Rules & Regulations

BCMA Global Branded Entertainment Awards 2024

This is an exciting new global industry awards programme to recognise the key protagonists of branded content and influencer marketing entertainment from the production, agency, platform, media and creative communities.

Award Categories:

• Best Branded Entertainment Strategy

• Best Original Branded Entertainment Idea

• Best Visual Branded Entertainment

• Best Audio Branded Entertainment

• Best Branded Entertainment Series

• Best Experiential Branded Entertainment

• Best Interactive Digital Branded Entertainment

• Best Activation for Branded Entertainment

• Best Branded Entertainment with Purpose

• Best B2B Branded Entertainment

• Best Branded Entertainment Using Social Media

• Best Influencer Branded Entertainment

• Best Branded Entertainment Use of Technology

• Best Branded Entertainment Research

• Best Use Of AI In Branded Entertainment

• Branded Entertainment Rising Star

The jury will award a single prize for each category, and, among the awarded projects in these categories, the Grand Prize for the Best Branded Entertainment of 2024 will emerge. There will also be an award for the Client of the Year.

Key Dates

Submission deadline: Friday, 18th October 2024

Shortlist announced: W/C 18th November 2024

In-person Awards Ceremony at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG: 4th December 2024

N.B. Your entry includes and guarantees you a ticket to the ceremony

Submission Fees

The submission fee depends on the number of entries. The price per entry decreases as additional entries are submitted:

All Categories (Member/Non-member)

First Entry: £429/£499
Second Entry: £329/£399
Entries 3 to 5: £229/£299 per entry within this bracket
From entry 6 on: £129/£199 per entry within this bracket

Only BCMA members qualify for the discounted rate which is available here. If for any reason the discounted rate is applied to non-member entries, this may lead to disqualification.

Rules For The BCMA Global Branded Entertainment Awards 2024

ARTICLE 1. THE BCMA GLOBAL BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS 2024

The BCMA Global Branded Entertainment Awards 2024 (the “Awards”) which celebrate and reward excellence, originality and creativity in branded entertainment, is organised by BCMA, The Stylus Building, 116 Old Street, London EC1V 9BG (the “Organiser”) in association with C21Media Ltd, 148-150 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AT

There are 18 Award categories (the “Categories”) in total, 16 Entry Categories and 2 Recognition Categories:

1.1. ENTRY CATEGORIES

The Global Branded Entertainment Awards 2024 will reward 16 programmes, one for each of the following categories in which programmes can be entered.

1. Best Branded Entertainment Strategy: This category will be for a branded entertainment strategy maintaining a brand presence throughout an extended period of time, demonstrating consistency, high-level strategic thinking, using the full range of branding skills and techniques.
2. Best Original Branded Entertainment Idea: This category will award the best original branded entertainment idea, which can be a single production shown in one part or a series. The judges will look for genre defining production and excellence across all areas of casting, story and production.
3. Best Audio Visual Branded Entertainment: This category will award the best audio visual branded entertainment, which can be a single production shown in one part or a series. The judges will be looking for outstanding creativity and relevant use of platforms and targeting.
4. Best Audio Branded Entertainment:This category is for entries that showcase the best audio branded entertainment which could be a podcast which is entertaining, engaging or informative and has been created for a brand or organisation. Judges will be looking for entries which have added value to the brand as well as increasing their reach and appealing to new audiences.
5. Best Branded Entertainment Series: The category will award the best branded entertainment series, defined as a run of 4 or more episodes. The judges will look for genre defining production and excellence across all areas of casting, story, production.
6. Best Experiential Branded Entertainment: This category is for entries that showcase the best experiential branded entertainment which could be a live or pre-recorded event.
7. Best Interactive Digital Branded Entertainment: This category is for entries that showcase the best interactive digital branded entertainment which can be a single production shown in one part or a series made specifically for a social, web, mobile and video platform.
8. Best Activation for Branded Entertainment: This category is for the best activation for a branded entertainment which can be a single production or series. It should demonstrate how the activation strategy impacted positively on the results for the campaign.
9. Best Branded Entertainment with Purpose: This category is for the best branded entertainment that has purpose at its heart. The judges will expect the work to support issues and goals for the organisation to make an impact in areas such as the environment, diversity, inclusion and gender equality.
10. Best B2B Branded Entertainment: This category is for the best B2B branded entertainment that could be a single production or series. The judges will be looking for campaigns that deliver engagement, customer recruitment and retention, sales or share uplifts and brand uplifts.
11. Best Branded Entertainment Using Social Media: This category is for the best branded entertainment using social media. This could be across any/multiple social platforms and in any form applied in a business-to-consumer context. The judges will be looking for an uplift in engagement, impact on customer recruitment and retention, and contribution to business outcomes.
12. Best Influencer Branded Entertainment: This category is for the best influencer branded entertainment. This will be for campaigns that have successfully achieved the brand objectives such as social visibility, ROI, engagement, follower growth, conversions, creativity, sales funnel development, traffic or another internally agreed goal through the use of influencers in the content campaign or strategy.
13. Best Branded Entertainment Use of Technology: This category is for the best use of technology in branded entertainment and will demonstrate outstanding innovation. The judges will be looking for use of technology including VR, AR, geo-targeting, data use or facial recognition across any platform.
14. Best Branded Entertainment Research: This category is for the best use of research in branded entertainment. The judges will be looking for insights gained from ground-breaking research and how this impacted positively on the campaign. They will also want to see how research has been used to measure the effectiveness of campaigns.
15. Best Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Branded Entertainment: This category is for the best use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in branded entertainment. The judges will be looking for how the use of AI technology has made a demonstrable difference and positively impacted on the campaign.
16. Branded Entertainment Rising Star: This category will identify the branded entertainment rising star and is for anyone under 35 working in branded entertainment for a brand, production company, agency or a content creator that demonstrates an outstanding contribution to branded entertainment, as well as their own progress between June 2023 and October 2024, career development, learning and skills gained.

