News

Scavenger Hunt Prize Shipping: Collect Winner Addresses in Google Sheets

Published: Sep 14, 2026

Running a digital scavenger hunt with physical prizes? At some point you need each winner’s name and shipping address. Petanco’s Linked Application Form collects those details on the prize entry form and writes them directly to your own Google Sheets spreadsheet. Petanco itself never stores them.

All you need is a Google account and one spreadsheet. There is no plugin to install and no code to write. (Petanco’s former WordPress integration, which only supported Japanese address formats, has been retired. The Linked Application Form replaces it.)

What you’ll learn in this article

What the Linked Application Form does and when to use it

Which fields you can collect, and how US addresses are laid out

What gets written to your spreadsheet, column by column

How to set it up in five steps

Who is responsible for the personal information in the sheet

The short answer

Use the Linked Application Form whenever you need to ship prizes. Entrants fill in their name and email address and, if you choose, a phone number and a US shipping address. Each entry is added as one row to a tab called “Entries” in a spreadsheet you own, and Petanco keeps only the number of entries. Because the data lives in your spreadsheet, managing and deleting it is your responsibility.

Which exchange method fits your prize?

Every benefit (prize) in Petanco has an exchange method. The Linked Application Form is one of four:

Exchange method	How the prize reaches the participant	Collects a shipping address
Application Form	You contact winners by email	No
Linked Application Form	You ship the prize	Yes (written to your Google Sheets)
Download	The participant downloads digital content (coupons, images, PDFs, etc.)	No
In-Person Exchange	Staff check the redemption screen and hand the prize over on site	No

If you only need to email winners, the standard Application Form is enough. It asks for a nickname and email address only, and you can review applicants and export them as CSV in the admin. Choose the Linked Application Form when you have to put something in the mail.

What the Linked Application Form collects

Always collected

Name
Email address

Optional, chosen per benefit

Phone number
Shipping address (a set of five fields shown together)

You must choose at least one of the two. If you need neither, use the standard Application Form instead. When the shipping address is shown, every field in it is required except Address 2. The fields are fixed, so you can’t add your own questions such as a newsletter opt-in. For free-form questions, use Petanco’s Surveys feature.

The shipping country follows your campaign’s default language

The Linked Application Form ships to one country, set by your campaign’s default language. For an English campaign that country is the United States, and participants enter the address in US order, starting with the street:

Address 1 (street address)
Address 2 (apartment, suite, etc., optional)
City
State/Province
Postal Code (5 digits)

Participants can’t pick a different country, and switching the display language doesn’t change it. International shipping isn’t supported at this time.

What gets written to your spreadsheet

When you save the settings, Petanco creates a tab named “Entries” in your spreadsheet and writes the header row. Every entry after that is added to the tab as one row. For an English campaign, the columns are fixed in this order:

Applied at, Campaign ID, Benefit ID, Benefit, Participant ID, Test entry, Name, Email, Country, Phone number, Postal code, State / Prefecture, City, Address line 1, Building name

Fields you didn’t ask for keep their column and stay blank, so the columns never shift when benefits collect different fields.
What the participant types into Address 2 goes into the Building name column.
Participant ID is not the participant’s actual identifier. It’s a pseudonym generated separately for each campaign, so rows can’t be matched against another campaign’s sheet to track a person.
Entries for every benefit in the campaign go to the same tab. Use the Benefit column to tell them apart.
Don’t edit the header row. Petanco checks it when you save the settings, and a changed header causes an error. Put your own notes and tallies on a separate tab.

How to set it up

The settings live in two places: one destination spreadsheet for the whole campaign, and the fields to collect for each benefit.

Setting	Scope	Where to set it
Address to share with	Campaign	Options > “Linked Application Form”
Spreadsheet URL	Campaign	Options > “Linked Application Form” (owner only)
Privacy Policy URL	Campaign	Options > “Linked Application Form”
Fields to collect	Benefit	Benefit edit screen > “Redeem & Apply”

Step 1: Create a spreadsheet

Create a new Google Sheets spreadsheet to receive entries. A spreadsheet can be linked to only one campaign, so prepare a separate one for each campaign.

Step 2: Copy the address to share with

In the Petanco admin, open your campaign, click “Options” in the sidebar, and open “Linked Application Form”. Copy the address shown under “Address to share with” using the “Copy address” button.

Step 3: Share the spreadsheet with that address

In your spreadsheet, go to “File” → “Share” → “Share with others” and add the copied address as an Editor. Petanco can’t save the settings until this is done.

