PayPal Australia has launched a new national competition and is challenging Australians to throw the best iso-party and go in the running to win one of six $500 prizes every week for four weeks.

The competition – It Pays to Keep Your Distance – will run for the month of May. To enter, gather family or friends together virtually, throw an awesome party, and share a screenshot in full flare on Instagram. Follow and tag @PayPalAU Instagram page and include the hashtag #PayPalisoParty in the post.

Each week, PayPal will select the top six party pictures and deposit $500 in the eligible winner party-host’s PayPal account.

Entries will be judged by a panel of PayPal Australia employees against the following criteria: overall quality of the photo clarity, colour, lighting, exposure, focus and composition; clarity of participants expression; creativity and originality; humour and audience appeal including the amount of social engagement with the image.

PayPal shopping expert, Danielle Grant said now there is no reason for any Aussie to say they have nothing to do this weekend:

“Over the last couple of months, I’ve missed hanging out with my extended family and my friends. But I’ve learnt during this time is that keeping your physical distance doesn’t mean you have to be completely isolated. Connecting online is a great way to hang out and look after our mental health during this challenging period,” she said.

“While the social distancing restrictions are gradually easing, we still all need to do our bit to help flatten the curve and avoid gathering in large groups. So, if you’re looking for things to do this weekend, look no further, get your friends together online and throw a virtual iso-party. We want to see creativity, flare, and out-of-the box thinking.”

Grant shared her top tips and tricks:

  1. Support local small businesses by purchasing your iso-party takeaway snacks, drinks, decorations, and even dress-up outfits, from a restaurant or store that is still open for business.
  2. Choose the video conference platform that will best suit your group and the type of iso-party you are throwing.
  3. Pick a start time for your iso-party and try stick to it, the same way you agree on a time to meet up with friends in person. This will help ensure everyone is online at the same time.
  4. Use the iso-party as an excuse to change out of your active wear and get dressed-up.
  5. Dropouts, lags and blurry faces caused by slow internet can be a real buzz kill, so consider keeping your mobile phone handy as a backup connection.