Tag Archives: contest administrator

What’s new in BetterBNC’s fall release?

November 1, 2017 karent

NEW Administrator Tools Streamline Processes

Creating your competitions just got a lot easier! When creating competitions, you can now choose whether to combine circ groups or keep them separate for each category — all with a single click! And, managing competitions has been streamlined with new features designed to improve workflow.

New at-a-glance tickers help you track your contest progress! The admin dashboard and competitions page now provide quick views of your numbers — a real time saver and a great way to monitor the activity of your contestants and judges.

If you accept Open Call® entries you will appreciate the new way entries can now be automatically assigned to a circulation group, and Open Call entries are now included in a new at-a-glance ticker. Contact us if you have any questions about using the new administrator tools.

Make the switch to an easier and less stressful contest platform!

July 18, 2015 karent

BetterBNC has been delighted to welcome several new contests to the platform this summer most of which have switched to BetterBNC from other platforms that they found to be too cumbersome, difficult to use and expensive.

The #1 Selling Point for BetterBNC
Our new contests have indicated that they appreciate that BetterBNC’s base price includes all training and support for the year. There is no bill at the end of the year for support calls or training sessions. And, support is provided each day, from early until late, out of our Washington state offices. There’s no waiting days for a response to your questions.

Time Saved with Marketing Manager
Customers love that they can email judges and contestants right from the administrator dashboard. It saves time and energy sending reminders and thank you notes. There are several different email campaigns that can be launched and you can always monitor which emails have been opened or bounced. This feature was launched in 2015 and is included in the base price or with your renewal.

Your Contest Webpage
We also receive great reviews on our Customized Homepage feature which allows an organization to quickly and easily create its own customized contest homepage hosted on BetterBNC.com. You can provide all of your contest information right there along with the log in button so judges and contestants can get started. Like Marketing Manager, this feature comes at no additional charge.

Want a BETTER contest experience? Check out BetterBNC today and see why so many journalism, creative and public relations contests are making the switch.

New Feature Makes it Easy to Communicate with Contestants & Judges

March 12, 2015 karent Leave a comment

*Click here to access our latest newsletter (April 16, 2015) announcing our new Marketing Manager feature!

BetterBNC is delighted to announce a new feature which dramatically improves the way contest administrators communicate with those involved in their contest.

The platform’s new Marketing Manager feature 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.

T Create Campaign he 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.

The new Marketing Manager feature is part of BetterBNC’s 2015 platform upgrade and is available to contests at no additional cost.

Want to know more about BetterBNC or schedule a personal demo, email karen@smalltownpapers.com today.

Why Contest Administrators Prefer BetterBNC

March 6, 2015 karent Leave a comment

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 & Large Video and Audio File Contest Entries

October 24, 2014 karent Leave a comment

As our number of broadcast customers grows, we’re often asked about how the BetterBNC platform handles large audio and video file entries. Organizations looking for an online contest platform want to ensure an easy experience for entrants and judges and that leads to questions about encoding video, standard video resolution vs HiDef, audio bit rates, target file sizes, encoding tools, accepted file formats, video containers and codecs…well, you get the picture.

Because technology in the broadcast industry changes so rapidly and to ensure the smoothest experience for everyone involved, BetterBNC does not require uploads but rather allows entrants to simply link to their entries which can be on their station’s server or on any one of a number of online sites such as YouTube, Vimeo and Tindeck.

The result is significant time savings:

for entrants, they spend less time contest entries and they don’t have to worry about seeing the dreaded “failure to upload” message.
for judges, linking to audio and video files delivers an easier experience allowing them to view the entries from any device without worrying about whether they have the appropriate readers to view or listen to the material they’re responsible for evaluating.
for contest administrators, there are fewer calls and emails with questions about file uploads.

For administrators responsible for creating a video of winning high definition entries for the awards presentation event, there are a number of options. Mary Worland with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters tells us the MAB uses an FTP site for the winning entries. “We let our entrants know at the time of entry that if they should win, they will have 7 days to submit a 30 second high def clip of the winning entry to an FTP site that we will send to the entrant at the time we notify them of the winning entries. This system has worked really well for us and seems to be favored by our members,” explains Worland.

Want to learn more about how BetterBNC can help your broadcast contest? Contact us today to schedule a complimentary demo.

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