Never lose a contest again
An “out of the box” call to action
Artists are special. To anyone else´s eyes they are talented people born with something magical. How can they do what they do? We all know someone who can sing, dance, act, draw or paint -just to mention a few examples- that excell at their craft.
Unfortunately, artists in general are not known for being good business people. It´s not that they don´t want to earn good money, it´s more like they have the feeling that businesses are spoken in a very rare language.
Contests bring them the solution
They give creatives the opportunity to market themselves besides the chance to win an attractive prize.
What else could you ask for?
You just mainly have to be the best at what you do…
Right?
Knowing how contests work will let us understand the opportunities and risks involved within them so we take good calls to know if they are worth our effort and time.
What a brand wants
Due to the ginormous variety of contests available, I´m just aiming to talk about a very generic type, where a Brand plays the rol of organizer and jury.
The first step a brand should cover is having the ideal number of participants. As any business, is extremely important to have more than enough people to make the contest profitable. The inverse is also true, the more players the better. The candidates are to the contest like blood is to the body. They give life and dyanamism to the event.
It´s important to mention the risk taken by the Brand. The brand has no idea who is going to apply for the contest. So, even having a huge number of participants there is no warranty any of them could be talented enough to fulfill the expectations of the event.
Once the number of participants is covered, the brand sets all the logistic needed: Place, dates and jury.
Now, i´ts only a matter of waiting.
Let me show you the following example: For the World Cup 2014, a famous YouTube Channel in Mexico launched a contest which asked you to submit a short spot about Soccer. The prize: a computer. This is my submission:
Commodities vs The Prize
For practical reasons lets consider the prizes are given to the 1rst, 2nd and 3rd place and they are given in cash. At this point we understand that the quantity of money for the prizes plus the expenses of logistics equals an specific number.
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Could we say that this number is proportional to all the information received from the aspirants?
Who or what is the prize then?
The amount of cash or the participants themselves?
Pitching yourself
It´s key to understand the difference between being just “you” and all the value you hold in your mind. That value is called “Intellectual Capital” and is the most important asset in the equation. The Intellectual Capital is the reason brands are willing to pay whatever is needed to get you. Of course, the less they pay for it, the better for the business. From this point of view, money is just a commodity.
Hacking the Business Model of Contests
My proposition is to take 2 alternatives outside the box:
No 1. Go directly to the Final User
As artists, we always have something to say. So, say it. It doesn´t matter if it is by written word, video, or picture. Talk to your audience the best you can.
It is very likely that you´ll find contests and festivals that match the material you have already prepared. If that´s the case, submit. This way, everything that would come from it becomes a plus.
No. 2 Become the Solution the Brand needs
Promote the event the brand is pushing. Help them, become their partner. This strategy implies that even if the art you do will not be paid, you could be rewarded differently. A simple “thank you” from the Brand validates the quality of your work and opens the door to find potential clients and partnerships.
Let me be perfectly clear: I do not believe contests are Evil.
I just think we do not understand them the way we should.
Now, if you say: Ok, I have not prepared anything yet, nor I´m not very fond to the idea of promoting the event, I just think the prize is worth it… Am I wasting my time?
If this is the case, then use the contest as motivation.
Motivation is a porwerful force. It helps many artists to get out of creative`s block and gives you experience through the process. Just be careful enough to not get overly attached to the prize.
Remeber: What is the fun if you don´t enjoy the process?
Finally: Good luck. An Spark of Serendipity always help.
PS. Thank you very much for reading! If you got any value out of this, I’d really appreciate it if you hit the recommend button (the little heart). Feel free to add your comments, I`ll be very happy to read them.
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