Official Rules
The Achievement in Marketing (AIM) Awards presented by the Nashville American Marketing Association (NAMA) is the top competition for marketing professionals in the Nashville area. The AIM Awards are open to any company or person who works in the Nashville MSA or on behalf of a company in the Nashville MSA. In-house marketers, as well as marketing and direct marketing firms, advertising agencies, interactive agencies, PR firms and design firms can enter. However, no entry can be submitted by two entities, e.g., an ad agency and the client company’s marketing department.
The annual AIM Awards, held every May, recognize winners for marketing excellence in a variety of categories. In addition, one individual is named the Distinguished Marketer of the Year.
Eligibility
The AIM Awards is open to all marketing/creative professionals and students in Nashville and its surrounding areas, you do not have to be a member of NAMA to enter.
All work accepted into The AIM Awards must have first appeared in the marketplace between June 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010. All work must have been produced for commercial purposes. Entries may be submitted by any business or person involved in creating or producing the work, granted proper permissions are obtained and copyrights are observed. All entries must be final versions.
Judging
A panel of marketing, advertising and creative professionals from various industries and educational institutions from outside Nashville will judge the AIM Awards. Judging is done on the individual merit of work and the success in accomplishing its intended goals/objectives. Entries will be judged independently, and winners will be determined based upon the merits of the piece.
Winning entries are calculated based on the combined scores of the judges who evaluate each entry and weighted by specific elements. A certified public accountant will tabulate final scores.
Awards
The top-scoring professional entries in each category will receive an award. A Best of Show recipient will be chosen from among the top scoring entries in each category.
Criteria for Distinguished Marketer of the Year Award
Eligible candidates are those men and women who have distinguished themselves in their marketing careers and who have contributed to the betterment of marketing and its reputation.
Nominations for Distinguished Marketer of the Year Award
The judges will consider only candidates who have been formally nominated in accordance with the following rules:
- Each nomination must include a description of the significant contributions the nominee has made to the marketing discipline and cite specific achievements the nominee has made in his/her marketing career.
- Each nomination must be made via the online submission form.
- No illustrations, speeches, books or samples may be included.
All nominations are presented to the judges, who make their selection by secret ballot. The selection of award winners is made at the discretion of the judges, who may choose not to make a selection in any given year.
Winning Entries
After judging is completed, the top three in each category will be notified via email. It is possible that if scores are low, no awards will be given in a certain category. Once finalists are notified, proper credits, proof of rights clearances and any additional requests may be made. NAMA will not publish in print or online any winning entries without adequate proof that all necessary rights to do so have been obtained. All winners will receive their awards at the AIM Awards ceremony in May. All professional entries are eligible for the Best of Show Award. Good luck!
Entry Fees
The AIM Awards entry fee is $40 for all NAMA members and the non-member entry fee is $65. Professional submissions must be received by Friday, February 4, 2011. Entries received between February 5, 2011 and February 25, 2011 will be charged a late fee. All entries must be received by February 25, 2011 in order to be judged. There are no additional fees if your entry is selected as the Best of Show. There is one entry fee per piece per category. Work entered into multiple categories is eligible to win multiple awards. We accept checks made out to NAMA (if member, please write member number in the note area on check) or payment via credit card; we accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Do not send cash. All entry fees are non-refundable.
How to Enter
Payment for entry fees or a payment receipt must accompany your entries. Complete one Entry Form per company/individual submitting the work. The AIM Awards and NAMA are not responsible for damage or loss of any entry. Entries will not be returned, but can be picked up at the AIM Awards Ceremony in May 2011. Submitters of any work to the AIM Awards acknowledge the right of NAMA and the AIM Awards to use images of that work in its print publications, and on its websites. Downloadable entry forms and additional details can be found at www.nashvilleama.org. If your item is too large to send, or you do not want to part with your only copy, a hi-res image (no larger then 4 MB) of your work can be burned to a CD and included in your entry binder.
All Physical and 3-D Entries
Only creative that fits within the entry binder will be accepted.
Film, Video, Audio and Motion Graphics Entries
Submit on DVD playable on a consumer DVD player or QuickTime movie on CD. Audio entries are accepted on Audio CDs. Do not send WAV, AIFF, MP3 or other digital format.
Use a separate DVD/CD for each single entry. Write the title and entry number in pen on the front surface of the DVD/CD. Affix a copy of the completed Entry Form to the DVD/CD case.
Interactive
Do not submit executable files that will attempt to install software onto the judges’ computers. These will not be judged. All work submitted should play in a self-contained player in standard Windows operating systems. Entries requiring additional software, fonts, or other non-standard technology will not be judged.
More Eligibility Information
This awards competition is open to individuals eighteen (18) years of age or older. Proof of age and identity must be furnished upon request. For more details on the judging process, entry submission or rules please go to www.nashvilleama.org. The Nashville chapter of the American Marketing Association reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, suspend or amend this competition at any time for any reason. The Nashville chapter of the American Marketing Association further reserves the right to amend these official rules at any time without prior notice, at its sole discretion. The Nashville chapter of the American Marketing Association reserves the right to disqualify any participant for any reason, including, but not limited to, violation of these official rules or infringement of the rights of a third party.
Miscellaneous
This contest is void where prohibited by law. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. By entering this, each participant warrants that he or she has read and agrees to abide by all rules and that he or she is not prohibited from participating. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional acceptance of these official rules and the decisions of the Nashville chapter of the American Marketing Association, and its parents, affiliates, employees and agents, which are final, binding and non-negotiable in all respect. Each participant agrees to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the Nashville chapter of the American Marketing Association and its parents affiliates, shareholders, employees, officers, directors, agents, members, representatives, advertising and promotional agencies and sponsors from any liability arising from or related to the competition, including without limitation, personal injury, death, and property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy. By entering, entrants consent to the use of their entry, name or likeness for any reason without additional compensation. Names collected may be used for future marketing purposes.
Further, entrants fully and unconditionally release all claims for consideration, copyright infringement and all other claims of any nature relating to the use of their entry, name or likeness. For more details on the judging process, entry submission or rules please go to www.nashvilleama.org. Disqualified entries that fail to comply with rules/regulations will not be refunded.