Since MyPackersSearch.com launched in mid-April, hundreds of Packers fans already have claimed prizes, ranging from player trading cards to autographed mini-helmets, for utilizing the easy-to-use internet search portal.
And now there are some even more intriguing prizes available - namely, four game-used helmets.
The helmets recently arrived in the MyPackersSearch.com prize store, giving Packers fans some valuable memorabilia on which to set their sights.
"The website is off to a good start, and fans are realizing how easy it is to claim Packers prizes," said Dave Westphal, a corporate sales account executive in the team's marketing department. "With the 2009 season underway, we think the game-used helmets will really attract the fans' attention."
MyPackersSearch.com is a free internet search engine, powered by two of the most popular search engines - Google and Ask - that allows users to accumulate points, known as "swag bucks", each time they execute a search.
The more swag bucks accumulated, the better the prizes available to the user. And it's all free.
There are two ways fans can access the site. They can either bookmark MyPackersSearch.com as their home page, thereby launching it every time they open their browser, or they can download the Packers toolbar to their browser and plug their search words into the toolbar, no different than any other search engine.
"With the site powered by Google and Ask, the results users get will be very, very similar to what they're normally accustomed to," said Scott Dudelson, chief operating officer of Prodege, the site host. "Their search experience will be pretty much the same.
"Real fans are using this and real fans are winning prizes for doing things they do every day anyway."
Dudelson, whose company also hosts search sites for fans of the New York Giants and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), said he has seen between 700 and 1,000 users per day on MyPackersSearch.com as fans have spent the first five months trying it. He said it's common for fans to begin using the site to claim a low-level prize (10 to 15 swag bucks) quickly, "just to see if it works."
And once they receive those prizes, they start working toward the more valuable items, which include autographed mini-helmets of the Packers' three 2008 Pro Bowl defensive backs - Charles Woodson, Nick Collins and Al Harris.
Now the game-used helmets become another top prize fans can aim for. The helmets will be given away in a drawing, and users can spend their swag bucks on entries in the drawing. One swag buck earns one entry, with more entries for additional bucks spent. Users can get up to 250 entries for just 100 swag bucks.
"When users sign up, they're rewarded immediately with three swag bucks, and for only 15 swag bucks, they can get an Aaron Rodgers or Reggie White or James Lofton trading card," Dudelson said. "It's very realistic that within a week of signing up, you could already be earning prizes."
Signing up requires just a name and zip code to start, and users also can put links to the site on their own social networking pages, allowing them to earn swag bucks for getting friends to sign up.
"We're continually adding prizes, and the game-used helmets are the biggest ones to date," Westphal said. "Using the site is a great way for fans to show their loyalty, and be rewarded for it."
