From film to digital. From VHS to DVD. From direct mail to social media. Our industry has evolved profoundly in the 20 years since the first Genesis Awards. Those first participants could never predict that someday they wouldn’t need film in their camera to take a photograph, that they would be watching videos on discs instead of tapes, and that they could communicate with their customers (for free) on the internet through something called “Twitter” and “Facebook”. Each year will bring new challenges and new opportunities, and we will continue to evolve in ways we could never imagine. Help us demonstrate how we’ve evolved by presenting your best work in Genesis 2010.
Why Participate?
Whether you are independent or part of a communications group, participating in Genesis is good for business! Here’s why you should consider submitting your best work in the competition:
- Gain Exposure. Most of the region’s communications community attends the event, and we usually receive media coverage.
- Promote your talents. Earn recognition and positive strokes for you and members of your team.
- Show off the newest pieces in your portfolio and show your ability to problem solve.
- Gain Credibility in the market.
- Stimulate your creative process.
Even if you do not have work to submit for the competition, you can still benefit from attending the Genesis event. Here’s how:
- You can network, meeting members of the communications community including buyers, talent, organizations, business partners, mentors, potential clients, employees, and employers.
- You can see what’s being done by others in the community.
- You can expand client interaction. Invite a client to attend the event with you.
- You can enjoy a great a party!
To learn more about how to leverage Genesis participation to benefit your business, contact Bijoy Datta or Sara Tripp at genesis@castmembers.org.
How to Enter
You will need to submit two forms with your entries—the Entry Form and the List of Entries. Here’s how to complete and assemble the paperwork:
- Download the Entry Form in PDF format and complete for each entry/series/campaign you are submitting.
- Make two copies of each completed Entry Form. Cut one copy into its separate parts – 1 and 2. Attach Part 1 to the back of your piece and Part 2 to the front. Save the second copy of the Entry Form.
- When you have completed steps A and B for all your entries, collect the second copies of your Entry Forms and staple them together. (You don’t need to separate Part 1 from Part 2). If you fail to submit a duplicate copy of a form, your entry may be disqualified.
- Complete the List of Entries.
- Clip together the List of Entries, the duplicate copies of your entry forms and a check for your entry fee. Submit them along with your entries. Remember that entry fees are due at the time of drop-off.
- As you fill out each entry form, remember that you must complete Part 2. In this section, you should describe the intended audience for the piece and what you hoped to achieve by exposing the audience to that item. Your objective should include a verb. For example: “To entice diners into our client’s restaurant,” or “To get our members and donors excited about our goals for the coming year.” Judges consider these stated objectives extremely important.
- If you enter the same piece in more than one category, you must submit a separate sample of the item and a separate entry form and pay an additional fee.
- Remember that series or campaign entries must have at least three pieces and no more than five. If you fail to submit the required number of pieces for a series or campaign entry, your entry will be disqualified.
Eligibility
To submit an entry in Genesis 20, you must be a CAST member in good standing, with your dues paid for 2010. If you are not a member and want to join, you can download an application form.
Anyone—staff member or freelancer—who has participated in creating a piece may enter it in the Genesis competition. If you wish to enter a piece that you worked on as part of a team, please check with your team members to make sure that two or more of you are not submitting the same entry in the same category.
The major portion of the creation, production, and placement of work entered in Genesis 20 must have occurred during the calendar year 2009. Please note that all entries submitted must have been conceived or created in the Southern Tier. With the exception of “Great Ideas that Didn’t Fly,” all entries must have been published or broadcast within 2009. If you have any questions, please check the Frequently Asked Questions. You may also contact one of the Genesis co-chairs, Bijoy Datta or Sara Tripp, at genesis@castmembers.org.
Entry Fees
- $20 for a single entry
- $40 for a campaign or series entry (you must submit at least three, but no more than five, pieces for each campaign or series entry)
Payment (made payable to CAST) must be included with your entries at the time of drop-off. Note that the Genesis Committee will not accept entries unless they are accompanied by payment.
Categories
Items may be entered in more than one category, but entry in a second category requires a second copy of the item, a second entry form, and a second entry fee. The person entering the item must determine the category entered; neither the Genesis Committee nor the judges will move an entry from one category to another.
Entry Deadline
Regular entries: Friday, March 26, 2010 by 6:00 p.m.
Late entries (requires DOUBLE the normal entry fee): Monday, March 29, 2010 by 5:00 p.m. NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER March 29, 2010.
