eMail Marketing Promotion - Success and Failure

I belong to Marriot's rewards program and get a monthly email promoting various programs and travel packages. This month, however, was different. They were offering a vacation package for user participation on their website. Feeling a bit deserving of a vacation, interested in the free getaway, and equipped with my "spam" email account, I proceeded. The user had to answer 2 questions requiring audience participation on their website, which I have seen implemented successfully in the past. They also offered a unique "hint" flash animation showing the user where to find the information on their website - clever, I thought. The first question was to find more about the website feature. The second question was great, requiring the user to actually use the feature they were promoting - a hotel comparison tool. This was a terrific way to drive visitors to begin using a feature on your website. So, I searched the site, used the feature, and answered the question. It said "I'm sorry your answer was incorrect", but it wasn't - I checked three times. It was a multiple choice question in which a couple of the answers were right but not one was correct. Odd, I thought. Feeling a bit dejected, I went about my business. Then, I checked my email account later and there were about a dozen of the same emails from Marriot thanking me for my entry. Can you say blacklisting?

What a prime example of a great concept, driving traffic to the site and forcing users to interact, but failing miserably on the execution - two accounts.

Brand experience grade - D - for doing damage. Next promotion won't get my click.