Step 4: Enter the URLs, agree, and save

Paste the Spreadsheet URL and enter the Privacy Policy URL you will show to participants. Tick the checkbox confirming that managing and deleting the personal information exported to the spreadsheet is your own responsibility, then save. On save, Petanco checks that it can actually write to the sheet, then creates the “Entries” tab and its header row. If the sheet isn’t shared or the URL is wrong, the settings are not saved.

Only the campaign owner can set or change the destination spreadsheet. It’s where participants’ shipping details end up, so editors can’t change it. You’ll need to tick the agreement again whenever you switch to a different spreadsheet.

Step 5: Choose the exchange method and fields for each benefit

Open the benefit edit screen and go to “Redeem & Apply”. Set the exchange method to “Linked Application Form“. To set it for this benefit only, untick “Use campaign default”. Then, under “Fields to collect“, choose Phone number, Shipping address, or both.

Before you publish, submit a test entry yourself and check that a row appears in the “Entries” tab. Once you’ve confirmed it works, delete your test rows from the sheet.

Publishing requirements and who is responsible for the data

A Privacy Policy URL is required

A benefit that uses the Linked Application Form can’t be published until the campaign has both a destination spreadsheet and a Privacy Policy URL. Your privacy policy is what gives you the basis to collect shipping details from participants.

Above the input fields, participants see a notice explaining that the details they enter are recorded directly in the organizer’s Google spreadsheet, that a copy of their entry is emailed to them, and that the organizer manages and deletes that information. Links to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy appear alongside it.

Data in your spreadsheet is yours to manage

Your spreadsheet sits outside Petanco’s control. None of the following removes anything already written to it:

A participant deleting their account
Deleting the campaign
Resetting data
Automatic deletion of participant data when the retention period ends

For campaigns created on or after October 1, 2026, Petanco automatically deletes participant data 30 days after the campaign’s publish period ends. That deletion covers data held in Petanco, not rows already exported to your spreadsheet. The same goes for the entry copy emailed to the participant and for the notification email you receive when Application Form Notification is turned on.

Under Article 12 of the Terms of Service (Handling of Personal Information and Behavioral Data), you are responsible for managing the spreadsheet, its access permissions, its retention period and its deletion. You are also responsible for telling participants in advance that their information will be exported there, obtaining the necessary consent, and handling any request to disclose, correct or delete it. For Petanco’s overall approach to personal information, see our article on how Petanco handles personal information.

Stop sharing when you’re done

Petanco can’t remove the sharing for you. After you disconnect the integration, open the spreadsheet and remove Petanco’s address yourself from “File” → “Share” → “Share with others”.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see entries in the Petanco admin?

Only the number of entries. Names, addresses and other details aren’t stored in Petanco, so they don’t appear in Applicant Data or its CSV export. Check your spreadsheet instead.

Do I need my own Google account?

Yes. Entries go to a spreadsheet you own. With a Google account, you just create one spreadsheet and share it with Petanco’s address. No plugins, servers or code are needed.

Can I add my own fields to the form?

No. The form shows name and email address, plus a phone number and shipping address if you choose them. For free-form questions, use the Surveys feature.

Can winners outside the United States enter their address?

Not in an English campaign. The shipping country follows the campaign’s default language, and an English campaign takes US addresses. International shipping isn’t supported at this time.

Do participants still get a confirmation email?

Yes. A copy of the entry is emailed to the participant. You can edit the email’s title and body under “Application Completion Email Message” on the benefit edit screen. To be notified of each new entry yourself, turn on Application Form Notification in Options.

Can I use one spreadsheet for several campaigns?

No. If you enter a spreadsheet that’s already linked to another campaign, saving fails with an error. Several benefits in the same campaign can share one spreadsheet, though.

What if I don’t need shipping details?

Use the standard “Application Form”. It collects a nickname and email address, and you can view and export applicant data as CSV in the admin. For digital prizes, choose “Download”. To hand prizes over on site, choose “In-Person Exchange”.

Summary

The Linked Application Form writes winners’ shipping details straight to your own Google Sheets. Petanco keeps only the entry count.
All you need is one spreadsheet and a sharing setting. No plugins or code.
Name and email are always collected. Add a phone number, a shipping address, or both, per benefit.
The shipping country follows the campaign’s default language: US addresses for English campaigns.
Publishing requires a Privacy Policy URL, and the data in your sheet is yours to manage and delete.

For the full setup reference, see the Options guide and the Benefits guide.

→ Start building your digital scavenger hunt with Petanco for free

Author: Petanco Staff