Drop-off
The drop-off location is the United Way of Broome County, located at the corner of Vestal Parkway and South Jensen Road, Vestal, NY 13850. You may drop-off items at any time from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, from March 22-26, and on Monday, March 29, 2010. However, members of the CAST Genesis Committee will be on hand only from 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 26, 2010.
Judges and Judging Criteria
Genesis judges will evaluate each entry in terms of its creativity, execution, and effectiveness in meeting its stated objectives. Judges then assign a point score to each item. The judges’ scores are then added together and the aggregate score is reviewed against minimum standards developed in each category for an entry to qualify for first, second, or third place. If no entry gains enough points, there will be no award in that category or subcategory. The judges may decide that while no entry in an individual category or subcategory is worthy of a first place award, some entries qualify for a second or third place award.
Best of Show
The judges will evaluate all entries that received first place awards and determine which one of them is the “best of show.”
How to Enter by Category
(For further details, see the Frequently Asked Questions.)
- Submit a tearsheet/print of each entry mounted on a 15” x 20” black matte or black foam board. A larger board should be used only if the dimension of the entry exceeds 15” x 20”.
- Remove agency credit lines and color bars, if possible.
- Brochures/collateral materials must be enclosed in a clear plastic protector mounted on a 15” x 20” black matte or black foam board.
- Attach entry forms.
Photographs/Illustrations/Digital Art
- Submit a color print mounted on a 15” x 20” black matte or black foam board.
- You must include a sample that shows where or how your image was used (a page from the publication, a copy of the ad, a printout of the Web page, or whatever applies). This can be mounted to the same board.
- Attach entry forms.
Radio
- Radio spots should be provided as audio CDs or MP3 files on a Windows/Mac hybrid CD. Each entry should be submitted separately. Submit your objective in writing and adhere it to the CD case.
- Radio campaign entries must have all spots on one CD with at least a :05 leader between spots. (MP3 files must be clearly marked.)
- When labeling campaigns, make sure spot titles are in the same order as the recorded spots.
- Each CD must be submitted in a case with entry form attached. You must also provide an affidavit to show when the spot(s) ran. This affidavit must be provided at the time of drop-off. The Genesis Committee will not accept entries pending an affidavit.
Television
- Television spots should be provided as DVDs (no QuickTime, WMP, MP4 or .avi files, please). Submit your objective in writing and adhere it to the DVD case.
- For television campaign entries, DVDs can display spots either via a simple menu or in series.
- When labeling campaigns, make sure spot titles are in the same order as the recorded spots.
- Each DVD must be submitted in a case with the entry form attached. You must also provide an affidavit to show when the spot(s) ran. This affidavit must be provided at the time of drop-off. The Genesis Committee will not accept entries pending an affidavit.
Video/Film
- Submit each video/film entry on a DVD.
- Submit your objective in writing and adhere it to the DVD case.
- For videos of three minutes or longer, choose a segment of the piece (less than three minutes in length) that is representative of the video’s production qualities, and submit that without further editing. Optionally, include up to :30 from any opening sequence which might set the context, display production values, or otherwise aid the judges in gaining a clearer understanding of the video.
- Each DVD must be submitted in a case with the entry form attached.
Outdoor Advertising/Displays/Exhibits
- Submit a color print (no smaller than 8” x 10” or larger than 11” x 14”) of the billboard/display. The photograph must be mounted on a 15” x 20” black matte or black foam board.
- Attach entry forms.
CD-ROM/Multimedia Presentation
- Submit all entries on a CD with all fonts embedded. Microsoft Office 2000 (and up) files are also acceptable. Multimedia presentations must be self-running. If the presentation submitted is not self-running, it will be disqualified.
- Each CD must be submitted in a case with the entry form attached.
World Wide Web
- All Web sites must be online and viewable on an external server from the date the entry is submitted through May 2010. If the design of an internal site is entered, a password must be included so the site can be viewed live. If the site cannot be viewed, it will be disqualified.
- You must also submit a color print of the home page of the Web site mounted on a 15” x 20” black matte or black foam board. The URL for the site must be included on this print, as well as on the entry form.
- Attach entry forms as per instructions for print entries.
Writing
- Submit a photocopy/tearsheet of the published article. A news release is acceptable for news writing only.
- Submit each page of the article/news release in a separate clear plastic protector inserted in a black ring binder. Do not mount on a board.
- Attach entry forms to the binder.
