The Recovery Brands LIVES Challenge: Leveraging Impactful Videos to End Stigma
Recovery Brands is committed to helping individuals struggling with addiction get the care they need, and it starts by changing the way we talk about addiction. It’s time to end the stigma surrounding this devastating disease to encourage supportive conversations and productive steps toward help.
The Problem
In the United States 23.5 million individuals over the age of 12, or 1 out of 10 Americans, are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. Yet only 11 percent of these individuals receive treatment.
Current healthcare reform aims to address barriers to access and cost, yet public perception and stigma remain major obstacles for those who are struggling with addiction. Many people know they need medical care, but the guilt, shame, judgement and isolation experienced on a daily basis makes asking for help nearly impossible.
Why should our friends and family dealing with substance use disorders be made to feel ashamed, trapped, and paralyzed to seek treatment for addiction? Would the same ever stand for someone diagnosed with diabetes? Imagine how many people could get the care they need to live healthy, meaningful lives if stigma wasn't in their way. The path toward a more accepting tomorrow must start today. But how? This is our challenge for you.
The Challenge
How can we inspire our friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers to seek treatment for their substance use disorders? How can we engage, educate and instill understanding in our society? We need a powerful message to catalyze this change and we know that amazing ideas can come from anywhere. What would that message look like to you?
Recovery Brands is excited to launch LIVES: Leveraging Impactful Videos to End Stigma, an incentive challenge that will inspire those struggling with addiction to seek treatment, while reducing the stigma associated with the disease.
The challenge will award two $5,000 prizes (one submission is eligible for both awards) and the opportunity to be featured across Recovery Brands' flagship sites:
- The People's Choice Award ($5,000) will go to the video that receives the most votes by the public.
- The Judge's Choice Award ($5,000) will go to the video that recieves the most votes by a highly qualified panel of judges with personal and/or professional addiction treatment experience.
Questions? Please reach out to LIVES@recoverybrands.com and we'll get back to you!
Challenge Guidelines are subject to change. Registered competitors will receive notification when changes are made, however, we highly encourage you to visit the Challenge page often to review updates.
This challenge is sponsored by Recovery Brands
Here's How It Will Work
You will have three months to create a 1-3 minute video (multiple submissions per individual or team are permitted) that must meet two goals:
- Inspire individuals struggling with addiction to speak out and seek treatment
- Help reduce the stigma surrounding addiction and encourage compassion and open conversation about the disease
While the challenge is open, all videos will be viewable to the public for feedback (but not judging), allowing competitors to fine-tune their submissions until the deadline. After the submission deadline a select group of the Recovery Brands' staff will choose the top videos that will be in the running for the People's Choice Award as well as the Judge's Choice Award.
Judging
The People's Choice Award will go to the video that receives the most votes by the public. The Judge's Choice Award will go to the video that receives the most amount of points from a panel of judges. The panel will judge the videos based on the criteria listed below, with impact and clarity holding the most value.
| Criteria |
Description |
Points |
| Impact |
- Were you emotionally moved by the video?
- Do you look at addiction and those struggling with the disease in a new light?
- Do you feel this video will make the audience look at addiction and those struggling with the disease in a new light?
|
10 |
| Creativity |
- Was this video unique and inspiring in regard to visual / audio qualities, the storyline, the connection with the audience and message delivery?
|
5 |
| Clarity |
- Was there a clear call to action / message?
- Does the video align with the goals of the challenge?
|
10 |
| Quality |
- Visual quality (framing, clarity, steadiness, color tones, lighting, resolution etc.)
- Audio quality (clarity, volume)
- Fits time limits
|
5 |
A Few Additional Rules
- Who Can Participate: The challenge is open to any individual or group. To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of the challenge as defined in the challenge-specific agreement.
- Voting Guidelines: All votes are subject to review. Any competitor using unfair methods to solicit votes will be automatically disqualified from the challenge.
- Submissions: Submissions must be made online via the submission form on or before May 23, 2016 at 11:59 PM PT. The form will consist of a few short questions on the mission and creation of your video, which must be submitted via a link to a video-hosting site such as YouTube or Vimeo. You can make changes to your entry until the final submission deadline. No submissions will be accepted after this time and incomplete submissions will not be accepted for review. By participating in the challenge, each competitor agrees to submit only their idea. Any indication of "copying" amongst competitors is grounds for disqualification.
