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Awards Submission Guidelines

 

The 2023 Sandie Awards competition offers multiple opportunities to win a Sandie Award. Open to agencies, consultancies, corporations, educational institutions, nonprofits, and college students, the Sandie Awards recognizes the best marketing work in the Greater San Diego area produced during 2022.

 

HOW TO ENTER

  1. Review the Eligibility section below to ensure that your work meets the criteria
  2. Refer to the Categories below to identify the category in which your work will compete
  3. Submit your work and submission fees here »

Submission of entries acknowledges the right of AMA San Diego to use them for publication, exhibition, and marketing of the Sandie Awards. The Sandie Awards committee reserves the right to move applicants to the category best suited through the lens of the judging criteria and rubric.

 

ELIGIBILITY

All work entered in the 2023 Sandie Awards competition must have been produced between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022, and created by or for a San Diego-based company.

 

ENTRIES MUST

  • Meet all eligibility and deadline requirements
  • Include a complete entry submission form (with category selected)
  • Include properly formatted creative support
  • Conform to defined submission requirements
  • Conform to all copyright laws*
  • Include proof of payment

*Copyright infringement and/or plagiarism (be it intentional or unintentional) will result in the disqualification and, if applicable, removal of awards from any entry deemed in violation. All entry fees will be forfeited.

 

DEADLINES & FEES

Feb 1 – March 14

March 15 – 31

AMA Member*

$80/entry

$100/entry

Non-Member

$100/entry

$135/entry

Sponsor

$50/entry

$50/entry

Student

$25/entry

$25/entry

Package of 5 Entries

$250

$375/entry

 

  • Entries must be received no later than March 31,
  • With the exception of the “Package of 5” bundle, 2-4 multiple entries are considered separate entries.
  • Prices do not include admission to the award show. Please purchase tickets here: org/event

*Become a member today to take advantage of our discounts! https://sdama.org/get-involved/join/

 

PAYMENT

Payment must be made online at sandieawards.org/ Fees are non-refundable.

 

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Entries for each category are evaluated and scored by a panel of judges against four key criteria. All answers are required and must be less than 200 words.

  • Challenges & Objectives:
    • What was the core problem the entry needed to solve or address? What was/were the objective(s) to address the situation or challenge? This should be a specific, quantifiable statement. Judges will score on how clearly the challenge is stated and whether the objectives are sound, clear, and measurable.
  • Strategic & Tactics:
    • Describe the strategic process behind this project/initiative and what tactics or actions were taken to achieve the objectives. Judges will score how well the strategy and tactics relate to achieving the objectives.
  • Results:
    • How was the success of the entry evaluated? What were the results? What measurable results did this entry achieve? Did it achieve the entry’s objective(s)? It’s extremely important to describe the results in measurable terms to demonstrate the entry’s objective(s) were achieved. Judges will score on how effective the entry was in producing results that directly tie into the objective(s).
  • Campaign Elements:
    • Include digital files of the work to be judged along with your entry. If your entry wins, a single image of your entry campaign elements will be displayed at the awards ceremony. Judges will score campaign elements and creative work of all digital files submitted.

 

ENTRY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Complete the Entry Submission Form here »

  • Contact information is required (please ensure company or agency name is spelled as how it should appear formally)
  • All criteria questions (above) are required to be complete and less than 200 words.
  • Entries may be submitted in more than one category to properly address the objectives of each category. (There is a discount for a package of five.)
  • There is the ability to “Save and Continue Submission Later” and an email will automatically be sent from info@sdama.org with a link to access the incomplete application. Please check your spam folder if you don’t see this email in your inbox. This link will expire on March 31, 2023. Email info@sdama.org to troubleshoot further. (Note: It is highly encouraged to first create a separate Word doc with answers for reference and as a backup.)

It is not guaranteed that all categories will recognize a winner. Only submissions that provide solid results and exemplify the qualities of great marketing will be considered for finalist placement.

