BBB Arkansas Student Video Contest

The 2027 theme is BBB's Scam Survival Toolkit.

Scams affect people of all ages, incomes, genders, and locations and often have serious financial consequences. They can also have a negative impact on mental and emotional health, cause reputational damage, harm credit, and take up valuable time. Figuring out what to do next can be very stressful.

This Scam Survival Toolkit provides immediate steps for response, guidance for proper reporting, numbered action lists on what to do next, links to additional resources, and preparation for avoiding future scams.

1. Your video should follow the theme by highlighting the Scam Survival Toolkit. (See "Contest theme" section for resources and ideas!)

2. Your video should highlight BBB's Scam Survival Toolkit as a resource to help research and report scam activity! 

3. The video should include the BBB logo. Download your copy here! 

4. Your video should include a call-to-action, directing viewers to this link: BBB.org/Scamsurvivaltoolkit

5. The student video contest provides real-world experience in branding, marketing, and content creation. Videos should be creative, good quality (at least 720p, 1080p preferred), follow BBB brand guidelines, and respect the BBB Logo service mark (see brand guidelines section for more information).

FIRST PLACE: The first-place team will receive $2,500 for their school and a $250 gift card per team member.

SECOND PLACE: The second-place team will receive $1,500 for their school and a $150 gift card per team member.

THIRD PLACE:  The third-place team will receive $1,000 for their school and a $100 gift card per team member.

PLEASE NOTE:

In the event of a tie, the cash prize for the school will be split between the tied schools. The student award will not change. (For example, School A and School B are tied for third place. School A will receive a $500 award, and School B will win a $500 award. Students from School A and School B will receive $100 gift cards.)

If two teams from the same school place within the top 3, the school will be awarded the higher prize amount rather than two separate cash awards.

BBB and Student Video Contest judges may choose to award teams outside of, or in addition to, the winning categories above. 

Forming your team: 

• Teams must be approved by a teacher or school admin.

• Individual teams should include no more than 4 students.

• Team members must attend the same school.

• Team members can be comprised of students from different grades.

Video Creation Guidelines:

• One video may be entered per team.

• Teachers and parents must help ensure that the completed project is solely the work of the student teams.

• While we do not completely discourage the use of AI in your videos for help with scripts and ideas, the completed video must be created by students and NOT generated using AI tools. Please follow your school's guidelines on the use of AI. 

• The video needs to be submitted by the deadline to qualify for entry. Videos submitted past the deadline will not be considered unless approved in advance. (See timeline for more info.)

• The long-form video should be approximately 60 seconds or less. (Videos that exceed this time limit may face a deduction in score. Videos that are significantly longer or shorter will be sent back for further edits.)

• The minimum format resolution is 1920*1080. (Should be a horizontal, rectangular video.)

• The sound quality must be high enough that it can be picked up by YouTube’s automated closed captioning for accessibility purposes. (Most phones and or lapel mics will work!)

• The video needs to feature the BBB theme for the year. 

• The target audience for this video are peers, ages 15 to 24-year-old audience.

• The video should include a call to action. (See theme section.)

• The video should follow BBB Brand Guidelines. (See branding section.)

• Teams are encouraged to use TikTok, Reels, or YouTube Shorts to create a short video to drive traffic to their long-form video. (If so, please tag @bbbarkansas so we can see!) Students can also use other marketing tools at their disposal.

Phase One: All video submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria below.

• 30% production quality and creativity

• 30% representation of BBB's chosen theme and branding

• 40% engagement (likes/comments on your video on BBB’s YouTube page)

Phase Two: The top 5 videos selected to advance will be evaluated a second time, based on the criteria below.

• 35% production quality and creativity

• 20% marketing and engagement 

• 20% representation of BBB's chosen theme

• 25% presentation to judges

The top 5 teams will meet with our judges for a virtual "pitch meeting" before final scores are totaled. Students should prepare to field questions from the judges and "pitch" their video. (Why should your team win the contest?)

Judges may want to know why you chose your topic, how your video was made, how your team was chosen, etc.

Students will be asked to follow BBB brand guidelines in their videos, found below. This is a great opportunity to learn branding principles and the importance of trademarks in a real-world setting!

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 and avoid bad actors.

Customers search for 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 Scam Tracker Logo should not be stretched, cropped, or altered from the logos provided to you.

• The logo should be featured prominently in the video.

If a trademark ® or ℠ 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.

You can follow this link to download approved logos for use in your video.

Approved logo and variations:

BBB will provide the logo options you can use in video production. No other variations of the BBB logo are allowed. Do not create other logos, images, or icons.

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 background that does not distort the logo.

Brand vocabulary as needed:

BBB®

Better Business Bureau®

BBB Scam Tracker℠

The Sign of a Better Business℠

Start With Trust®

BBB Accredited Business

BBB Business Profile

Can a school or teacher register more than one team?

Yes!

Can students participate individually?

Yes!

How much help can teachers or other adults provide?

Students should perform all work related to the video creation.

What equipment do students need to participate?

No special equipment is required! Students can create their video using whatever tools are available to them, whether that’s a smartphone, school-provided equipment or professional video gear. Creativity and storytelling matter more than having expensive equipment.

Can students use copyrighted music, images or video clips?

No. To protect the BBB brand and the submission visibility, copyright-protected content may not be used outside of BBB-provided materials.

Do students need permission to appear in a submitted video?

Yes. Students should receive verbal permission from anyone who appears in their video before recording or submitting their entry. If a child under age 13 appears in the video, additional parent or guardian consent is required, and a separate form must be completed to comply with COPPA requirements.

How will submitted videos be used by BBB?

Submitted videos may be shared by BBB for promotional and educational purposes, including promoting the Student Video Contest and celebrating participating students. Videos may be featured on BBB websites and social media channels, shown at the BBB Torch Awards ceremony, or used in other communications related to the contest and BBB educational programs.