Established in 2012, this interactive competition offers high school students the chance to gain industry feedback and exposure while competing for student and school prizes.
BBB's Student Video Contest is an interactive competition among high school students! Since 2012, the Student Video Contest has provided a chance for student teams to compete for prizes for themselves and their school, while also providing students a chance to promote their work and get feedback from industry professionals.
The 2026 theme: Your Voice is Digital Currency – The Power of BBB Reviews
Welcome to the 2026 Video Contest! This year, we are focusing on the power of your voice. In the digital age, a review isn't just a comment—it's currency. Here is everything you need to know to create a winning video.
🤖 Why should you care? (The AI connection)
Think about how you find things. You ask your AI assistant, web search on your phone, etc.!
Here is the secret: AI models "read" reviews to decide what to recommend.
- Reviews = Clout: Reviews are like "digital currency." The more positive, real reviews a business has, the "richer" its online reputation becomes.
- The trust factor: According to the BBB Trust Sentiment Index, reputation is the #1 reason people trust a brand.
- Be the algorithm: When you write a review, you are literally teaching the AI which businesses deserve to be seen.
🛡️Why BBB Reviews hit different!
Not all review sites are created equal. Anyone can post a fake comment on social media, but BBB is different. We value quality over quantity.
- Fact: Over 4 million reviews have been submitted, but only 61% make the cut.
- Why? Because we ban the bots and block the fakes.
The "Verified" process (BBB's 3-step check).
To get published on BBB, a review has to pass three levels of security:
📧 Email verification: No anonymous trolls allowed. We verify the reviewer's identity to prevent fraud.
🤝 Business confirmation: We ask the business, "Do you know this person?" If a transaction didn't happen, the review doesn't stick.
🧐 Content review: We check for appropriate language. No privacy leaks, no insults, just the facts.
✍️How to write a "goated" review
Don't be basic. A review that just says "Good job" helps no one. Here is how to write a review that actually matters:
Don't be Basic 🚫 | Be helpful ✅ |
"It was good." | Get detailed: Mention specific employees, the exact product you bought, or a specific problem they solved. |
"They were nice." | Tell a story: Start with what you needed, how they helped, and the quality of the result. |
[Ranting with insults] | Keep it classy: Be honest, but respectful. Stick to the facts, not the feelings. |
The ultimate goal: End with a recommendation. Would you tell a friend to go there?
‼️Call to action: Remind your viewers to make their voice heard at BBB.org/LeaveAReview. (Your video must include the call to action!)
1. Follow the theme!
This year, we're asking you to create an innovative video in 60 seconds or less about the power of BBB reviews.
You can learn more about it on the theme tab (see above) where we've listed details to make it as easy as possible for you to make something creative!
Use the call-to-action in your video: BBB.org/leaveareview
Download and use an approved BBB logo in your video (See brand guidelines section for more.)
2. Video creation guidelines.
General
- Teams may enter 1 video in the contest.
- Teachers and parents must help ensure that the completed project is solely the work of the student teams.
- The video needs to be submitted by the deadline to qualify for entry.
Video format
- The long-form video must be 60 seconds or less.
- The minimum format resolution is 1920*1080.
- The sound quality must be able to be picked up by YouTube’s automated closed caption.
Content guidelines
- The video needs to feature the BBB theme (See theme tab) for the year.
- The target audience for this video is young adults ages 15 to 24.
- There needs to be a call to action to visit our website (BBB.org/LeaveAReview)
- The video needs to respect our brand guidelines (see brand guidelines tab).
- Teams will use Tiktok, Reels, or YouTube Shorts to create a short video to drive traffic to their long-form video.
3. Student team formation
- The teams need to be approved by the School Administrator.
- The teams are composed of 1 to 4 students.
- The team members need to be students attending the same school.
- The team members can be from different grades.
BBB will announce the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners from the top 5 videos featured on our BBB Instagram and YouTube page.
First place
First-place student teams will receive $2,000 for the school, a $50 gift card per student, and have their video featured on BBB social media platforms, among other prizes.
Second place
Second-place team members will receive $1,000 for their school, a $50 gift card for each student, and their video will be featured on BBB social media platforms.
Third place
Third-place team members will receive $500 for their school, a $50 gift card per student, and their video featured on BBB social media platforms.
Please keep the following dates in mind to ensure your hard work is rewarded!