 

CREATIVE SUBMISSION DO’S & DON’TS

There are two areas in the submission form that require digital files: Campaign Elements and Campaign Splash Screen. The campaign elements should be digital files that complement the submission and support the campaign objective. The campaign splash screen is a single digital file (print ready) to showcase submission work during the awards ceremony. Files that do not follow the creative requirementswill not be included in the entry for judges’ review.

Do’s:

  • When including attachments, all files uploaded must be in one of the following formats:
    • MS Word(.doc/ .docx/ .rtf)
    • MPEG-4
    • QuickTime
    • PDF
    • .txt
    • MP3
  • Uploading .DVD format is also acceptable, but we cannot accept a physical DVD.
  • Uploaded examples and images are limited to 8.5” x 11”.
  • Please keep file size under 50MB
  • Provide URLs for website entries. For websites that require password access, please create a guest user account login for the purpose of Sandie Awards judging.

Don’ts:

  • For campaign splash screen – please limit video files to < 30 seconds.
  • Do not place artwork images into a PPT.
  • Do not place company logo(s) into the artwork file.
  • Do not submit files that will attempt to install a program on the judging computers. Executable files cannot be judged and will be disqualified without reimbursement of entry fees.

 

CATEGORIES:

  • Branding: The apex of modern brand creation and management: whether new or a rebrand, this work reflects the direction and intent of an intelligent B2B or B2C business strategy.
  • Cause Marketing: Demonstrates a partnership between for-profit business and a nonprofit organization for a cause. Can also include social or charitable campaigns sponsored by for-profit brands.
  • Content Marketing: Focuses on the content marketing format, unit, or form of advertising across platforms that most successfully achieved campaign goals. Content can include blogs, podcasts, microsites, or landing pages.
  • Crisis Response/ Critical Pivot: Showcases exemplary creativity in pivoting due to changing environments.
  • Customer Experience: Efforts to prioritize customer at the center of marketing strategy, increasing usage and adoption of products/services to fulfill customer needs.
  • Direct-to-Consumer or Direct-to-Business: Digital marketing efforts directly to consumers, like social media, YouTube, podcasts, CTV.
  • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: Honors outstanding campaigns that embed and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion into their marketing campaigns. Specifically, these campaigns feature people of/from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, experiences and the marketing helps to challenge deep, systemic and/or structural issues impacting historically underserved and underrepresented communities to help facilitate important worldly discussions.
  • Event Marketing: Targets successful event marketing experiences across the board, from webinars, celebrations, fundraisers, etc., that had a lasting and positive impact on the attendees and strengthened brand loyalty.
  • Experiential Marketing: Marketing efforts to connect with consumers through experiences. Also referred to asexperiential brand marketing, grassroots marketing, engagement marketing, or live marketing.
  • Influencer Marketing: Whether it was influencer tactics, harnessing your devoted fan base, or using your PR skills to get media coverage, this effort caught attention in a big way.
  • Integrated Campaign: Cross-platform campaigns, B2B or B2C, that take a wider view of the market and raise the bar on every stage for business.
  • Marketing Innovation: Recognizes the experimental, unique, or strategic campaigns that test boundaries of UX, mobile, or social media to get customers to really engage with your brand, product, or servce.
  • Public Relations: Recognize submissions that deliver excellence for all elements of communications and integrated public relations.
  • SEO: Excellence in search engine optimization, whether technical elements, on-page content, or off-page factors, this work delivered outstanding results, enhanced website visibility and/or business visibility in search engines.
  • Single Print or Digital Ad: Hard copy advertisements that are printed in publications (newspapers, magazines, journals) likely to be read by a large target audience. Digital ads spanning all formats on websites, streaming or online channels.
  • Social Media: Best social media strategy that has successfully achieved campaign goals on behalf of brand.
  • Student Project: Recognizes projectscreated by an individual or group of college/graduate students for academic purposes or as part of developing a portfolio. Submission can be a campaign or single execution.
  • Video: Focuses on brilliant use of video, whether it is part of a social media campaign, website, streaming on the web or television campaign.
  • Website: Best designed websites that met a brand/client’s needs and goals. Entries will be reviewed for design, ease of use, copywriting, interactivity, use of technology, innovation, and content.

 

QUESTIONS?

Please reach us »