RULES AND ELIGIBILITY
WISCONSIN BANKERS ASSOCIATION – 2026 Wisconsin Bankers Association Marketing Excellence Award
OFFICIAL PROMOTION RULES & ELIGIBILITY DOCUMENT – Wisconsin Bankers Association Marketing Excellence Award
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR CLAIM AWARD
This contest is sponsored by the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) 4721 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718 (“Sponsor”). You are providing your information to Sponsor. Any questions, comments, or complaints regarding the context shall be directed to Sponsor.
Content participants agree to be bound by the following rules:
1. ELIGIBILITY. The Wisconsin Bankers Association Marketing Excellence Award (“Contest”) is open to entities that are currently a bank member of WBA; and have a branch location in Wisconsin. All applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
2. CONTEST PERIOD AND DEADLINE FOR ENTRY. The Contest begins at 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time (“CST”) on Saturday, August 1, 2026, and ends at 11:59 p.m. CST on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 (“Contest Period”). Sponsor reserves the right to begin the Contest earlier than Saturday, August 1, 2026 or end the Contest earlier than Wednesday, September 30, 2026, or to extend the length of the Contest at its sole discretion.
3. HOW TO ENTER. All entries must be submitted electronically. The user must complete an online form to enter the Contest. The online form includes, but is not necessarily limited to, entrant’s name, email address, phone number, state, and zip code. Entrants will also be required to check a box stating they are a minimum of 18 years of age and have read and agree to these Official Promotion Rules & Eligibility Document. Entries for the Contest will be accepted from 9:00 a.m. CST on Saturday, August 1, 2026, and ends at 11:59 p.m. CST on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 (“Entry Period”). No other attempted method of entry will be accepted; entries may not be mailed.
Limit of one entry per person regardless of IP address used by submit the entry. A maximum of ten (10) individual files may be submitted for an entry. Materials should contain marketing messaging to promote the named bank, keeping in mind the “Judging Criteria.”
All materials submitted must be: (1) in English; (2) no more than five minutes (300 seconds) in length for video or audio; (3) the entrant’s original work or owned work (in the case of a “work-for-hire” materials created by an advertising or similar agency) and (4) completed production between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026. Include a statement of whether the materials are also available in a language other than English. One PowerPoint slide visual summary of the marketing campaign used to display by Sponsor at the WBA FLEX Retail and Marketing Summit is required.
All materials may be submitted in the following file types. All other file types shall be ineligible and subsequently not included in the judging criteria:
• Video: MPEG, MPG, MP4, MOV
• Audio: MP3
• Images: PNG, JPG, JPEG
• Documents: PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX
All materials submitted must not contain any defamatory, libelous, indecent, or obscene material, sexual content, inappropriate language, unsuitable behavior, or adult-orientated material. Any entry that, in the sole judgement of Sponsor violates this requirement will be automatically discarded and entrant will not be eligible to win.
All materials submitted must not, as determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion: (1) infringe upon any rights of any third party included, without limitation, copyright, trademark, and rights of publicity and/or privacy; (2) copy, incorporate, or include music, images or content from any movies, commercials, radio, television, or the Internet; unless the entrant (a) is the lawful copyright owner of such material or (b) obtains the lawful copyright owner’s prior written consent and pays all applicable royalty and public display/performance licensing fees, which licenses shall be provided to Sponsor upon request. All materials submitted must not contain any mention, discussion, logo, trademark, service mark, storefront, trade dress, mascot, photograph, or other image or intellectual property of any business or company without that entity’s prior written consent.
Any materials submitted which include people other than the entrant’s employees, the entrant must have received each person’s permission to submit the materials which include their likeness or image to this Contest prior to submitting the materials. Entrant agrees to provide to Sponsor such permission upon request.
4. JUDGING CRITERIA. All materials shall be judged based on the following weighted criteria: (1) Research; (2) Strategy; (3) Execution; and (4) Evaluation. The categories will be weighted as follows: Research 20%, Strategy 30%, Execution 30%, and Evaluation 20%.
5. SELECTION OF WINNER. Following the Contest Period, a panel of staff members of WBA Associate Member Brown Boots shall judge all eligible materials submitted based on the “Judging Criteria” section above and select one winner.
6. AWARDING OF PRIZE. The winner will be contacted by email at the email address provided at time of entry no later than Friday, October 23, 2026. The winner must respond to the email with their intention to accept the award within 48 hours from when the email was sent. Sponsor is not responsible for any change of email address or phone number. The winner will be required to complete an Authorization and Release of Name or Image and return prior to accepting the award. The winner will be announced publicly at the 2026 WBA FLEX Retail and Marketing Summit. The winner need be present at the 2026 WBA Flex Retail and Marketing Summit to accept the award.
