#ScottSentMe21: A Consumer Challenge For Those That Love Fabric & Travel

As I am writing this blog post, the #JaftexVideoChallenge2021 is currently underway and going strong. If you weren’t aware, that is my personal and corporate challenge to get fabric resellers (my customers) to submit a shop tour video to me of their business that I will then post on my page @jaftexpresident Facebook page for the world to see. If you don’t know anything about this challenge, you should go check out all the videos on Facebook on my @jaftexpresident page or read the blog post here. Long story short, the shop whose video has the most views wins.

In my effort to keep things interesting and continue to get consumers to visit quilt shops, it is time for yet another great Jaftex challenge. This new challenge is for all of you awesome consumers aka my customers’ customers. You all are so greatly appreciated. All the fabric suppliers and shop owners absolutely could not live without you. In their lies the reason that we are getting you all in on the fun.

Without further ado, I am announcing my #ScottSentMe21 challenge. Briefly, this is a way for consumers to make the most of their travels and visit as many quilt shops as they possibly can in the months of September, October and November 2021. The one who visits the most shops gets the big prize of course, but in total there will be 5 top winners and I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with the prizes. There is no doubt in my mind that you could be one of the 5 lucky winners. There will also be 5 winners selected at random. That is a total of 10 prizes!

I have given the #ScottSentMe21 challenge a tagline that is “Find your Quilt Shop Home.” I know that when you walk into certain places you just feel like it’s home. That should be no different when it comes to when you visit a quilt shop. You know it when you see it and it just feels so right and comfortable.

This year’s challenge will take place on Instagram and Facebook. It will be your choice where you want to post your proof of visits. However, you can only post on Instagram or Facebook so I am not running all over trying to figure out how many shops you visited on both platforms. Please pick one and stick to it!

INSTRUCTIONS & RULES:

No purchase is necessary, but I know it’s tough to control yourself.
The gist of the contest: To see how many shops you can visit in the US and/or Canada for all of September, October and November. When you visit each shop, please make sure to tell them that “Scott Fortunoff from the Jaftex Corporation sent me.” [Think The Blank Quilting Corp., FreeSpirit Fabrics, Henry Glass Fabrics, Studioe Fabrics, A.E. Nathan Co., Inc. & 3 Wishes]. If the business owner doesn’t know what you are talking about, please explain the contest or tell them to check out this blog post.
Duration: The contest will start on Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 and end Tuesday, November 30th, 2021. No more visits after November 30th, 2021 for the purposes of this contest, but please continue to visit shops as often as possible.
On Tuesday, November 30th, 2021, I will have a post up on my @scott_fortunoff Instagram page and my @jaftexpresident Facebook page asking consumers to tell me how many shops they visited during the duration of the contest. In order to win, you must follow my @scott_fortunoff Instagram account or my @jaftexpresident Facebook account or both.
To play along with the #ScottSentMe21 Challenge, you must have an Instagram or Facebook account and make it public for the duration of the challenge.
Consumers will have to indicate in the comments of the Instagram or Facebook post the total number of shops visited. Each shop can only be counted one time for counting purposes, but that’s not to say that you can’t visit them more.
On Friday, December 10, 2021, I will review the numbers and ask the 5 consumers who visited the most shops to show me undeniable proof of all the shops they visited.

PROOF OF VISIT: I am flexible on the way you prove you visited the shops, but know that I really want photos of you in the proof as much as feasibly possible. In addition, please make sure to tag the shops you visit in your social media posts too.

I suggest trying to collect as much proof as possible and also to plan your proof ahead of time i.e. bring that day’s newspaper with you. Better to be safe with more proof than less because if you are one of the top 5 shop visitors, you will have to provide indisputable details. The most important proof that I will need is something that shows me you visited the shop during the duration of the contest and not days, months or years prior to when the contest began.
I will also need proof you visited during business hours and actually went into the shop as compared to a driveby just to get a photo and move on. The idea here is to have people go inside the shops to see what’s going on.
- To prove the date:
  - You can include in your photo the front of that day’s newspaper or something indisputable with the month day and year. Even a photo time stamp works.
  - You can include a receipt of purchase or a credit card receipt if you made a purchase more so to prove the date of your visit than the actual visit. Again, I really want you in the pictures…whether you like it or not…sorry!
  - THE BEST & PREFERRED WAY is that you post the photos from each visit on your own Instagram or Facebook page using the hashtag #ScottSentMe21 on the day you visited or close to the day you visited. That one is fool proof and ideal.
  - A purchase on a credit card statement is helpful, but I truly want as many pictures as possible. I want to see your smile. I also want to fill up Instagram and Facebook with a ton of photos honoring quilt shops in the US & Canada.
  - I am open to any other irrefutable methods.
- To prove that a certain shop was visited, here are ideas of things to include in the photos (one or more forms of incontrovertible proof is ideal):
  - For starters, you must be in at least one of the proof photos for every single shop visited.
  - A picture in front of the shop’s signage. If the signage is outside, you will also need proof you went inside the shop.
  - A picture with the owner or shop employee if that is not disruptive to the business and they are willing to pose.
  - A picture of you in the shop, as long as there is something that makes it clear what shop you were in i.e. a sign, a banner or a flyer to name a few.
  - A picture of the shop’s business card.
  - A photo of a shopping bag from the store.
  - A credit card statement with a purchase from the store.
  - When visiting the shops, please make sure not to disrupt the shop’s business flow in any way as far as this contest is concerned. (For example: “Excuse me, I know you’re trying to sell that $14,000 sewing machine, but can we just get a quick selfie with you for the #scottsentme challenge?” Don’t be that person, but if you are, make sure to report back to me so I can laugh about it with you. I am joking! Not joking!)
  - Anything else you could think of that would be unquestionable proof that you were in all the shops you said you were somewhere between September 1, 2021 to November 30, 2021.