- February 6th: Contest kicks off. (Teachers register to participate!) BBB emails the link to the site which introduces the contest theme and rules. Students will form teams for the competition and begin work to come up with concepts and produce videos for submission.
- March 6th: Video entry submission deadline! Video submissions are approved by teachers and uploaded by students. Entries received after midnight will not be accepted.
- March 9th: Phase 1 begins! Video submissions are uploaded to our YouTube page, and phase one of the competition begins. Teams are encouraged to create a TikTok, Reel or YouTube Shorts video and use their social platforms to market and solicit likes, comments, and shares of their video on BBB's YouTube page.
- March 27th: Phase 1 ends. Phase 1 ends, and all social media engagement is counted. Any entries received after midnight will not be put towards the final score. Judges will choose the Top 5 videos that move forward.
- March 30th: Phase two begins! (Top ‘5’ shared on Instagram) The top 5 Videos will be shared on BBB’s Instagram page and students will promote videos with likes, shares and engagement on the BBB Instagram page for one week.
- Week of April 13th: Pitch meetings scheduled. Pitch meetings are scheduled where the top 5 teams present their video to judges virtually, explaining how they developed their concept, produced the videos and field questions from the judging panel.
- Last week of April: Winners are announced! BBB announces the winners of the competition on our BBB YouTube and Facebook pages.
Phase one: All video submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria below.
- 30% production quality
- 20% creativity of message
- 20% likes/shares/comments on BBB’s YouTube page
- 30% representation of BBB's chosen theme
Phase two: The top 5 videos selected to advance will be evaluated a second time based on the criteria below.
- 35% production quality & creativity of message
- 20% marketing / engagement on BBB's Instagram page
- 20% representation of BBB's chosen theme
- 25% presentation to Judges
What is a brand?
A company's brand represents their market identity—who they are, what they do, and how their product makes you feel.
So, what is BBB’s brand promise?
BBB = Trust
BBB helps people find businesses they can trust. Customers search businesses online at bbb.org before they buy and look for the BBB Accredited Business seal.
The seal is a symbol of trust and a sign that BBB believes the business is trustworthy.
How to use the BBB brand in your video.
Strong branding requires a consistent and clear message, clear communication of the brand promise, and the use of certain approved language and graphics.
Approved language and graphics are important because they help to convey the brand promise.
Approved language and graphics:
Here is a list of approved language and graphics - and how to use them. Be sure to use them exactly as they appear and as advised.
• If a letter is capitalized, make sure that it stays capitalized.
• The BBB logo should only be in blue, black, or white over a dark background - as it appears below.
• The logo should be featured prominently in the video.
If a trademark ® symbol appears near a word or phrase, be sure to include it. A trademark symbol means that a business has taken steps to make sure that it has a legal right to be the primary user of a word, phrase, or symbol. The public associates trademarked words or phrases with a business. The same goes for a service mark ℠ symbol.
Brand vocabulary:
BBB®
Better Business Bureau®
Start With Trust®
The Sign Of A Better Business℠
BBB Accredited Business
BBB Business Profile
Key phrase: Search BBB.org
Approved logo variations:
No other variations of the BBB logo are allowed. Do not create other logos, images, or icons. These logos all have the trademark ® symbol and ℠ symbol.
Find logos for your video use here!
Protected space around all logos:
So that it can always be clearly seen, it is important that logos have a protected area around them. No colors or other graphics should be too close to the logo. Protected space allows the logo to remain easily recognizable. The logo should have a white background. Reverse logos (white logos) will have a blue or black background.
What is BBB?
For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been a non-profit organization helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust.
Vision: A marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other.
Mission: To be the leader in advancing marketplace trust.
We do this by:
- Setting standards for marketplace trust
- Encouraging and supporting best practices by engaging with and educating consumers and businesses
- Celebrating marketplace role models
- Calling out and addressing substandard marketplace behavior
- Creating a community of trustworthy businesses and charities
What is BBB Accreditation?
If a business has been accredited by the BBB, it means BBB has determined that the business meets our standards. This includes a commitment to continue to uphold BBB Accredited Business Standards. Businesses pay a fee for BBB Accreditation review and monitoring for continued compliance and for support of BBB services to the public. View our detailed standards.
What is a BBB Business Profile?
On a BBB Business Profile, you will find:
- History & general information regarding the business: business creation date, names of principals, alternate names for the business, licensing information etc.
- BBB rating
- Customer complaints and reviews (last 3 years)
- BBB Investigations, Ad Review
- Recent Government Actions
