General Overview
What is a Corporate contest?
Corporate contests are a service for anyone looking to run a personal or
corporate/business design contest. These can be anything from a
pohotoshopped picture, a full ad, a brochure, a book cover, to a logo.
Submitting members have the opportunity to have their work used in the
real world and sponsors are in a unique position to choose a winner
from a variety of talented artists for a fraction of the price at a
professional design service.
Entering is free and a cash prize is awarded to the sponsors choice aside from the regular trophies and credits.
Who will be entitled to the rights to the entries submitted?
The corporate contest sponsor is entitled to the full rights to the
image of their choice from the contest, in exchange for their offered
prize. The artist retains the right to display the image in their personal portfolio.
The prize serves as compensation for the full rights to the image (it's
called a "work for hire" in legal terminology). Additionally, the
sponsor can be entitled to the rights for more images should they so desire, if
prizes for additional images are offered in the contest rules.
Please note that this only applies in contests where the sponsors are looking for content (i.e. a
logo contest). The above "work for hire" specifications must be worded into the contest rules in order to take effect.
The Process:
- The sponsor fills out a this questionnaire and hits submit.
- Based on the questionnaire we provide a price quote for the listing fee.
- The money for the listing fee and prize is prepaid in advance to Worth1000 (we provide a PayPal invoice).
- The rules are created from the questionnaire and sent to the sponsor to approve/correct (upon request).
- Upon
approval or waiver of approval, the contest is posted next in the
queue, usually within 2 business days, but this varies depending on
current demand. If the client wishes to cut to the front of the queue,
a Rush upgrade may be purchased.
- Once the contest begins, the
artists have
7-days to submit entries (which can be extended using a Contest
Extension upgrade). The entries remain hidden from everyone including
the sponsor during this period (unless a Preview Upgrade is purchased).
- The entries open to the public for voting. The public have two days to vote on which entry they like the best.
- The
voting period ends. The sponsor has 7-days in which to inform Worth1000
which logo they like the best. The sponsor is allowed to ask if a
contestant would be willing to revise the logo for slight changes in
determining their favorite.
- The original logo files are collected by Worth1000 and sent to the client immediately.
- The artist is paid the prize money by Worth1000.
- The sponsor now owns the full rights to that entry of their choice.
Info for the client (Contest Sponsors)
How much does it cost to run a Corporate contest?
There are two fees involved in every contest:
- The listing fee to worth1000 for posting and managing the contest for you.
- The prizes to the contest winner and/or winning entry of your choice.
The
listing fee is very affordable generally costing $50-$500 depending on
the what type of contest you run (i.e. logo contest, photo restoration,
merchandise contest, commercial tie-in, advertising work, web/graphic
design, etc...), your contest requirements and other factors. Worth1000
will also include a prize of 100 credits to the voting winner included
in your listing fee. Contact us with your contest requirements and we will prepare a quote for you.
The prize to the winners is always affordable because you
decide what it is and to how many winners you will award prizes to.
Generally the rule of thumb is: the greater the prize and the greater
the number of prizes, the greater the number of entries (and the
greater the quality of entries) your contest will attract.
Please
note that if you would like to give away merchandise as a prize and
intend to ship it directly, Worth1000 may not allow the prize (we'll
decide on a case-by-case basis). The preferred method of prize payment
is generally money (and/or a gift certificate towards Worth1000
merchandise) that is paid to Worth1000 before the contest runs.
We will then disburse the prize payment to the artists immediately at the end of the contest.
What questions should I take into account in establishing my contest rules?
We ask our sponsors to fill in this questionnaire as descriptively as possible and include them in your e-mail to us:
Logo contests:
Please describe your company:
A) Name Your Project (Careful - this will show up in search engines)
B) Company / Product Name
C) What is your website address? Should design inspiration be taken from this website?
D) What will the logo be used for? (company, product, etc) Tell us about your project and what you're looking for, but don't share any sensitive details - remember this is visible to the world!
E) Describe what your company or product does? What is your company's mission statement? Knowing your industry will help designers create a more suitable logo design.
F) Describe your target audience: (gender, age, location, interests, etc)
G) Where will the logo be used? (storefront, business cards, website, letterhead, etc) Certain logo styles work better online, while others work better in print. Telling designers where you'll use your logo will help them make the design more flexible for you.
PRIZE INFO - (The higher the prize, the better the response).
H) What prize amount (in US dollars) can you offer to the winners of your choice?
OVERALL STYLE
I) What style logo are you looking for? (funky, web2.0, business professional, etc)
J) Are there examples of companies whose logo style you like?
K) What should your logo represent? What feelings should it invoke? List things you want to tell your customers about you.