Public Relations
- Submit a brief abstract (maximum of four double-spaced typed pages), outlining (1) general information about your organization, (2) the situation before you implemented the program (including problems you were trying to solve), (3) what you specifically did as part of this program, and (4) the results of your actions. Entries of more than four pages will be disqualified.
- Each page must be submitted in a separate clear plastic protector inserted into a ring notebook. Do not mount on a board.
- Feel free to submit any supplemental materials (photographs, publications, videotapes, etc.).
- Complete only Part 1 of the entry form, as the objectives must be part of your abstract.
Series/Campaigns
Note: Genesis includes several award categories for campaigns that use a single medium (e.g., Newspaper Advertising Campaign, Radio Advertising Campaign, and Television Advertising Campaign). There is also a category for a Multiple-Media Campaign. Entries in that category must represent at least two media.
- Series/campaign entries must consist of at least three pieces and no more than five pieces.
- An item that is entered as part of a series or campaign in a category may not also be submitted as a standalone entry in the same category.
- Each piece must be prepared in accordance with the appropriate guidelines (print, photography, radio, etc.).
- Attach entry forms to each piece and clearly mark as part of a series/campaign/multiple-media entry.
- All pieces must be wrapped together and delivered as one unit.
Student Entries
- High school or college students are eligible to compete. Students may enter on their own, or you might consider submitting a student intern’s work as a way to honor his or her efforts.
- Submit any communications piece, such as multimedia, illustration, etc. All student entries, regardless of media, compete for a single Outstanding Student Contribution Award.
Display at Awards Dinner
All entries will be displayed at the Genesis 20 Awards Dinner, a mix-and-mingle event to be held on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at Terra Cotta, 81 State Street, Binghamton. Winners of the competition will be announced during the evening. You may pick up your entry when the program ends at 7:30 p.m. All entries not claimed that evening will be recycled.
Contest Categories
- Overall Organizational or Brand Identity (visual identity systems, logos, signage, letterheads, trademarks [a letterhead, envelope, and business card developed as part of the same project will be considered a single entry])
- Packaging
- Ad Specialty Items
- Posters
- Displays/Exhibits
- Outdoor Advertising
- Special Event Promotion
- Brochures/Catalogs
- Capabilities/Facilities
- Products/Services/Courses
- Fund-Raising
- Annual Reports
- Direct Mail/Direct Response
- Periodicals/Newsletters
- Digital
- Newspaper Advertising
- Single Ad
- Campaign
- Magazine Advertising
- Single Ad
- Campaign
- Radio Advertising
- Single Ad
- Campaign
- Television Advertising
- Single Ad
- Campaign
- Multiple-Media Campaign (At least two media must be represented; entry must include at least three pieces and no more than five pieces.)
- Public Service Announcements
- Single PSA
- Campaign
- Self-Promotion
- Public Relations
- Single Piece
- Campaign
- News Writing
- Feature Writing
- Persuasive Writing
- Conventional Illustration
- Digital Art
- Illustration
- Photo Editing
- Photography
- Individual
- Series
- Video/Film
- CD-ROM/Multimedia Presentation
- World Wide Web
- Great Ideas That Didn’t Fly (This category honors good work that, for whatever reason, never made it into final production. Submit the work in its most current creative form.)
- Potpourri (Use this category to enter pieces that don’t fit into any other categories: book covers, CD packages, PowerPoint presentations, etc.)
- Outstanding Student Contribution (Entering a piece by a student intern is a perfect way to show appreciation for his or her work.)
Best of Show (not a separate category, but chosen from among the first-place entries in all other categories.)
Program Advertising
Take advantage of this new opportunity to showcase your services!
Genesis is the social event of the season for communications professionals in the Southern Tier. An ad in the Genesis Awards program is a great way to catch the eye of a future collaborator or client.
Ad spaces will be made available to CAST members at the following sizes and rates:
Half-page ad (5" wide by 4" high) $25
Full-page ad (5" wide by 8" high) $40
Payment and camera-ready ads are due no later than Friday, April 2. Camera-ready ads must be supplied as a high-resolution PDF (300 dpi) with all fonts embedded.
Contact Bijoy Datta at bijoy@grafiqa.com to reserve your ad space today!
PDFs can be emailed to secretary@castmembers.org and payment to CAST should be mailed to:
Karen Frobel
Riger Advertising
PO Box 1623
Binghamton, NY 13902-1623
Have Questions?
First, review our Frequently Asked Questions about Genesis. Then, if there’s still something you need to know, please email: genesis@castmembers.org.