1.2. RECOGNITION CATEGORIES

The jury will award a single prize for each category, and, among the awarded projects in these categories, the Grand Prize for the Best Branded Entertainment of 2024 will emerge. There will also be an award for the Client of the Year.

ARTICLE 2. CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY

2.1. ELIGIBLE ENTRIES

Programmes or series which can be entered for the Global Branded Entertainment Awards 2024 (the “Entries”) shall comply with the following criteria:

• Programmes must have been aired for the first time in the 14 months between June 1^st 2023 and October 23^rd 2024.

2.2. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Any duly incorporated company or organisation anywhere in the world (e.g. any television broadcasters, cable networks, online platforms, production companies, distributors, agencies) may enter a programme.

ARTICLE 3. APPLICATION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS

3.1. REGISTRATION AND ENTRY FORM

To submit Entries, Applicants register online on https://globalbrandedentertainment.awardsplatform.com/

(the “BCMA Platform”). There is no limit to the number of Entries which can be submitted.

The Organiser reserves the right to re-categorise an Entry and to ask for further material to be submitted, as it may deem appropriate. Once an Entry has been submitted, the Applicant cannot withdraw it from the Global Branded Entertainment Awards 2024.

If an Entry is a co-production, the Applicant shall be fully responsible for notifying the other co-production partners that the Entry has been entered for a Global Branded Entertainment Award. The Applicant which has entered the Entry shall be regarded by the Organiser as being entitled to receive all notifications and a possible Global Branded Entertainment Award.

If two of more companies enter the same programme or series, no refunds will be issued to any party.

3.2. UPLOADING OF THE VIDEO OR AUDIO

The video or Audio of the Entry must be uploaded on the BCMA Platform according to the following specifications and requirements by 23.59 GMT on 25th October 2024 (the “Submission Deadline”) at the latest:

• FOR A VIDEO in its original version, i.e. in a way which allows the review of the Entry without any interruption or distraction. In particular, the Entry shall not include any additional graphics, scenes, credits, other visual or audio insertions, or visible on-screen time codes;

• in an English version or with English subtitles or dubbing;

• in professional broadcast quality (HD).

FOR AUDIO in its original version and if non-English language audio, entered in a video file format with English subtitles.

If the Entry is a one-off programme, an entire programme shall be uploaded, and not a compilation or sample of the best scenes from the programme.

If the Entry is a series comprising several episodes, one representative episode shall be uploaded.

3.3. UPLOADING OF ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

Applicants shall also upload the following material by 23.59 GMT on 25th October 2024 at the latest:

• a 1-3 minute trailer, in English or with English subtitles;

• programme logo;

• programme illustration / artwork (1 image);

• and any other relevant information e.g. production people, talent, script.

And a video (no more than 3 minutes) giving the history of the project.

For a non-English language entry for the Audio category, a trailer in English is preferred. An audio trailer in a video file format with English subtitles will also be accepted.

In case of difficulties with the upload, Applicants/Nominees shall contact the Organiser.

