Welcome to 

Enter ECI Awards 2022

ECI Awards 2022

Organized by IECIA

 (International Entrepreneurs, Creatives and Innovators Association)

Hosted by ECI Awards Committee

Competition Calendar

Entry Price:

Early Bird: June 1-June 30, $650

Regular: July 1-July 31, $850

VIP: August 1-August 31, $950

Important Dates:

Final Judging:  Sept , 2022

Eligibility

All innovation efforts in digital business that were operating between January 1, 2021 and June 7,2022 are eligible to enter ECI Awards 2022. The entry could be a completed work, an ongoing work or a business plan. The enterprise can be brick-and-mortar establishment using digitalmeans or by internet enterprises.

It is helpful to include context, data and results prior to the eligibility period. This enables judges to better understand the significance of your objective set and results achieved during the eligibility time period. However, only elements of the work that have happened within the time frame will be judged. If your case is ongoing, judges also appreciate your future outlook. All the case materials must be submitted through online entry system. After submitting your entry, a letter of confirmation will be sent to your email addres automatically. Once submission is completed, you will not be able to make any changes to your case on your own.

 Categories

Model Innovation 

This category refers to models that have generated or are expected to generate commercial value in the course of business operations through business model innovation, service model innovation or management model innovation, including but not limited to e-commerce, new retail, social contact, physical products (VR & AR/UVA/robot), artificial intelligence, entertainment/media, games, utility software (APP/PC), finance, comprehensive health, tourism, real estate & furniture, education, automotive, sports, sharing economy, cultural creativity, consumption upgrading, enterprise services and other industries.(note: Consumer grade refers to models target at consumers, and Business grade refers to models target at enterprises)

·  Business Model – Consumer

·  Business Model – Business

·  Service Model – Consumer

·  Service Model – Business

Product Innovation 

Product Innovation honors innovations applied to industrial design of physicalproducts in appearance, material, shape, application, function, usage of the product, or virtual products that improve the user experience of the product through advanced technology, advanced UI design and friendly interaction, which in turn generate or are expected to generate greater commercial value.

(physical products include but not limited to 3D printing, audio products, VR/AR, UAV, robot, medical health, home entertainment, IoT, smart home, health & sports, life technology, mobile devices, automotive technology, wearable devices, etc.; virtual products include but not limited to mobile apps, utility software for PC, service software for PC, IoT software, e-commerce software and so on. Note: Consumer grade refers to models target at consumers, and Business grade refers to models target at enterprises)

·  Physical Products – Consumer

·  Physical Products – Business

·  Virtual Products - Consumer

·  Virtual Products - Business

Marketing Innovation

Marketing Innovation honors groundbreaking innovative technologies and solutions for marketing. Its independent technical solutions include tools, products, models, platforms, etc., and other forms of advertising technology, as well as marketing communications innovation activities using new technologies.

·  Apparel,Bags,Shoes,Hats&Accessories 
·  Life Services(Restaurants,Entertainments&Cultures) 
·  Digital Products(Computer/Communication/Consumer Electronics, etc.) 
·  Health Industry(Medical Services/Medicine and Health Products/Nutrition and Health Products/Health/Medical and Health Equipment/Leisure Health Services/Health Consultation Management, etc.) 
·  Household Chemicals(Life necessities/luxury goods, etc.) 
·  Sports/Outdoor Products 
·  Home&Office Appliances 
·  Food (food/beverage/dairy products/tobacco/alcohol, etc.) 
·  Automobile Industry 
·  Culture & Sports (Movies/Sports Events/Games, etc.) 
·  Travel(Destination/Travel Service/Public Transportation,etc.) 
·  Recreation，cultural & creativity industries (film/music/animation/art/game/IP/conference events/performances, etc.) 
·  New Retail (integrated e-commerce marketing/live e-commerce/) 
·  Virtual Goods (digital virtual/non-digital virtual, etc.) 
·  Finance (Banking/Insurance/Securities/Trust/Leasing, etc.） new
·  Festival & Community (Seasonal Marketing/Community Marketing/Opinion Leader/Event Marketing, etc.) new
·  Media (video / audio / outdoor / new media / integrated media / social media/ media platform, etc.） new
·  Others 

Specialty Category1-AI Innovation

·  Enterprise Service - AI

·  Consumer Service - AI

·  Marketing - AI

Specialty Category 2 - Public Innovation

Public Interest Innovation is used to commend breakthrough of creative communication, innovative technologies and problem solutions for the public good, including but not limited to: advertising, communication, speech, performance art, tools, products, models, platforms, etc., as well as innovation activities of public interest by using new technologies.