Acceptance of the prize constitutions permission for Sponsor to use the winner’s name, photo and/or likeness for advertising and promotional purposes without limitation and without compensation or permission unless prohibited by law. Upon request by Sponsor, winner will provide written consent for such use.
7. PRIZE. There is one winner. There is one prize. The winner will be awarded the prize of a digital badge created by Sponsor. The digital badge may be used by the winner on their website and in any other marketing materials of the winner. The winner will also receive a personalized certificate for the achievement and a commemorative trophy that can remain with the winner indefinitely or be returned to Sponsor after one year (before the 2027 WBA FLEX Retail and Marketing Summit) to be given to the 2027 Contest winner. The winner will be highlighted through a variety of Sponsor publication channels, including the Sponsor website, social media, and press releases, to be determined at Sponsor’s sole discretion.
8. GENERAL RULES. This Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. By entering this Contest, each entrant agrees to be bound and abide by these Official Promotion Rules & Eligibility Document. By entering this Contest and/or accepting the prize, each entrant (for itself and its heirs) hereby releases Sponsor and all of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, and all of their respective directors, officers, governors, employees, shareholders, and agents (collectively, the “Releasees”) from any and all liability, loss, harm, damage, cost, expense, or claims including, but not limited to, third party claims based on: (a) publicity and/or privacy rights, defamation, and intellectual property associated with the entrant or winner’s participation in this Contest, acceptance of the prize in connection with this Contest, and/or use or misuse of the prize in connection with this Contest, including, but not limited to, all reasonable counsel fees and court costs incurred, property damage, personal injury, and/or death; (b) anything related to the production, promotion, or execution of this Contest (or participation therein), including preemption, cancellation, or rescheduling; and (c) anything that may occur in connection with acceptance and/or use of the prize or while participating in this Contest, even if caused or contributed to by the negligence of Releasees. By participating in this Contest, each entrant shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Releasees against any third-party action, suit, or proceeding against Releasees to the extent such claim is based upon an allegation that materials infringe any rights, including but not limited to intellectual property rights, of a third party.
9. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY. Neither Sponsor nor any other Releasee shall be responsible for lost, late, incomplete, stolen, misdirected, illegible, or incomplete entries or entries that violate any rights, including but not limited to intellectual property rights, of any third party. Neither Sponsor nor any other Releasee shall be responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Sponsor, Releasees, entrants, tampering, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Contest, and neither Sponsor nor any Releasee shall assume responsibility for any error, omission, defect, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to the materials related to this Contest or any third party rights violations, including but not limited to intellectual property rights violations. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any individual found to be tampering with the entry process, the voting process, or the operation of this Contest; or to be acting in violation of these Official Promotion Rules & Eligibility Document.
If for any reason this Contest is not capable of running as planned by any reason, Sponsor in its sole and absolute discretion, reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend this Contest. If this Contest or any portion of this Contest is terminated before the end of the Contest Period, Sponsor will select a winner from all eligible entries received as of the termination date of this Contest. IN NO EVENT WILL SPONSOR OR ANY RELEASEE BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY INJURIES, INFRINGEMENTS, CLAIMS, ACTIONS, DAMAGES, LOSSES, OR LIABILITY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES RESULTING FROM OR ARISING FROM PARTICIPATION IN, OR THE PRODUCTION, PROMOTION, OR ADMINISTRATION OF, THE CONTEST, OR ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE, MISUSE, OR NONUSE OF A PRIZE THAT MAY BE AWARDED. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS. ANY ATTEMPT BY A PARTICIPANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD ANY SUCH ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON OR ENTITY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
10. MISCELLANEOUS. Each entry submission is subject to verification by Sponsor. Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for Sponsor and designees to use entrant’s name, materials, photograph, image, likeness, and/or statement in any manner and in any medium for purposes of advertising and trade without additional compensation, authorization, or remuneration, except where prohibited by law. Participation in this Contest constitutes agreement and acceptance of the Official Promotion Rules & Eligibility Document. Entrants hereby waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Official Promotion Rules & Eligibility Document.
11. VENUE AND APPLICABLE LAW. This Contest will be administered in Wisconsin, and by participating, all entrants agree that: (a) the laws of Wisconsin will apply exclusively to this Contest, and (b) any dispute with respect to this Contest will be resolved exclusively in any court sitting in Dane County in the State of Wisconsin, or the Western District Court of the United States sitting in Wisconsin.
12. WINNERS LIST. To receive the name of the winner, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Wisconsin Bankers Association Marketing Excellence Award, Wisconsin Bankers Association, 4721 S. Biltmore Ln, Madison WI 53718. List will be available for 90 days after the 2026 WBA Flex Retail and Marketing Summit.
SPONSOR: Wisconsin Bankers Association.
CONTACT: Please contact Jackie Lindquist, WBA Marketing Manager, jlindquist@wisbank.com, Phone: 608-441-1209.
