Tag Archives: awards program

The Value of Awards Programs

cupWe’re excited to see that so many of the contests using BetterBNC are growing and thriving.  With our online platform, the contest process is easier than ever before which means more people are entering and it’s easier to recruit judges.

In a post in the fall, we released the results of a poll we conducted which explored the value of journalism, media and PR awards programs.

  1. The majority of those polled indicated that awards programs and recognition provide member news and PR organizations with a marketing opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors.
  2. Contests provide individuals with recognition that can help them advance their careers.
  3. Respondents also indicated that they believe the spirit of competition improves the overall news or PR product.  (Here’s a great blog on how student contests lead to better news stories)
  4. Ultimately, contests can increase involvement, membership and awareness of the sponsoring organization.

In an article in The Tallassee Tribune this week announcing the winners of the Alabama Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, Shannon Elliott with Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc. wrote about the value of the awards to her newspaper group.

We are constantly evaluating our work and looking for new, innovative ways to bring the news to our readers and a solid response to our advertisers.  Winning these awards confirms we are among the best in the state and we will continue to find ways to improve through our editorial products and by providing new and exciting avenues for our advertisers to get their message across.

Contests provide newspapers with an advertising edge and individual contestants with a way to differentiate them from their peers.  When executed well, contests will see the number of participants increase and for many organizations that translates to a larger and more active membership.  (Click here to read more about OCPRA which has experienced 15-20% growth.)

The summer is a great time to move a contest to a new platform.  Take a look and see if BetterBNC can improve your contest experience.  Email karen@smalltownpapers.com to schedule a complimentary demo today.

5 Reasons to Move Your Contest to BetterBNC

  1. top5Just for Media & PR:  BetterBNC has been designed specifically for journalism, media and public relations contests.  BetterBNC is NOT a generic platform that has to be customized for media and PR awards programs.
  2. Training & Support:  BetterBNC includes all training and support in its base price – you never get a bill at the end of the year for support.  Our tech team is responsive and works with customers to ensure contest success.
  3. Easy Judging:  Judges prefer BetterBNC for its ease of use and intuitive interface.  We receive inquiries every week which are the result of judges’ recommendations.
  4. Customized Homepage:  BetterBNC allows you to create a customized contest homepage hosted by BetterBNC at no additional charge.  You can use an easy page builder to create the page or build it from scratch.
  5. Marketing Manager:  BetterBNC has a feature allowing the contest administrator to email contestants and judges conveniently from the administrator dashboard.

After you’ve presented your awards, wrapped up your conference or convention, it’s a great time to give BetterBNC a call, schedule a complimentary demo and see if BetterBNC can improve your contest experience for the coming year.  Email karen@smalltownpapers.com to schedule a demo and learn more about the platform.

When you sign on to BetterBNC, we build your contest and conduct a training for your team so you’re ready to go whenever your call for entries goes out.   Contact us today to get started.

Streamline and Simplify Your Contest

simpleIn working with the numerous organizations currently using the BetterBNC platform for their awards program, we’ve found that even those resistant at first have discovered great success after streamlining and simplifying their contest.

Many have come into BetterBNC with cumbersome judging structures or entry fee schedules and rates, among other things.  For some contests, particularly those large awards programs, the structure is absolutely necessary and works beautifully.  With others, we often hear it described as very simply,  “just the way we’ve always done it.”

As it may require customization to accommodate these structures, BetterBNC encourages organizations to take a fresh look and see if it’s possible to simplify things to make it easier and more efficient for everyone involved and save costs.

When it is possible, the big winners are the contest participants including the judges who have a simple, intuitive and straightforward approach to evaluating entries.  As well, contestants report that the time required to make entries has been reduced and the process is more clear.

Change can be difficult but it’s only for that first year.  We haven’t had a contest administrator yet tell us they prefer the more cumbersome approach.  What we hear frequently is that simplifying the process has resulted in more contestants and an easier time recruiting judges.   When an organization’s awards program is growing and thriving – everyone wins.

Your judges want an easier way to evaluate entries.

computerWe had a great call with an organization looking at BetterBNC this week.  They were referred to us by one of their contest judges who said they needed to find a better way to run their contest – especially for the judges.

The judge had used BetterBNC to judge another contest and gave the platform a strong endorsement saying it would alleviate so many of the issues that existed.  We hear this often.  BetterBNC has worked hard to ensure a smooth and efficient process for everyone involved – particularly judges who donate their time and expertise to the awards program.

The organization was surprised to learn that moving to BetterBNC was an easy and affordable process.  Step one is to set up a demo to learn how the platform can streamline the contest process. BetterBNC builds the contest for organizations so it’s ready to go when you’re ready to issue your call for entries.  The administrator can make any needed changes through the intuitive dashboard and all training and support for the year is included – no surprise charges for customer and tech support.

Take a look at BetterBNC – set up your complimentary demo today. Email karen@smalltownpapers.com for details.

 

Tips for Promoting Your Awards Program

Here are ten quick tips for promoting your journalism, creative or public relations contest.  Promotion builds excitement and increases participation.  Good luck!

