans sweating it out at mid-court ever hit it big? “Sure,” McCrum says. “In nine years we’ve paid out over 30 million in prizes.” Barcalounger spuds, unite!