Deadline nears for AOE news, advertising contests
The deadline is fast approaching for entries in the 2012 Awards of Excellence Contest, and the Kansas Press Association staff stands ready to assist with the new digital uploading process.
Entry deadline is Jan. 20, and KPA’s director of member services, Emily Bradbury, is ready to help any members who may be having difficulties.
“If the PDF uploading is a hindrance for anyone, please contact me at ebradbury@kspress.com and we will work with you to enter your entries into the 2012 contest,” Bradbury said.
KPA switched to an electronic format for its contest this year.
“It’s not that the process is more difficult, it just represents a change from the past,” said Doug Anstaett, KPA executive director, “Don’t be intimidated by the process. It’s really not as difficult as you might think.”
The new format allows for almost all the writing, design, photography and advertising categories to be judged electronically, allowing for more efficiency in the judging process.
Bradbury has produced two videos to explain the process to members. They only take a few minutes to watch and really describe the program well.
Those videos can be watched by pasting the following URL into your browser: http://www.kspress.com/70/contests
Click here to download the entry form information.
Bradbury said the move by KPA follows the lead of more than 20 other state press associations to this new format. Other states using the SmallTownPapers online contest format include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland/Delaware/D.C., Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
KPA also will award separate news and advertising sweepstakes awards this year in each circulation category.
Bradbury also has prepared answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about the online contest. They can be found in the November Kansas Publisher at http://www.kspress.com/node/198.
The entry form and information is attached to today’s Kansas Press This Week.
“This program allows the newspaper to upload numerous potential entries and then decide later which to actually enter in the contest. The publisher can decide which entries to ‘enable’ or ‘disable’ closer to the deadline. No more last-minute searches for tearsheets,” she said.
Mary Karst, advertising director for the Hays Daily News, has used the new system, and she is impressed.
She said it’s ease of use eliminates some of the problems her newspaper has experienced in the past.
“Wow! How easy! I really like the new electronic submission format for the contest,” she said. “No more searching for a paper copy that has the perfect color reproduction, no more paper ballots to fill in.
“Just simply fill in the blanks and upload the page with the ad on it and you are good to go. I am looking forward to being able to upload pages throughout the year and then choosing the best to enter when the contest comes around.”
