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The legal side of the awards is the bit that people rarely read, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t carefully prepare your documentation. You know, it’s the part where people click the “I agree…” checkbox when registering for your program and give their consent with the rules of the competition, etc. Your terms and conditions for participation in the awards program need to be well-drafted and coherent. This leaves a good impression of professionalism and trustworthiness. But more importantly, they have to be rock solid when it comes to dealing with payments, collecting personal information, processing and controlling data. This blog post will help you nail all the ins and outs of this boring, but important part of your awards.
To start with, the rules of the competition and any additional requirements should be part of the legal documentation. Make it perfectly clear that everyone who wishes to participate has to agree to them. Include information on:
When it comes to information, you must be crystal clear what you’re collecting as part of the participation, if and what part will be shared with the judges, as well as indicate if some of it is to be made public or shared with a 3rd party at some point.
Explain in detail how the judging process works, starting with what’s required of each entrant, how the winners are selected, and even how the actual awards are going to be presented, trophies delivered, etc. Define any responsibilities that you, entrants, and the jury have.
If you organize awards competition that charges and entry fee, explain the payment terms, including when payment is due, what happens in case someone pays late, and other billing requirements. As far as refunds go, in e-commerce it’s common practice nowadays to offer money back guarantees and store credit, but award programs are obviously different. There isn’t much you can give in exchange and participants are not exactly guaranteed to be happy with their purchase, unless they win an award of course. You should consider your refund policy carefully and put it into writing, so people know if and when they’re eligible for a refund.
GDPR and other applicable data protection laws require you to let participants know in detail who gets to process their personal data and for what purpose. Data that is considered personal usually includes name, address, and photos. Data protection regulations (like the GDPR) extend this to IP addresses and other sensitive information, such as genetic and biometric data, which could be processed to identify an individual.
👉 Evalato Pro Tip: If you’re using an online awards management solution, go through its privacy policy and security features. Since such solutions play a huge part in your awards, you want to choose one like Evalato, where security is one of the platform’s main strengths. It’s how you and program participants can rest easy with being part of your project.
There is an unwritten rule that T&C should be accepted with a click. It’s just what everybody is used to nowadays and making it harder for your participants will probably result in fewer applications. Luckily, Evalato helps you even with that part and makes it super easy for you to set this up and for applicants to accept the T&C.
Now you know the ins and outs of preparing the terms and conditions for your awards. Next, you can try Evalato and see how it can further streamline and ease your job.