  1. On your website.
    Add a contest or button banner with your entry deadline to your homepage – link it to your entry page.  If you have an awards program page on your site, include your “call for entries” and deadline dates linking to the “make entries” page.  Be sure to also add contest information to any relevant calendars on your site.
  2. On your BetterBNC branded contest page.
    BetterBNC allows you to create a branded contest webpage at no additional charge.  Drive contestants to this page for all of the contest information they need.
  3. On Twitter.
    Twitter is a great way to remind contestants about your contest and deadlines.  Use hashtags and ramp up tweets as the deadline approaches.
  4. On Facebook.
    Post a link to your contest webpage and encourage visitors to share it with their friends.  Add logo or trophy images to build interest.
  5. On LinkedIn.
    Post contest information to your LinkedIn Group or Company page.  Encourage members to promote the contest to their business contacts via LinkedIn.
  6. In your newsletters.
    Always include your contest information in newsletters and bulletins you send to members.  Create a banner or badge for the top of the newsletter with a link to the entry page.
  7. Via email.
    Send an email to your membership or general database and include a “forward to a friend” link.   BetterBNC allows you to email contestants from the current and previous years right from the platform’s administrator dashboard.  Encourage your organization’s leaders to add contest information to their email signature, as well.
  8. Via awards program sponsors.
    If your program has sponsors, provide them with logos and contest information so they can also share it on their site, newsletters, socials, etc.
  9. At organizational events.
    Promote your contest at any organizational events using flyers, postcards, table talkers and banners.  Weave in a mention during any available speaking opportunities.
  10. Promote your contest winners.
    Promote your winners in all channels and include a reminder of your next contest dates to encourage future participation.

BetterBNC’s Top 5

  1. Exceptional Training/Customer Support – Overwhelmingly, this is the top comment we receive from customers.  They tell us they appreciate BetterBNC’s quick response to their technical questions and the fact that there’s no additional charge for training and support.
  2. Marketing Manager – Launched in 2015, contest administrators say they love the convenience of emailing contestants and judges from the dashboard and like that they can also email contestants from the previous year.
  3. Contestant Scrapbooks – Contestants enjoy the ability to save potential entries throughout the year in a BetterBNC scrapbook then simply choose which to enter into a contest when the time is right.
  4. Customized Homepage – Organizations like the ability to create their own branded contest homepage complete with their logos, images, color palette and more.
  5. Judges Drag and Drop – The platform earns high marks from judges who are able to easily view entries and use a visual drag and drop method to select their top contenders.

Want to take a closer look at BetterBNC and learn how it can streamline and make your contest more efficient?  Schedule a complimentary demo today.  Email karen@smalltownpapers.com to get started.

Features Helping You Host a Better Contest

BetterBNC is committed to the success of our customer’s contests. A suite of powerful features and modules, and the fact that it is designed specifically for journalism, creative and PR contests, distinguishes BetterBNC from other platforms on the market. Check out some of our customer’s favorite features below.

BetterBNC Features:

  • Marketing Manager – Allows contest administrators to easily communicate with users by sending email from the administrator dashboard to contest judges and contestants from both current and previous contest years.  The administrator can create and save email templates or create individual emails. You can target judges who have not yet finished assignments, or specific groups of contestants such as those who made entries last year, but haven’t done so yet in your current contest. You can launch campaigns to call for entries, or remind users of impending deadlines.  The feature is easy and intuitive to use and makes communicating with your judges and contestants more productive.  
  • Contestant Scrapbooks – Contestants have indicated that they often find themselves scrambling before a contest deadline to locate a piece they’ve done which would be an appropriate entry. The new scrapbooking feature allows contestants to save their work in their own scrapbook account then simply upload it directly into an entry when the time is right.
  • Open Call™ – Contest administrators can use the Open Call feature to invite unaffiliated journalists to enter their contests. Freelancers and contestants who enter on their own behalf rather than through a media organization can create their own account with BetterBNC, then enter an Open Call contest. With the ability to expand a contest beyond a membership group or to different levels of participants, contest administrators can also create up to four independent entry fee structures for a single contest.
  • Contestant Manager™– With Contestant Manager, an organization’s senior managers and editors control who and what entries are made for a contest. They have the ability to manage entries themselves, assign someone else to manage the process or authorize employees to create entries for their respective departments.

BetterBNC Modules:

  • Revenue Manager Module – Accept and manage entry payments made by credit card or check.  An integrated shopping cart for entry fee payments by check or credit card, with the ability to see entry payment dates/amounts/methods. Admin reports also track entry payment dates/amounts/methods.
  • Entry Asset Manager – Download all attachments, website URLs, and judges’ comments from all contest winning entries at one time.  All winning entry content items are organized into folders and uploaded to a secure FTP website for admins to download all at once, saving time and effort.
  • Detailed Scoring Module – Add multiple criteria to each category’s judging form, each with its own scoring slider and comments field. Reports allow you to retrieve all scores/comments for every entry (winners and non-winners), including up to 5 places for winners. Allows for an enhanced judging feedback approach, allowing admins to retrieve all judge feedback for all entries (winners and non-winners).
  • Advanced Judging Module Multiple judges may be assigned per category (automated/manual options), with multiple rounds of judging, and admin reports help you retrieve all winners’ information.  Allows for multiple rounds of judging and multiple judges per entry, with all admin reports to help track results at each state.
  • Multi-round Judging Module Two or more rounds of judging can be applied to your contest. Once your first round judging is complete, we create a duplicate contest database, allowing each finalist entry to be moved to any new categories/judging set by admin.

