I'll say again - anyone can become an elite by meeting the requirements stated. This is not targeted (in the sense of not being by invitation only).

I make a distinction between the two scenarios:
1) An offer in the mail stating "you get 10,000 bonus points for making X stays between Nov 15 and Jan 15".
2) An offer on the company web site saying that "you get 10,000 bonus points for making X stays between Nov 15 and Jan 15".

In the first case only the person getting the mailing is allowed to get the bonus. In the second case everyone is allowed to. Whether or not they can do so or choose to do so is a different matter, but nobody is excluded.

The current Marriott bonus offer (discussed under the Marriott forum) is a variation of the first scenario. There, the maximum bonus you can get is dictated by what offer you received in the mail. Or if you do not get an offer in the mail, there is no bonus for you.