When floods overwhelmed our region last September, a second flood—of press releases, broadcast and print ads, Facebook messages and more— quickly rolled out, telling people where to find help and how to help others.

The same thing happens in good times. Before the B-Sens hit the ice, or truckloads of strawberries roll toward Owego, or the Tri-Cities Opera takes the stage, or neighbors gather to walk, run or bike for a cause, someone needs to spread the word, build the buzz and draw the crowds.

That’s our job. As communicators, we bring communities together. And here in the Southern Tier, we form a lively community of our own. Each spring, members of the Communications Association of the Southern Tier (CAST) get together to celebrate all we have in common and to honor the excellent work we produced in the past year.

Share your best with your community. Join the competition for the 2012 Genesis Awards.

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 Erinn Harrington or Eric Olsen at genesis@castmembers.org.

Contest Categories
If you have questions about any of the categories, contact Erinn Harrington or Eric Olsen at genesis@castmembers.org.

1. Overall Organizational or Brand Identity
2. Packaging
3. Posters
4. Displays/Exhibits
5. Out-of-Home Advertising
   1. Billboards/Exterior Signage
   2. Transit (Bus and Vehicle Wraps)
6. Special Event Promotion
7. Brochures/Catalogs
   1. Capabilities/Facilities
   2. Products/Services/Courses
   3. Fund-Raising
8. Annual Reports
9. Direct Mail/Direct Response
10. Periodicals—Newsletters
    1. Print
    2. Digital
11. Periodicals—Magazines/Journals
    1. Print
    2. Digital
12. Print Advertising
13. Web Advertising
14. Radio Advertising
15. Mixed-Media Campaign
16. Self-Promotion
17. Public Relations
    1. Single Piece
    2. Campaign
18. Writing
    1. News Writing
    2. Feature Writing
    3. Persuasive Writing
19. Art
    1. Illustration (Conventional/Digital)
    2. Photo Editing
20. Photography
    1. Individual
    2. Series
21. Video/Film
    1. Television Ads
    2. Public Service Announcements
    3. Web Videos
    4. Miscellaneous Videos
22. Electronic Presentations
23. Web Sites
    1. 25 pages or less
    2. Over 25 pages
24. Social Media
25. Blogs
26. Great Ideas That Didn’t Fly
27. Potpourri
28. Outstanding Student Contribution

Best of Show (not a separate category, but chosen from among the first-place entries in all other categories.)

Best Printing Craftsmanship

Judges’ Choice Awarads

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:

1. Download the Entry Form in PDF format and complete for each entry/series/campaign you are submitting.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Complete the List of Entries.
5. 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 22, you must be a CAST member in good standing, with your dues paid for 2012. 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 22 must have occurred during the calendar year 2011. 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 2011. If you have any questions, please check the Frequently Asked Questions. You may also contact one of the Genesis co-chairs, Erinn Harrington or Eric Olsen, 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 23, 2012 by 5:00 p.m.
Late entries (requires DOUBLE the normal entry fee): Monday, March 26, 2012 by 5:00 p.m. NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER March 26, 2012.

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 19-23, and on Monday, March 26, 2012. 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 23, 2012.

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.”

Judges' Choice Awards

Each judge on the panel will pick his or her favorite entry out of the entire field to receive special recognition.

How to Enter by Category

(For further details, see the Frequently Asked Questions.)

Important note: You may submit a series or campaign for only the following three categories: 15. Mixed-Media Campaign; 17B. Public Relations and 20B. Photography. All other categories are intended for single entries. A single entry must include one piece only. If a submission is intended as a single entry but contains more than one piece, it will be disqualified.

Print

• 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/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.
• A submission in the Art/photo editing category should be a new image created by combining or manipulating photographic elements, not simply a photograph that has been digitally retouched.
• 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.
• 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 (including Web videos)

• 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. If you are entering a Web video, print the URL where the video can be found on the entry form and on a label attached to the case.

Out-of-Home Advertising

• Submit a color print (no smaller than 8" x 10" or larger than 11" x 14") of the billboard, sign, vehicle wrap, etc. The photograph must be mounted on a 15" x 20" black matte or black foam board.
• Attach entry forms.

Electronic Presentations

• Presentations can be in any electronic format, such as PowerPoint, Flash, etc.
  Submit all entries on a CD or DVD.
• Each CD or DVD must be submitted in a case with the entry form attached.

Web Content (Web site, blogs, digital publication, Web advertising)

• All Web sites, blogs or other on online content must be viewable on an external server from the date the entry is submitted through May 2011. If content from 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, the opening page of the blog, the cover of the digital publication or the page containing the ad, 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/printout 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 three award categories for series/campaigns: 15. Mixed-Media Campaign; 17B. Public Relations and 20B. Photography.

• All categories other than the three listed above are intended for single entries. A submittion to any of those categories must include only one piece.
• 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.

Social Media

• All Web sites used in a social media campaign must be viewable on an external server from the date the entry is submitted through May 2012. If the site cannot be viewed, it will be disqualified.
• You must also submit a brief abstract (maximum of four double-spaced typed pages), outlining: (1) general information about the organization or cause you were promoting; (2) what you were trying to achieve through the use of social media; (3) how you used the various social media platforms to achieve that goal; (4) the results of your actions; and (5) what evidence you have of those results. 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.

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 of Entries

All entries will be displayed at the Genesis 22 Awards Dinner, a mix-and-mingle event to be held on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at Terra Cotta, 81 State Street, Binghamton. Winners of the competition will be announced during the evening, and they may take home their awards after the dinner.

This year for the first time, all Genesis entries will also go on display for the wider community—at Binghamton’s First Friday Art Walk, on Friday evening, May 4. If you wish to take home your entry, you may pick it up after the First Friday event. We’ll announce pickup details, including the time and location, as we get closer to the date.

Program Advertising

Take advantage of the 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 the CAST Secretary at secretary@castmembers.org 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, A Marketing Communications Company
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.