CONTEST GUIDELINES```
Cisco Growing with Technology Awards 2003 Official Rules
No Purchase Required to Enter or Win
1. Eligibility: The Cisco Growing with Technology Awards 2003 contest (the “Contest”) is open only to organizations (“Entrant”) with nine hundred and ninety-nine (999) or less employees in the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia and Canada. Void where prohibited by law. Cisco Systems, Inc. and related organizations as well as their employees are not eligible. Subject to all federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations. Federal, state, provincial and local government organizations are responsible for compliance with its ethics office policies, if any, regarding participation in this Contest.
2. Sponsor: The Contest is sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc. (the “Sponsor”), located at 170 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134.
3. Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in the Contest constitutes Entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules.
4. Timing: Contest begins on June 1, 2003 and the deadline to submit entries will be July 31, 2003 (“the Contest Period”). Contest begins in province of Quebec, Canada on June 16, 2003. Legal entries will then be evaluated and judged through September 23, 2003. Grand-prize winners, runner-up winners and honorable mention winners (collectively “Winners”) will be notified prior to October 1, 2003. Winners will be recognized during a public awards ceremony in San Francisco, California on October 27, 2003.
5. Entry: To enter, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/technology_awards, select the category in which you would like your organization to participate and fill out the application for the Cisco Growing with Technology Awards 2003. (Note: winners of the Cisco Growing with Technology Awards 2002 contest may only enter to win in a category for which it was not a winner in 2002.) Persons making the entry must be an employee of the Entrant. After entering this information and clicking on the “Submit” button, Entrant will immediately receive one (1) Contest entry. Limit one (1) entry per organization. If Sponsor receives multiple entries from the same Entrant, all but the first entry shall be disqualified. Entries received prior to or after the Contest Period shall be disqualified.
In the event of a dispute as to any entry, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter will be deemed to be the person who made the entry. The authorized “account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address.
If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, technical failures, human error or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or integrity of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest or to disqualify any Entrant who tampers with the entry process. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for lost, stolen, late, incomplete, invalid, illegible or misdirected submissions or claims; for failed, partial or garbled computer transmissions; or for technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to electronic malfunctioning of any network, hardware, or software or electronic or human error which may occur in the transmission of any information related to this promotion or in the processing of claims.
5. Judging: Prior to October 1, 2003, the potential Winners, which will include one (1) potential grand-prize winner, two (2) potential runner-up winners and five (5) potential honorable mention winners for each of five (5) categories specified below, will be selected by the Contest panel of judges (“Judges”). Decisions as to the selection of the potential Winners are final. Judges will select the potential Winners according to the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”) as it applies to the Entrant’s Contest submission:
The five (5) Contest categories are as follows:
- Sales and Marketing
Recognizes the creative ways in which companies are using the Internet and networking technologies to position their product or service and promote themselves through continued advertising, public relations, marketing and sales efforts.
- Customer Relationship
Recognizes the creative ways that companies are using the Internet and networking technologies to provide more value to their customers and increase customer loyalty and customer retention through better customer service.
3. Operational Excellence
Recognizes the creative ways that companies are using the Internet and networking technologies to enhance, simplify and improve their internal operations and business-to-business relations, resulting in more productive and effective processes.
4. E-Commerce
Recognizes the creative ways that companies are using the Internet and networking technologies to conduct transactions through the Web resulting in increased sales and extending geographical reach.
5. Non-Profit/Public Sector
Recognizes the creative ways in which non-profit organizations are using the Internet and networking technologies to provide a broader geographical reach of services, expand or maintain services, or serve the organization’s employees, donors, volunteers or clients better.
The Judging Criteria for Contest categories 1 through 4 above are:
· Increased sales/revenue by entering new markets, introducing new products/services, reaching new prospects, promoting the organization through advertising, PR, marketing and sales efforts. For the Sales and Marketing category the score for this criterion will be forty percent (40%) of the total score. For all other categories the score will be twenty percent (20%) of the total score.
· Give new meaning to the terms “customer support,” “customer feedback,” “supplier relations,” or “strategic partnership”. For the Customer Relationship category, the score for this criterion will be forty percent (40%) of the total score. For all other categories the score will be twenty percent (20%) of the total score.
· Adopted a new business model or reengineered their operations to improve internal operations, resulting in increased efficiency and productivity and reduced costs. For the Operational Excellence category the score for this criterion will be forty percent (40%) of the total score. For all other categories the score will be twenty percent (20%) of the total score.
· Overcame boundaries of size, time, and space by adopting a network-based or e-commerce model ensuring a greater competitive advantage. For the E-Commerce category the score for this criterion will be forty percent (40%) of the total score. For all other categories the score will be twenty percent (20%) of the total score.
The Judging Criteria for the Contest category 5 above, Non-Profit/Public Sector are:
· Maintain or provide expanded services. The score for this criterion will be fifty percent (50%) of the total score.
· Provide a broader geographical reach of services. The score for this criterion will be twenty-five percent (25%) of the total score.
· Serve the public or the organization’s donors or clients better. The score for this criterion will be twenty-five percent (25%) of the total score.
