During this pitch competition, we want you to create a video commercial for your business. The benefit of designing a commercial or “pitch” for your business is that it helps you really think through all areas of your business and clearly communicate it to potential customers: your product or service description, why it’s unique and desirable, what your company is trying to do in the broader scheme of things, and how someone can take the next step towards becoming a customer. The best pitches are memorable, actionable (meaning it encourages someone to respond, and makes it clear on how they can do so), and convincing.
This commercial that you will make not only helps you craft effective talking points for your business, but will also be a great asset that you can post on social media, add to your website, or text/email to your friends and family promoting your business. It should help you drive sales! And as part of the pitch competition, this commercial also has the chance to make you some serious money.
In other words, the time spent on this video could make you money in possibly more than one way!
Each entrant will also receive written feedback from their judge(s).
Your video does not just have to be you talking to the camera, either. Feel free to incorporate other people or pets into your video, act out a scene, pretend you are on the news, tell a story, or anything else that you think would be effective as a commercial for your business. See the short list of rules below.
Registration is open from July 16th to July 30th. You may submit your video and register for the competition at any time up to the closing date of July 30th at midnight (central time). There’s no bonus for registering early, however don’t procrastinate and wait until the last minute, either! You won’t want to miss out on this opportunity.
Judges will score each video the week of August 2nd, and winners will be announced via email on August 6th. Each entrant will also receive written feedback and scores from their judge(s).
- Entrants are limited to just participants of the Summer Entrepreneurship Program. Others may participate in your video, though.
- Video submission can be up to 3 minutes long. Videos longer than 3 minutes will not be accepted.
- Only one entry per participant will be allowed.
- Submit your own content (only put content in your video that you have the rights to use).
- Videos must be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo (they can be public or unlisted) and shared via a link to register. See form below for more details.
- Videos will be scored according to our judging criteria (see below).
Judges will score each video 1-10 in each of the below categories. The score for each criteria is then multiplied by how much that criteria is worth to the overall score. The score from each criteria is totaled to create the final score for each participant.
For example, receiving an “8” in the “Differentiation” category that is worth 15% of your overall score would be worth 1.2 points (8 times 15%) towards your aggregate score. The highest any video can score is a total of 10 points.
The top three highest cumulative scores in each age category will be declared the winners.
Judging Criteria:
Business and Product/Service Description (Worth 15% of Total Score): How well was the business explained? Was the product or service clearly defined? Did the entrepreneur convey enthusiasm about their product or service?
Differentiation (Worth 15% of Total Score): What makes the product or service different/better and why would the customer want to buy from this business? How compelling was this difference?
Call to action (Worth 10% of Total Score): Was there a clear call-to-action defined and a way for someone to buy from their business outlined? How do they take the next step towards becoming a customer?
Goals, Aspirations, and Impact (Worth 15% of Total Score): Did the entrepreneur effectively describe what they wanted to get out of their business and what goals they had moving forward? Did the entrepreneur provide some way their business is having an impact other than just making sales? (Saving for the future, giving back to the community in a relevant way, etc.)
Confidence / Delivery (Worth 15% of Total Score): Was the pitch attention grabbing and engaging? Was the entrepreneur speaking with confidence and clarity?
Creativity / Entertainment (Worth 20% of Total Score): Did the pitch hold your attention? Was it effective? Was it memorable?
Audio and Video Quality (Worth 10% of Total Score): Could we see and hear the entrepreneur well?
Judging will occur the week of August 1st. Winners will be announced via email on August 6th.
Awards and prizes will be given out to the top three entrants with the highest cumulative judging score.
This year we are excited to be offering over $800 in total cash prizes ($500, $250, and $100 for first, second, and third place) and trophies.
1) Film a Pitch Video that promotes your business to a potential customer in under 3 minutes. (Helpful tips on filming a great video here: https://youtu.be/G-5a1jSQ8nc)
2) Upload the video to youtube or vimeo (you can create your own free account or use a parents’). Make sure your video is marked as either “Public” or “Unlisted” (NOT private). Learn how to upload to YouTube here: https://youtu.be/5ud5DJiNi2I?t=33
3) Fill out the registration form below and include the link to your video.