3.4. ACCEPTANCE OF THE RULES

By registering Entries for a Global Branded Entertainment Award, all Applicants confirm that they have read, understood, accepted the present Rules and that they agree to abide by them and to pay the Submission Fee corresponding to the number of Entry(ies) they wish to submit.

Applicants also confirm that the BCMA and C21Media privacy policies as may be amended from time to time and as made available on the BCMA/C21 website shall be applicable to the personal data collected by the BCMA/C21 from the Applicants as part of their participation in the Global Branded Entertainment Awards 2024.

3.5. PAYMENT OF THE SUBMISSION FEES

To submit Entries for a Global Branded Entertainment Award, a non-refundable submission fee will be charged according to the number of programmes entered on the basis of the tariff mentioned on the front page of the present Rules (the “Submission Fee”).

No Entry shall be accepted until full payment of the relevant Submission Fee has been received by the Organiser.

3.6. VERIFICATION PROCESS

The Organiser will verify that all required materials as mentioned under Article 3.2 have been submitted within the Submission Deadline; in particular, the following points shall be verified

• The technical quality of the video uploaded is sufficient and appropriate for screening to the Jury members and the public;

• The Eligibility Requirements are met;

• The requirements set out under Article 3.2. are respected;

• The payment of the appropriate Submission Fee has been received by the Submission Deadline.

Entries deemed eligible will be accepted by the Organiser and a confirmation will be sent by the Organiser, by email, the the person designated on the entry form.The Applicant having received the e-mail confirmation shall be referred hereafter as an “Entrant” and its Entry(ies) shall be part of the selection of Entries submitted to the relevant jury members as per Article 4.

ARTICLE 4. JUDGING, NOMINEES and WINNERS

4.1. JUDGING CRITERIA

All Eligible Entries will be judged independently by the relevant jury members under the supervision of the Organiser according 3 main criteria:

• Idea: How original and compelling is the Entry? Whether that is the narrative power of a drama, the unique access secured by a documentary – or the innovation of an entertainment format.

• Production Values: Taking into consideration genre, territory and budget – and the challenges overcome in producing the programme – how do you assess the production quality achieved?

• Impact: (where this information is provided by the entrant) take into account the critical response; the audience reaction and the ratings achieved. Did the programme achieve impact above and beyond the normal expectations of the channel or platform. An award-winning show may also have changed the national discourse in some way.

4.2. SELECTION OF THE NOMINEES

4.2.1. SELECTION JURIES

For each Category, there shall be a selected number of Jury members, who are industry experts coming from the broadcast and production industry, chosen by the Organiser.

Each Jury member shall vote solely in the Categories to which she or he has been assigned.

4.2.2. SELECTION PROCESS OF THE NOMINEES

A shortlist for each respective Category shall be selected after entries close on 18th October 2024. A maximum of up to 25 Entries shall be shortlisted for each Category.

Six Entries from the shortlist will be retained as nominees by TBC (here after the “Nominees”). From which, the winner in each category will be selected.

4.2.3. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NOMINEES

The Nominees will be announced by the Organiser on TBC unless otherwise decided by the organisers. (the Nominees Announcement).

All Nominees will be informed personally. They may be contacted to provide additional promotional material.

4.3 WINNERS AND SPECIAL PRIZES

The Nominees whose Entries have been selected as Global Branded Entertainment Award winners (the “Winners”) will receive a Global Branded Entertainment Award trophy.

It is compulsory for a representative of each nominee to be present at the Award ceremony; if circumstances do not permit, and only by prior agreement with the organiser, the nominee will be required to provide an acceptance speech on video. Any agreement between nominee and organiser to provide an acceptance speech on video is strictly confidential, breaking this embargo may result in disqualification’.

Each nominee will receive 2 tickets to the event on December 4th 2024 with the option to acquire additional tickets, information regarding additional tickets will be provided to nominees.

The Organiser reserves the right to announce special mentions and to award special additional prizes to some Nominees, as it may deem appropriate

ARTICLE 5. DECISIONS OF THE ORGANISER AND THE JURIES

Applicants acknowledge that all decisions of the Organiser and of the judges, panels and Juries shall be binding and final in all matters.

All Decisions shall be at the discretion of the Organiser and of the Juries.

Deadline and announcement dates may be modified at the sole discretion of the organisers. In case of objections regarding any Jury decisions, the Organiser shall have the final word, which shall be binding and final on the Jury members and the Entrants.

The Organiser and the judges, panels and Juries are under no obligation to comment, explain, justify or provide details regarding their decisions and no appeal procedure is available.

