If it's on a time limit: why add all that coding? I imagine that would slow things down if the system had to track account ages in order to award something.
As for a sponsor's recommendation/prize: why don't they just give one of their imports away…
Imports are a sponsor-only feature and should remain that way. I realize you're suggesting only one for each novice account, but I fail to see how that will truly benefit them. It would encourage making multiple accounts, and create more work for …