L) What symbols, icons or items should the user create and integrate into your logo?
M) What symbols, icons or items should NOT be integrated or included in your logo?
COLORS
N) How many colors should this logo be? Which colors? Any specific colors preferred? Let designers know what colors you'd like to see in your logo or if your company already has an existing color palette, what colors they should use. If there are particular colors designers should avoid, list them here as well.
O) Can the colors be shaded (gradients) or should they be solid (no overlap)?
LETTERING
P) What wording should be included in your logo? Please put it EXACTLY as you want it.
Q) Are there any nuances of spelling you prefer? (i.e. all UPPER-CASE letters?) If you have particular spelling requirements or variations for the text that should appear in the logo, please list here.
R) Do you have any preferred fonts? May any font type be used? May any not be used?
DELIVERABLES
S) Do you prefer a vector file? (i.e. PDF, EPS, Illustrator)? Which file format?
T) Are there any other criteria you have that were not covered in this list?
Will the Worth1000 watermark appear on the actual images the sponsor chooses?
No. That's just a copyright watermark automatically added to all images
displayed to site viewers. The original unwatermarked copy of the image
is still stored on our server (and by the artist) and that will be the
version you are entitled to.
Which entry does the sponsor get the rights to?
The entry of the sponsor's choice.
Can the sponsor preview the entries during the submission period?
Yes. This can be purchased as an upgrade. All you need is a valid user
account at Worth1000 (we can help you set one up if you don't have
one), so that you can login to preview the entries.
When will my contest run?
We generally try not to overlap very similar contests so that they
don't compete with each other for talent. Therefore we'll run them on a
first-come, first-serve basis. Generally the longest waiting period is
not more than one week. Most contests run within a day or two of
payment receipt.
For how long do the contests run?
Most contests run for a 7-day submission period (during which entries
are hidden from everyone except the Worth1000 administrators). Then
they run for a 2-day voting period immediately after, during which the
entries are visible to everyone.
The above timeline is just what
is generally done, but can be altered based on the needs of the
sponsor, the type of contest (i.e. an animation contest) and/or the
listing cost of the contest.
How long does the sponsor have to choose an entry?
7 days from the end of the contest. After 7 days have gone by, the
chosen prize will automatically default to the number 1 voting winner
(and any subsequent winners in descending order, should more than 1
winner be described in the rules).
A week-by-week extension upgrade can be purchased if 7 days are not enough.
Will I be happy with my contest results?
We certainly hope so! Obviously, people's tastes vary, but the benefit
of finding your logo or content through running a corporate contest is
that you are able to receive a large number of different entries from
different talented artists. Rather than going to a single artist and
getting 5 versions, you are able to access many artists and see dozens
of ideas for the fraction of the price. Additionally, you can gauge the
public's opinions of the different logos (because the public gets to
vote on which they like best). So there's a built-in test-audience
factor for you.
Bear in mind that because the contest is free
and open to the public, the overall submission quality takes on the
form of a bell curve. This inherently means that there will be a small
number of entries that are submitted that are poor. If you would prefer
that those entries be removed by us prior to the contest becoming
visible to you, please let us know in advance. We recommend leaving
them in so you can see the full spectrum of entries.
Do I have to award the prize if I'm not happy with any of the results?
It hasn't happened yet, but yes, you would have to. It's the only way
we can ensure that you aren't simply taking an idea that you liked and
recreating it to avoid paying the artist. Additionally, if none of the
artists weren't awarded prizes they would stop entering contests and it
would harm our future business.
If you really are not happy with
any logo, we can arrange to have our top professional artists create a
logo for you at a highly discounted rate.
There are two basic fees required to setup a corporate contest: A Listing Fee and a Prize Fee
- Basic Package listing fee - Generally $50 - $500 depending on your requirements. Contact us with your contest requirements for a price quote.
- Prize Fee - You determine the amount. $100 or above recommended. The larger
the prize, the better the entries is the economic rule of thumb. For
those who can't afford a cash prize and want to offer Worth1000
"credits" instead, a discount is available. Please note that money is
always recommended.
What's included in the Basic Package for the price of the listing fee:
- We manage, setup and host the contest.
- We promote the contest on the top right hand side of our homepage where it is most visible to visitors.
- The contest is free for anyone to enter.
- 7 days of submit time during which contestants submit entries.
- 2 days of voting time during which the public can vote on their favorite entries.
- 7 days of decision time, during which the sponsor decides which entry they like the best.
- 100 Worth1000 credits are provided to the winner of the entry that people vote on).
- You
can specify as many entries as you like that will be subject to a
prize. (For example, the top 4 submissions of your choice will receive
$25 each).
- We will arrange payment to the artist responsible for your favorite entry and send you the logo files directly.