All votes shall remain confidential. The official working language of the judges for the Rose d’Or® Awards is English.

ARTICLE 6. GLOBAL BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS LOGOS

The use of the Global Branded Entertainment Awards logos (hereafter the “Logos”) is subject to the prior express authorisation in writing by the Organiser.

Only Nominees and shortlisted entrants are authorised to use the Logos in their advertising and publicity materials for promotional purposes in relation to their Entry(ies), without limitation in time. When doing so, they shall indicate the year during which their Entry was selected and they shall indicate the Category and whether they were Nominees and/or Winner.

In no case shall the Logos be reproduced and/or incorporated, in whole or part, in any other logo or design. Any breach of this provision may result in an immediate order by the Organiser to refrain from using the Logos. In case of doubt as to the permitted use of the Global Branded Entertainment Awards Logos, Nominees are invited to consult the Organiser.

ARTICLE 7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

7.1. RIGHTS AND CLEARANCES

By submitting Entries to the Global Branded Entertainment Awards, all Applicants represent, warrant and accept that:

• all necessary rights clearances, releases, permissions and consents from all contributors having contributed to the Entries and the Teasers have been acquired to enable the exploitation of the Entries and the participation thereof in the Global Branded Entertainment Awards.

• the Entries and the Teasers do not infringe upon or violate any copyright, trademark, right of privacy or right of publicity or any other right of any kind or nature of any person or entity or legal norm under any applicable jurisdiction.

7.2. USE OF THE ENTRIES AND TEASERS BY THE ORGANISER

By submitting Entries for the Global Branded Entertainment Awards, all Applicants acknowledge and accept that:

a. Entries and Teasers shall be made available (streaming) on the BCMA Platform for the purposes of being viewed by the Jury members, the Organiser, other Entrants, delegates attending the Global Branded Entertainment Awards Ceremony, and specifically invited guests on the Rose d’Or® Platform prior to the announcement of the Award winners;

b. Teasers, entry Excerpts and supporting videos (subject to clause 7.2e) can be made publicly available (streaming) on the BCMA Platform when the shortlist is published, when the nominees are announced andwithin the awards ceremony as it streams and for subsequent catch-up viewing by the general public after the announcement of the Award winners;

c. When the Global Branded Entertainment Awards is staged as a full live event Entries can be listed in a Global Branded Entertainment Awards brochure, together with all corresponding information (such as contact details of the Entrant and of the broadcaster or platform having aired it, and a still from the Entry, etc.). Stills from the Entry or pictures to be included in the Global Branded Entertainment Awards brochure shall be chosen by the Organiser at its discretion;

d. the Organiser shall have, for the purposes of the Global Branded Entertainment Awards and for promotion and publicity, a worldwide and royalty-free right to use, publish, exhibit, distribute, transmit, broadcast on television clips (up to 3 minutes)of the Entryas part of and integrated in the award ceremony (including all information and materials such as names, photos, pictures, voices and stills from the Entry, script translations etc.) By any means and on any support (including via the BCMA Platform and/or during public exhibitions, presentations or events produced for or by the Organiser as part of the Global Branded Entertainment Awards Ceremony and on the Global Branded Entertainment Awards Guide), without the need to make any payment whatsoever;

e. the Organiser shall have, without limitation in time, for the purposes of the Global Branded Entertainment Awards and for promotion and publicity, , a worldwide and royalty-free right to use, exhibit, distribute, transmit and publish the Teaser as well as any excerpts from the Entry up to a maximum of three minutes by any means and in any and all media, including but not limited to television broadcasts and Internet transmission (including on the Organiser’s websites (such as the BCMA Platform, ebu.ch and rosedor.com), on the official YouTube channels of the Organiser and on the BCMA Platform), without the need to make any payment whatsoever;

f. the exercise of the rights granted hereunder shall not be subject to any copyright fees or any other payments or compensation of any kind or nature.

ARTICLE 8. WARRANTIES

Each Applicant represents and warrants to the Organiser that the entrant has the right and authority to enter the Entry in the Global Branded Entertainment Awards. In particular, in the case of co-productions the Applicant warrants that it has the authority and received the necessary authorisations from the other co-production partners to enter the Entry for a Global Branded Entertainment Award.

All Applicants agree to defend, indemnify and hold the Organiser and its affiliates, employees, officers, directors, licensees, delegates and successors, secure against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses or expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from the entrant’s breach of any warranties set forth in the present Rules, including, without limitation, any claims based on the infringement or violation of any copyright, trademark, right of privacy or right of publicity or other legal norms under any applicable jurisdiction, claim by any other possible co-producer of the Entry.

