Pssst -- It's Okay to Give Away a Prius Again

This week, Ecobunga! posted its first Prius Sweepstakes in almost a year. The giveaway was sponsored by Time Warner via the syndicated version of the TV show, "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

Why is this news?

As you can imagine, with Toyota's troubles earlier this year, big companies, which had embraced the Prius as the go-to green car prize, quickly shifted to other environmentally-friendly autos. The biggest beneficiary was Ford -- both its Fusion Hybrid and its non-hybrid but fuel efficient Fiesta. In 2010, Ecobunga! came across tons of sweepstakes featuring one of these two cars as the top prize.

We wondered what Ecobunga! readers would make of the re-emergence of Prius Sweepstakes? Would they take interest or take flight? So we polled them to find out if they would still like to win one.

By the overwhelming margin of 122 to 1, our readers said "Heck, yes--I'll take a Prius!" Many expressed supportive comments like this one, left by an Ecobunga! fan on our Facebook page:

I already own one (and '09) and I LOVE IT!! And never once have I felt unsafe in this car other than because of the behavior of other drivers!

Need further proof that the Prius is a plum prize? Our weekly newsletter went out last Sunday with the subject "Win a Prius" and it had the highest open rate we've seen in months.

So marketers, don't be shy -- it's okay to give away a Prius again (assuming you're in a position to do so!) An enthusiastic audience of wannabe-Prius-owners awaits you and their dream green prize.