BetterBNC provides training and 24/7 in-house support at no additional charge.  Contact us today to learn more or schedule a complimentary demo.

Why Contest Administrators Prefer BetterBNC

We asked administrators of media, creative and PR awards programs what they liked about BetterBNC’s platform.  The number one answer was tech support – our tech team has consistently earned high marks for being responsive and thorough.  The second  response we heard most frequently was that we listen to feedback and suggestions from contest administrators and provide them ways to learn from others.

It’s been an important part of the platform’s growth and development.  We created an Admin Advisor Group comprised of ten contest administrators with experience using the platform.  The advisors review platform enhancements and provide feedback on features and modules such as a new communication feature that’s being added this month at no additional cost to our contests. (Stay tuned – details are coming soon)

As well, we created a LinkedIn group just for BetterBNC contest admins providing them a way to share information and ask questions of others using the platform.  It is a private group – admins simply request to join.  Simply look for BettterBNC Contest Administrators under LinkedIn Groups or click here.

Coming Soon!  Redesigned BetterBNC homepage and new communications feature.  You can request a complimentary demo of BetterBNC – simply contact us today.

Want to be added to our email notification list?  Contact karen@smalltownpapers.com.

BetterBNC – The Best Platform for Contest Judges

 

cupWhile set up and making entries is important, perhaps the most critical element of your online news media, creative or public relations contest platform, is the judging mechanism.  Yes, it’s critical for contest integrity but using the right platform also makes it easier to recruit individuals to evaluate contest entries today and in the future.

Ultimately, the judging experience must be easy for the judge who is donating their time and energy to the contest.  BetterBNC is praised by judges for its easy drag-and-drop process and their ability to judge contests from anywhere without having to use special software or spend hours downloading files.

“This makes the judging a piece of cake. It goes so quickly compared to what we used to do.”

– Desiree Cahoon,  Lake Stevens (WA) Journal Publisher

Increasingly, contests have multiple judges looking at multiple categories and then ranking entries based on multiple criteria, and some go through multiple rounds of judging.  Ensuring judges have an efficient and intuitive experience and contest administrators have an easy way of monitoring, retrieving and exporting the results can be quite complex.

For contests with a more involved judging structure, BetterBNC has created two optional modules.

The Advanced Judging Module accommodates contests with multiple judges per entry and multiple rounds of judging.

The Detailed Scoring Module provides judges with easy-to-use scoring tools and comment fields allowing them to offer more enhanced feedback when selecting winners.

For contest administrators, BetterBNC provides Integrated Judging which means the admin is always able to monitor judging progress in real-time and easily generate and export reports.  Click here to read more on the significance of Integrated Judging.

Make sure that your platform is as easy for your team of judges to use as it is for the entrants and administrators.  To learn more about judging with BetterBNC, contact us today and schedule a complimentary demo – simply email Karen@smalltownpapers.com or call our west coast office at 360.427.6300.  Be sure to read more about what our customers have to say.

Schedule Your BetterBNC Demo Today

Calls are coming in.  Many contest administrators are looking to either move their journalism, PR or creative contest online or change the platform they’re currently using.   This the time of year to schedule your demo and see what BetterBNC can do to improve your contest experience in 2015.  The platform today is being used by nearly 200 organizations hosting contests of all shapes and sizes.  Some of our contests have just a handful of entries while others have hundreds.

MABLogoMany of our BetterBNC contests are reporting consistent growth in their contests each year – more organizations and more entries.  The Michigan Association of Broadcasters just had a record year for its Broadcast Excellence Awards.  They had 926 entries submitted by 89 stations across the state.  Congrats to contest administrator Mary Worland and her team! Winners of their contest will be announced March 11th.

Those using BetterBNC enjoy its features  and modules including:

  • Contestant Manager™ – Allows organizations to manage entries and monitor employee contest activity.
  • Open Call™ – Allows contest administrators to open the contest to non-members and freelancers.
  • Customized Homepages – Organizations can create their own branded contest homepage for no additional charge.
  • Revenue Manager – Cart system fully integrated with PayPal.
  • Integrated Judging – See real time judging updates and easily generate and export judging reports. (more details here)
  • Exceptional  Customer Service – The BetterBNC tech support team is responsive and thorough.

Join us in an upcoming demo to see the platform in action and learn more about what it can do for your contest.  You can easily schedule a demo for your and your team by contacting BetterBNC – email karen@smalltownpapers.com.