Who can participate? The truth is that this contest is for everyone since we are all consumers. The only exclusion would be fabric sales reps.

#ScottSentMe2021 Facebook Group: Want to see what everyone else is doing and make some new quilting friends? Then please join the #ScottSentMe2021 Facebook group. Here is the link: www.facebook.com/groups/scottsentme2021/.

Territory: This contest is open to consumers visiting shops in the US and Canada only. Sorry, but this time around I am not making this a worldwide contest.

Warning: This isn’t intended to be some crazy challenge where you are driving 100 miles per hour from one shop to the other. Please drive safely and don’t do anything crazy or stupid to win. The prizes are pretty good, but your life and safety are of the utmost importance.

Sponsors: I wanted to remind you of the names of all my companies under the Jaftex umbrella so that you know who is sponsoring this contest. I hope you will consider supporting all the brands when you make all your shop visits…that is if you make a purchase.
- FreeSpirit Fabrics.
- Studioe Fabrics.
- Henry Glass Fabrics.
- The Blank Quilting Corp.
- A.E. Nathan Co., Inc.
- 3 Wishes/Fabric Editions.
- Jaftex Corporation.

Above is the list of sponsors, but there are other brands that we distribute in case you were wondering. Air-lite Batting, Stof of Denmark, Oasis Fabrics and Sykel Fabrics.

Safety First: In light of what is going on with Covid, please make sure to travel with caution and care. If you have concerns, please reach out to shops you plan to visit and ask for information on how they are handling safety before you go and visit them.

WINNERS & PRIZES

As mentioned above, there will be 10 winners.
- First prize: Two $500 credits for you to shop at (2) of your favorite quilt shops that must be Jaftex direct customers. $1000 value.
- Second prize: Two $375 credits for you to shop at (2) of your favorite quilt shops that must be Jaftex direct customers. A $750 value.
- Third Prize: A $500 credit for you to shop at your favorite quilt shop that must be a Jaftex direct customer. A $500 value.
- Fourth Prize: A $250 credit for you to shop at your favorite quilt shop that must be a Jaftex direct customer. A $250 value.
- Fifth Prize: A $150 credit for you to shop at your favorite quilt shop that must be a Jaftex direct customer. A $150 value.
- SIXTH-TENTH PRIZES: 5 consumers will be picked at random to receive a $100 credit to be spent at their favorite quilt shop that must be a Jaftex direct customer.
- All winners will also get some pre-cut fabrics from me too.
- After the winners select their shop(s) of choice, I will be in touch with the shop owner about a proper way to arrange the credit and you can go crazy buying up the whole place! I know, “Thank you Uncle Scott!”
- If the shop you select is not a direct Jaftex customer, you will have to find another shop to spend the prize money at. Please understand that we want to support our Jaftex customers and not so much the shops that don’t buy from us.

GOT QUESTIONS?

All questions must be posted in the comments section of this blog. I will answer all questions within a day or two. You can also ask questions on my Instagram page or my Facebook page, but you will have to direct message me. Use the @scott_fortunoff or @jaftexpresident so I definitely see it.
All questions will be answered in the location where they are asked.
Do not email me personally or anyone else in my organization or you will be disqualified. Sorry, but I need to control my life and I can’t have a lot of emails about this contest filling my inbox or taking up my co-workers’ time. This is all me and no one else is involved. As far as I am concerned, the rules are pretty clear.
Please do not call me or reach out to me any other way. Calling or another unapproved contact will result in you being disqualified.
This is my contest and I will make all final determinations and decisions related to it.

Remember to use the hastag: #ScottSentMe21

With that, I wish you all much luck and please don’t forget to have fun!

And lastly, please spread the word about the details of the contest to all of your quilty friends.

#scottsentmefortunoff21