ARTICLE 9. LIMITED LIABILITY

All Applicants agree that the Organiser shall not be liable for any claims, costs, liabilities, damages, expenses and losses arising out of (i) the Organiser’s use of the Entry (including excerpts, all material and information) and of the Teaser as described under Article 7; (ii) incorrect listings which are the result of incorrect or misspelled information provided on the entry form; (iii) the Entrant’s participation in the Global Branded Entertainment Awards; (iv) an Entrant’s disqualification from the Global Branded Entertainment Awards; (v) the Entrants not being granted a Global Branded Entertainment Award; (vi) technical failures of any kind during transmission of Entry materials and information or during the Global Branded Entertainment Awards Ceremony, including but not limited to problems or delays arising from software or equipment malfunctions or computer viruses; (vii) any events outside the Organiser’s reasonable control (e.g. interruptions, delays or cancellations); (viii) in the case of co-production, any claim by any possible co-production partner of the Entry.

The Organiser is, in particular, not liable for any loss, damage, corruption, incorrect or incomplete delivery or alteration of any material and information (including personal data) transmitted over or uploaded from the Internet (e.g. online application), sent by normal mail to the Organiser, stored, archived and/or processed by the Organiser or sub-contractors. The Entrants take full responsibility for the transmission of materials and information over the Internet (online application) or by normal mail.

The Organiser shall endeavour to operate safe data networks complying with the technical standards in force and to implement appropriate technical and organisational arrangements in order to protect the personal data of Entrants and delegates and the Entries from loss, destruction, falsification, manipulation or unauthorised access. However, the Applicants hereby accept that the online systems allowing the entrance of an Entry and the upload thereof are provided on an “as is” basis and that the Organiser shall in no case be held responsible in case of interruption of service, loss, destruction or copying of an Entry or if an Entrant has not been able to upload properly a given Entry.

ARTICLE 10. INELIGIBILITY/DISQUALIFICATION

If full payment of the applicable Submission Fee has not been received by the Submission Date, the Entry shall be declared ineligible for the Global Branded Entertainment Awards by the Organiser and shall not be entered into the Selection. In such a case, the Organiser shall be entitled to keep any payment which may have already been made by the Submission Date.

The Organiser shall have the right to declare ineligible/disqualify

• incomplete Entries (i.e. Entries for which all the information and material required under Article 3 or which may be requested are not submitted by the Submission Deadline) or Entries for which incorrect information has been provided (e.g. dates of dissemination and production credits);

• any Entry which is not of sufficient technical quality to permit the screening to the Juries, provided that a replacement of sufficient technical quality cannot be obtained in time to meet the Submission Deadline;

• any Entry which contains content which may be determined by the Organiser as to be objectionable (e.g. pornography, violence, racism or discrimination);

• any Entry which does not comply with the present Rules;

• any Entry which the Organiser has serious reason to believe that it may infringe upon or violate any right or law;

• in the case of co-productions, Entries which are subject to a protest by a co-production partner;

• any Applicant which deliberately or unintentionally breaches any provision of the present Rules;

• any Applicant and/or Entry which is likely to bring the Global Branded Entertainment Awards into disrepute, or to harm the reputation of the Juries or the Organiser;

• any nominee who does not provide a video acceptance speech when requested.

If an Entry is declared ineligible or is disqualified by the Organiser, it shall not participate in the Selection or may be withdrawn from the Global Branded Entertainment Awards and no refund of the Submission Fee will be provided.

If a Nominee Entry or a Winning Entry is disqualified, the Nominee or the Winner shall not be entitled to associate that Entry with the Global Branded Entertainment Awards and shall immediately cease to use any of the Logos.

Any Winner which is disqualified shall return to the Organiser any trophy received.

ARTICLE 11. DATA POLICY

Information provided by the Entrant to the Organiser will be used for the purposes set out in the present Rules.

ARTICLE 12. MISCELLANEOUS

The Organiser reserves the right to change, modify or amend the present Rules (including the Timetable and the Annex) at any time and without notice. Changes to the Rules will be posted on www.thebcma.info).

If any provision of the present Rules is declared invalid or unenforceable, all other provisions shall remain in effect. The Timetable and the Annex shall form an integral part of the present Rules.

The present Rules shall prevail over the terms and conditions of the BCMA Platform.

The present Rules are drafted in English. In case of translation in other languages, the English version shall prevail.