The categories are broken down as follows:

· Assistance/Relief/Support Category

· Education/Science/Culture/Health/Sports Promotion

· Environmental Protection

· Construction of Public Social Facilities

· Social Development and Progress Promotion

· Promotion of Other Public Interest Services

Specialty Category - Meta Metaverse Industry Innovation

·  Metaverse Hardware Innovation Award

·  Metaverse Software Innovation Award

· Metaverse Service Innovation Award

· Metaverse Application Innovation Award

· Metaverse Marketing Innovation Award

Submit Your Entry

1.Download the Entry Materials

Visit the official website of ECI Awards http://www.eciawards.org/?lang=en to download relevant entry materials . Before preparing your entry, please read all entry materials carefully to better understand the definition for each category.

2.Create an Account

Visit the homepage of the ECI Awards official website or click the following link to enter the online entry system:
http://www.eciawards.org/Home/Login/index.html?lang=en 

(Entrants of ECI Awards 2020 could log in directly; new entrants for ECI Awards 2021 please sign
up first, and then follow the instructions to create an account. )

3.Provide Entry Details

Provide the following details after creating an account:

①Basic Information

Provide basic information of your entries. Ensure your answers in the online entry system match your answers in the entry form. Please keep in mind the entry title you submit will be publicly announced if your case is a finalist or winner.

②Credits

If you are submitting in-house work, please list your company as the primary contributor. If you are an agency or a vendor, please provide your client’s information in relevant section. List other

contributors if applicable.

Credits may be published in announcements of finalists and winners, on certificates and trophies, in case study and ECI innovation Index. You should communicate with the PR department

and/or other relevant departments of your company and your credited partner companies to ensure all company names are credited correctly. Entrants are solely responsible for the accuracy of the credits.

Credits submitted at the time of uploading your entry will be used when announcing finalists/ winners, making trophies/certificates, compiling collections, and tallying Index results. So before entering any information, we suggest you to confirm with your company, your partner/client as well as other contributor in order to provide correct information. Entrants are responsible for their own information accuracy.

Note: Information you entered in the online entry credits section will be considered final. The application of credits change will be considered by ECI Awards Committee at discretion.

③Case Summary

The case summary will be used in global promotion and case display later on if your entry becomes a finalist or winner. So it is important that the case summary is thoroughly reviewed for spelling, grammar, and accuracy. It should summarize background, objectives, innovative ideas, execution and (expected) results of your case.

④Publishing Policy & Permission

Entrants that become finalists and winners of 2020 ECI Awards will be showcased in various ways. By entering your work in the competition, the ECI Awards is automatically granted the right to make copies of, edit and display case summary and other materials including texts, images and videos, for education and publicity purposes. If there is any confidential information you do not want to be published, please delete it before submitting your case.

Work submitted must be original and you must have secured rights to submit it.

4.Upload Relevant Forms and Materials

All case materials should be submitted online. You may edit or delete your entry materials at any time until you click the final Submit button. The table below indicates formatting requirements of all case materials. Please prepare all your case materials in strict accordance with these requirements.

5.Payment Instructions

You may pay for your entries once entry details are completed. Check the entries you are paying for and provide information for the invoice/receipt you need from the ECI Awards.

The button to submit your entry is deactivated unless your payment is successfully made. We recommend paying through PayPal in which way the button will be activated automatically after your payment, or you can also transfer entry fees to the account shown below and send the payment proof to international@eciawards.org for us to confirm and activate the button.

Please include “ECI Awards” and provide entry ID as well as the name of payer/participating company in the note/memo/comment when you make the payment.
Payment options:

Distribution of Awards

1. Gold/Silver/Bronze Level Prize

Each sub-category will generally produce one gold-, two silver- and three bronze-level winners (vacancy and increase in winner’s quota are possible). The Best Marketing Innovation of the Year will be chosen among the gold winners of the Category of Marketing Innovation (vacancy is possible). The Grand ECI winner will be selected among the winner of the Best Marketing Innovation of the Year and the gold winners of the other categories (vacancy is still possible).

