In this article I seek to jump-start some thoughts you may have regarding an artistic competition. Of course, competitions can come in various formats but in this particular case I am thinking of things like logo creation. It can be a fun and useful exercise and, if executed correctly, it can also be a great sales lead generator by creating buzz around your company or products. As with many business skills, you stand to make greater success by having a well thought out plan and a good continuous dialogue with all those involved. Here are some things to think about.
Think about the rules and guidelines. Try to anticipate all possible outcomes and keep your documentations up to date as you resolve issues.
How will voting be done?
What happens in the event of a draw?
What happens if a contestant withdraws?
Do you require original content or are you providing a shortlist of material for the contestants to work with?
Be clear of the closing date and time of your competition. Remember, the Internet is a global place with many time zones.
Consider having a two stage competition; first stage knockout by judges, second stage by the public.
Are you going to have related competitions? For example, a song writing competition followed by a singing competition using the winning lyrics from the previous competition.
Make the competition fun! For example, a lyrics competition might require users to include certain words, or the first letter of each line spelling a word.
Prepare website and promotional material for contest. Are you going to have special web pages for contestants and viewer responses?
Many artists will appreciate a two-way dialogue. It’s a good idea to make your goals and intentions clear. Try to keep the momentum going, work through all your ideas, your feedback will often be taken positively.
Artists will usually want to better understand your goals and will be happy to discuss the merits and reasoning of each submission.
Discuss the specification; who is the target audience? where will the artwork appear? can you comment on similar work, the things you like / dislike?
Provide good incentives, generally speaking you get what you pay for. Keep in mind that gifts and positive recognition are also valid incentives.
Consider incentives for those referring winning artwork.
Consider runner-up prizes as an extra incentive.
Cross promote the whole process and encourage participation.
Do some basic research to see if submissions are too similar to existing works.
Keep in mind that often only the winner is being rewarded for their efforts. You don’t want negative feedback so give all your participants the respect they deserve; kindness costs nothing.
The whole process is an excellent marketing opportunity, use it to the full!
Remember, “you get what you pay for” is a generalisation, most of us have seen examples where much money has been spent with uninspiring results. We can hardly call the logos of Coca Cola or Google inspiring. It is wise to keep a sense of proportionality; accepting we all have different budgets and objectives. Do you want artwork that will be around for many years or do you want a fresh contemporary image every few years?
Preparing for a competition may take longer than first thought. The upside, however, is that they can be a great marketing and networking opportunity and you may find yourself building lasting professional and trusted relationships.
Good luck in your pursuits.
Listening
Grapevine