The eight (8) entries for each of the five (5) categories that are awarded the most points based on the Judging Criteria will be declared the Contest finalists. The entry with the highest score in each category will be declared the potential grand-prize winner for that category, the two (2) entries with the next two (2) highest scores will be the potential runner-up winners and the five (5) entries with the next five (5) highest scores will be the honorable mention winners. All decisions by the Judges are final.
Potential Winners must comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. Potential Winners will be notified via email and/or postal mail within ten (10) business days of the Judges’ decision and such notice shall include a Contest affidavit of eligibility. Except where prohibited by law, potential Winners must execute and return the affidavit of eligibility within ten (10) business days of receipt. If a potential Winner cannot be contacted within ten (10) business days after the first attempt to do so or fails to return the affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the specified period, the potential Winner may be disqualified and an alternate potential Winner may be selected based on the Judging Criteria.
6. Grand-Prizes: Five (5) prizes will be awarded to each grand-prize winner of the five (5) categories as follows:
· $25,000.00 worth of Cisco products (with a redemption period of one (1) year);
· One (1) free Cisco networking assessment and consultation valued at $3,000.00;
· A plaque valued at $150.00;
· Roundtrip airfare, one (1) night of lodging and dinner at the award ceremony for one (1) employee of the grand prize winner valued at $1,500.00;
· A case study posted to Cisco’s public web site valued at $1,500.00.
Grand-prize winners do not need to be present at the awards ceremony to win.
Runner-up Prizes: Three (3) prizes will be awarded to each runner-up winner of each of the five (5) categories as follows:
· First runner-up will receive $15,000.00 worth of Cisco products (with a redemption period of one (1) year);
· Second runner-up will receive $10,000 worth of Cisco products (with a redemption period of one (1) year);
· A plaque valued at $150.00;
· A case study posted to Cisco’s public web site valued at $1,500.00.
Runner-up winners do not need to be present at the awards ceremony to win.
Honorable Mention Prizes: One (1) prize will be awarded to each honorable mention winner of each of the five (5) categories as follows:
· A plaque valued at $150.00.
Honorable mention winners do not need to be present at the awards ceremony to win.
No cash or other substitutions are permitted except at the discretion of Sponsor who reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value if the prize cannot be awarded as described for any reason. Prizes must be accepted as awarded and are non-assignable and non-transferable. Any federal, state, provincial or local taxes are the responsibility of the Winner. Prizes to any Winner which is a federal, state, provincial or local government organization are subject to applicable ethics laws and regulations.
Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received and the relative performance of all entries.
8. Publicity: Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes Winner’s consent to Sponsor’s use of Winner’s organization name and the name, likeness, voice, opinions and biographical information of the individual who made the entry for promotional purposes in any media without further payment or consideration.
In addition to the prize of a case study posted to Cisco’s public Web site, Winners may have the opportunity to participate in other public relation activities such as:
· Serving as a press reference;
· Providing an endorsement quote for Sponsor press releases and or slide presentations as it pertains to Winner solutions;
· Working with Sponsor to develop a contributed article, profile story, success story or customer testimonial video;
· Providing a testimonial for direct mail, literature or collateral;
· Serving on a panel with Sponsor or be a guest speaker at an industry tradeshow or event;
· Speaking to Sponsor prospect accounts.
Information or materials provided in connection with Sponsor’s public relations activities may be used by Sponsor without any restrictions with the exception of serving as a press reference for the case study prize or potential features or contributed articles for publication, in which case Sponsor will obtain Winner’s approval before public release. Winners agree to not unreasonably withhold its consent.
Winners understand and agree that there will not be any additional remuneration for their participation in the Sponsor’s public relations activities.
9. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify the Contest if any attempt to cheat or fraud or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. In such event, Sponsor reserves the right to award prizes at random from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any Entrant it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of any provision.
10. Sponsor’s Rights to Contest Entries: Submission of entry grants Sponsor and its agents the right in perpetuity to reproduce, publish, use, edit, adapt and/or modify such entry, in any way, in any and all media, without limitation and without compensation to Entrant. Submission further constitutes Entrant’s consent to assign and transfer irrevocably to Sponsor any and all rights, title and interest in the entry, without limitation, including all copyrights. By participating in the Contest, Entrant waives the benefit of any provision of law known as “moral rights” or “droit moral” or any similar or analogous law or decision in any country of the world and represents and warrants to Sponsor that its submission does not contain any third party confidential or proprietary information.
Entrant hereby agrees not to instigate, support, maintain or authorize any action, claim or lawsuit against Sponsor or its affiliates, or any other person, on the grounds that any use of the entry, or any derivative works infringe any of Entrant’s rights as creator of the entry, including, without limitation, trademark rights, rights in an idea, copyrights and moral rights or “droit moral.” All elements of all entries, including all United States and international copyrights and all other intellectual property rights in the entries, shall be owned exclusively by Sponsor. Nothing herein shall constitute an employment, joint venture, or partnership relationship between Entrant and Sponsor. In no way is Entrant to be construed as the agent or to be acting as the agent of Sponsor in any respect.