Tag Archives: broadcast contest

Happy Holidays from BetterBNC

We hope you’ve had a wonderful 2016 – we appreciate our valued BetterBNC customers.  We have a record number of organizations using BetterBNC this year and look forward to even more switching to the platform in 2017.

If you’re a current customer, remember to contact us for your renewal information – just email or call the office and we’ll get started for you. If you are interested in switching your contest to BetterBNC, simply contact us to schedule a demo at your convenience and we’ll go from there. All you have to do is email karen@smalltownpapers.com.

We look forward to more great contests in the coming year!  Happy Holidays from all of us at BetterBNC.

Is my contest too small for BetterBNC?

It’s a question we often hear.  Is the BetterBNC contest platform designed for larger contests – those with a large number of entries – or will it work for my organization’s small contest?

BetterBNC customers have contests ranging in size from a hundred entries to thousands of entries – the platform works for contests of all shapes and sizes.  Even our very small contests appreciate that it saves time and energy for everyone involved – your contest admin, judges and contestants.  The result may even be growth in the  number of entries you receive each year – we’ve seen that trend among our customers.

We also have customers who come to BetterBNC from other platforms as well as those who are taking the contest online for the first time after operating in the past manually.  Don’t worry about the learning curve – all of your training and support for the year is included in your BetterBNC base price. There’s never a charge at the end of the year for support.

Contact BetterBNC and take a look at the platform in a complimentary demo.  Email karen@smalltownpapers.com to schedule a demo for you and your team this summer.

 

A Better Way to Judge Your Media Contest

It’s one of the most important facets of the contest experience – the judging structure.  For a smaller contest, it may be fairly simple and straightforward.  But, particularly for larger media contests, reviewing and rating entries can involve a number of judges, more than one judge evaluating each entry, multiple rounds of judging, a wide range of criteria being evaluated and feedback being provided to contestants. It can be quite complex.

BetterBNC can accomodate all of the above.  The base platform is perfect for a straightforward judging process and the platform has modules available for more sophisticated judging structures including:

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 can also provide customization for contests with unique judging processes that modules do not address.  Contact us to schedule a complimentary demo at your convenience or to get started with BetterBNC.  Email karen@smalltownpapers.com for details.

Why our customers say BetterBNC is better.

What sets BetterBNC apart from other platforms?  Customers who have come to BetterBNC from other platforms are quick to share their observations.

First, and what we hear most frequently, is that our customers appreciate that all training and support is included in our base price.  There is no bill at the end of the year for training and support.  They tell us an additional plus is the fact that our support is provided by our Tech Team out of our Washington state office which monitors support requests around the clock.

The second thing we hear most often is that contest administrators like that the platform was built specifically for their industry – journalism, creative, broadcast and public relations contests.  We do not have a generic platform that requires customization to make it work for these organizations.  Our team is made up of individuals who have worked in print journalism, broadcast news and PR, and we know firsthand the features that make for an easier contest experience for everyone.

BetterBNC has been designed to be easier and more efficient for contest administrators and contestants but just as important in its evolution has been creating an easy and smooth experience for judges.  We have received rave reviews from judges who tell us its the best contest judging experience they’ve had – intuitive and easy to use.

BetterBNC is also commited to continual improvement and adds new features each year to enhance the contest experience.  We listen to customers who have provided invaluable input and suggestions. In 2015, we added two features which come at no additional charge. One allows administrators to easily and conveniently email contestants and judges from the admin dashboard and the other allows the contest to easily create its own branded contest landing page.

We look forward to an even better 2016! Contact us today to take a look at the platform and discover how it can enhance your next contest.

 

How does your contest platform handle large files?

applesorangesContest platforms are not the same.  Some, like BetterBNC, are easy and intuitive while others have a huge learning curve.  Some require lots of costly customization to meet your contest needs while others, like BetterBNC, have a base platform that meets most needs of a specific industry – in our case, journalism, creative and public relations contests.  Some platforms allow contestants to upload extremely large files while others, including BetterBNC, set a limit.

Got your attention, right?  Why would BetterBNC limit the file size of PDFs that can be entered?

If you’ve seen the platform, you have likely noticed BetterBNC’s 20mb file size limit for entries. The reason we don’t permit larger files to be uploaded is simply because it takes longer to download which creates a more cumbersome process for your judges, particularly if they have standard DSL. Customers are encouraged to limit file sizes to 5mb or less or opt to use an online e-publishing platform such as Issuu, VuDu or RealView. When contestants make entries using the e-publishing option, they enter the URL web address of the document rather than uploading. Judges are able to easily view and evaluate the entry.

This is one of the main reasons judges consistently praise the BetterBNC platform for its ease of use.  It saves them time and energy.

Check out BetterBNC today and learn how it can create a better contest experience for everyone involved – your contest administrator, judges and contestants.