What is the Difference Between Judged and Voted-On Contests?

Judging and voting are the primary methods of selecting winners in contests (games of skill). This process includes evaluating eligible entries against the criteria as defined within the official rules. Criteria may include things such as:

• Originality of the entry
• Focus on the promotion topic or theme
• Relevance to the brand or promotion
• Quality/completeness of the entry as it pertains to the sponsor’s prompt

With contests, the difference between judging and voting is often who is doing the evaluating.

Voting often refers to publicly conducted selection of winners.Consumers are invited to cast their votes as to who should be selected as the winner of the promotion or advance to a semi-finalist or finalist round.

Judging often refers to a private panel selection of winners. A panel of qualified judges evaluates eligible entries against the criteria from the rules to determine“best” entries and the winner(s) and runner(s)-up of the contest. We always advise that semi-finalist and finalist determination have a component of judging involved, never relying solely upon votes to determine a contest winner.

Judging and voting can also be used in tandem for a promotion – in either order!

Examples of this include:

• A panel of judges moderates all entries and selects the ten finalists for the public to vote on and decide a winner. (Note: Florida considers this a game of chance if there is not a final element of judging.)
• After the contest entry period, the public votes on who they think should win, and then judges decide between those with the most votes to determine the ultimate winner.

As a full-service contest administrator, Realtime Media is here to make winner selection for your contests as smooth of a process as possible. We offer complete judging, screening, and moderation services to support your team in reviewing entries. Additionally, if you want to judge the entries, our flexible admin tool makes reviewing, judging, and managing entries easier than ever so you can stay focused and organized throughout the promotion from start to finish.