Anytime Upgrades
The following upgrades may be purchased at any time during the contest (even after the contest has started):
- Preview Upgrade - $25
This
allows you to preview the entries as they come in (on a 24-hour time
delay), instead of waiting for the submission period to end.
- Rule Revisions - $25
This
entitles you to change the contest rules after the contest has been
live for more than 1 day. This will also extend your contest by an
additional 7-days (at no extra cost), if desired.
- Contest Extension - $25
This
allows you to request a time period extension (up to 7 days) for
submissions or voting. This can be useful if you feel that not enough
people are entering or you want to give more people a chance to vote on
the live contest (i.e. if your contest purpose is more for promotion
than to receive a product). A contest extension can only be purchased during the submission period.
- Decision Extension - $25
This
allows you to take more time (up to 7 days per extention) in deciding
which logo(s) you want to keep. Your basic plan comes with 7 days,
after which if no decision has been made, the prize money will default
to the voting winner.
- Extended Promotion - $25 Per Item or $50 for all three
- Invitations to participate are sent to past corporate contest winners
- Preview Upgrade -
This
allows you to preview the entries as they come in (on a 24-hour time
delay), instead of waiting for the submission period to end.
- Site News post / forum post promoting your contest.
Advance Upgrades
The following upgrades may be purchased only in advance of the contest.
- Rush Upgrade - $25+
Your
contest will be posted immediately, even if there are other corporate
contests ahead of it in the queue or others currently running. Price
increase subject to current demand and availability.
- Insurance Upgrade - 25% of original listing fee
If no entries are to
your liking, you are entitled to run one additional contest for free.
The prize fee will be applied to your one favorite entry from the total
entries in both contests. Upgrades are not free for the second contest.
Please also note that this insurance upgrade will be noted in the
contest rules, which may deter some people from entering.
- Invitation Exclusion - $25
You
can choose to limit who may enter to people you specify (i.e. if it's a
private contest for your co-workers). This upgrade is not recommended
for contests where the goal is to generate lots of ideas or content.
Ending Upgrades
The following upgrades may be purchased after the contest has ended:
- Hide contest to search engines - $10
Our
contests are publicly available and search engines will frequently
include our contests in their results, which means your competitors
could potentially see some of the ideas. This will hide the contests
from search engines and anyone without a valid worth1000 account.
- Hide contest to everyone - $25
This
will not only hide the contest from search engines, but will also
prevent everyone (including worth1000 members) from seeing the contest
results.
- Additional choice requests - 25% of negotiation per request
If
the sponsor liked additional logos (beyond what was specified in the
rules) they can let Worth1000 know what price they'd be willing to pay
for them. If the artist accepts we'll send the original logo files for
those as well and arrange payment to the artist. Worth1000 will take
25% of this negotiated fee. This fee will come out of the sponsor's
end. An example would be an agreement to pay $20 for an extra logo. The
total cost to the sponsor would be $25 for that logo ($20 for the
artist, and $5 to Worth1000).
- Repeat Contests - 50% off the listing fee
If
the sponsor would like to run the same contest again, the price is 1/2
off the listing fee. This does not include a monetary prize.
Info for the Artists (Contest Participants)
Worth1000 will pay you immediately by paypal.
If you do not have a PayPal account, you may be subject to 10% off your
prize award, in addition to whatever transfer fees are applicable,
depending on your desired method of payment and how time-consuming it
is for us. The only method available to those who don't use Paypal is
Xoom. We do allow business check for USA/Canadian residents and special
circumstances.
Word of warning to anyone without a PayPal account:
You will not be paid immediately. You will be paid at the end of the
calendar month. If you are in a country that does not support Xoom, you may be paid in credits if you can't arrange
payment through another option.
After you upload your entry image and hit "Submit your entry!" (at the bottom of the page) you will be redirected to the files upload page where you are asked to upload your work and font files. If you have more than one file to upload just hit browse again!
You can upload additional files after you have submitted your entry by hitting the "files" link that appears when you mouse-over your entry image.
Participation
-
Anyone with a Worth1000 account may participate unless the sponsor purchases an Invitation Exclusion upgrade.
-
Variations of entries must be uploaded as a single entry.
-
Voting
is expected to be done fairly. If we notice that an entrant is
attempting to cheat through voting, we may assume that the entrant's
integrity in creating entries is questionable as well and exclude them
from participation.
Prize Awarding
- The
contestant whose work is chosen by the sponsor will be paid within 2
business weeks of the contest ending (unless the sponsor has purchased
a decision extension) usually by Worth1000 directly.
- Paypal and Xoom are available payment options. Any associated
transaction fees from the payment will be deducted from the prize.