2. Best Marketing Innovation of the Year

The gold-level winners among 15 sub-categories in Marketing Innovation are eligible for the Best Marketing Innovation of the Year — the highest prize in Marketing Innovation. The Grand ECI winner will be selected among the winner of the Best Marketing Innovation of the Year and the gold winners of the other categories (vacancy is still possible).

3. Grand ECI

The Grand ECI represents the single best case among all the gold winners, and vacancy is allowed. 

There has to be something disruptive about it — whether it be a business model that has reshaped the industry, a new technology that has achieved outstanding results, or a new marketing approach to engage consumers... All in all, the Grand ECI winner must be the most innovative case of the year that has the highest commercial/technological/social values and is likely to change the way of our life.

4. Specialty Categories Awards

The Specialty Categories are designed to address a specific business situation or new challenge, and the awards in this category are not fixed. If a Specialty Category contains sub-categories, then each sub-category will have one gold, two silver and three bronze level winners (vacancy is possible).

Judging Criteria

1. Reasons for Disqualification

The following will result in disqualification:

·  Failing to follow the formatting requirements as outlined in the entry kit or the entry form.

·  Infringement of intellectual property rights.

·  Failing to make a payment for your entries by the submission deadline.

2. Conflict of Interests

In the judging process, jurors are allocated cases that do not prove a conflict of interest. For example, jurors are not allowed to review, score or discuss the cases from their own companies or competitors.

3. Judging Process

Your entries will be read and judged by some of the most experienced (and most critical) business leaders. Entries are judged in two phases, and scoring is done anonymously and confidentially. 

ECI Awards has two rounds of judging. There is a judge meeting in between to decide the lowest scores to enter the final, and the finalists. The Preliminary Judging happens online. Every entry is reviewed and scored by at least five judges, and the mean is its final score. The Final Judging is offline judging. Judges review, score, and discuss the cases on-site, to determine the bronze, silver and gold winners of each category. It is possible that a category may produce no winners at all.

4. Scoring Criteria

Judges will evaluate and provide four separate scores analyzing following aspects: 

Nominate a Judge

ECI Awards is the only awards platform with background in investment, technology R&D/operations, as well as marketing. We gather experts from different industries to judge and critique innovative projects to set the benchmark for entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. Now we are calling for nominations and self-recommendations for 2021 ECI Awards Jury which will be reviewed by ECI Awards Presidium and ECI Awards Organizing Committee. The final lineup of 2021 ECI Awards Jury will be announced later. The specific rules and procedures are shown as follows.

Rules of nomination and self-recommendation:

1. Chief supervisors and chief judges are invited by ECI Organizing Committee and normally self-recommendation for these roles will be dismissed.

2.  We are looking for:

a. Decision makers of companies which are former ECI Awards winners.

b. Experts on investment with over 10 years of relevant experience, cases of investment in A shares or IPOs, or the role of managing funds of millions of U.S. dollars.

c. Experts on R&D from industry-leading tech companies. Owners of IPs are preferred.

d. Experts on marketing from industry-leading brands, media and agencies, who are decision makers of their companies and manage marketing expenses of millions of U.S. dollars  annually.

e. Experts from research institute, academy or industry association with over 10 years of consulting experience.

Note: In order to ensure the impartiality and professionalism of ECI Awards, experts on investment will take up 20% of the 2021 ECI Awards Jury, experts on technology R&D 30%, experts on marketing 40%, and researchers 10%. ECI Awards Presidium and ECI Awards Organizing Committee reserve the right to optimize the jury lineup.

ECI Innovation Index

If your case becomes a 2022 ECI finalist or winner, the credits submitted will be used to tally the 2022 ECI Innovation Index results according to the standard the chart below shows. Based on the ECI Innovation Index, the yearly global rankings of innovative abilities of companies in digital business, we will honor the best innovative companies of the year.

Trophies and Certificates

All winning entries (including Gold, Silver and Bronze winners) will receive a trophy, and all finalists will receive a certificate. Credits in your submitted entry will be the default information engraved/printed on your trophy/certificate. ECI Awards Committee will award trophies to all winners at the yearly ECI Awards Gala. If additional trophy is needed, please fill in the Additional Trophy/Certificate Application in the entry materials and send it to global@eci-academy.com

Contact Us

Inquiries about Competition:
Name: Owen Jia
Tel: +1(818)452-6959
Email: owen_jia@eciawards.org

Name: Martin
Tel: +86 18669005976
Email: global@eci-academy.com