Contests - Suggestions and Notes

Contests in the Gathering usually serve as the source of the year's merchandise, although not all merchandise artwork/writing uses contests as a source. There have been conventions where the staff just picked a person or people to do specific commissions (like the T-shirt or Anthology cover or design for the Pin) for the convention. But if you have no artists on your staff norany artist friends you can call a favor in from, a contest may be the best way to go. You may want to open the contest up to people not strictly within the fandom, either; adverstising an art contest on DeviantArt and other art-related forums, or announcing a writing contest on FF.Net could be a great way to get word out about the con without talking directly about the it.

The winners of the contest usually get a gratis copy of the item they designed / won a place within.

Items the convention has held contests for in the past:

* Design our mascot

* Name our mascot

* Design our T-shirt

* Calendar

* Anthology

* Filkbook

On site at the convention, usually rewarded with a ribbon and bragging rights:

* Music Videos

* Art Show

You can run other contests throughout the year, ones that have no prize other than bragging rights (although people do love prizes, even if they are only token ones.) These can be a fun way to keep the fans involved in the convention throughout the year, as well as give you excuses to send out updates. You can have a special announcement just naming the winners of a recent contest and it will raise the prospect of the convention in their mind without you having to give a spiel about registration. (Click here for some ideas listed on the fake "Gathering 2021" site.)

Also, keep in mind that entries which the staff really liked but came in runner-up for the contest they were entered in can be reused in another capacity, provided you get the permission of the piece's creator. If you have a con booklet, entries to the T-shirt or calendar contest (assuming you are holding either one) might prove the perfect place to find the artwork for your booklet's cover, or inspire your staff to offer as a mini-poster for sale at the convention.