Students compete for prizes with Dog Bowl challenge
University of Indianapolis students get to be the writer, director and actor of their own videos as the second annual Dog Bowl Contest gets underway.
Any UIndy student can produce a 30-to-90 second video about why they love the University of Indianapolis. All who enter have a chance to win a 32-inch LCD HDTV.
The university’s communication and marketing staff introduced the contest last year in an effort to publicize UIndy online.
Digital marketing director Jason Nye said, “This was a way to get people to our Facebook page…it allowed us to basically have the students be our word-of-mouth to get people to go there.”
The contest prompted approximately 1,500 people to join by the end of the contest last year.
According to Nye, the Dog Bowl competition also creates something that can’t be measured by Facebook hits. He said that the contest could create a little bit of tradition and school spirit.
Eleven videos were submitted last year. Nye anticipates as many as 25 this year.
The contest is aimed at undergraduates, graduate students and students in the School for Adult Learning to show their school spirit in their own unique way.
Last year’s winning video, produced by senior Ben Bertoli, featured a “magnificent” moustache, a silent-film style ode to ultimate Frisbee.
“I just wanted something that was kind of goofy, kind of my style,” Bertoli said. “I just wanted to focus on all the different parts of UIndy, the class sizes, the staff and the great history.”
Making the video is only one part of a winning submission. Once a participant posts a video, he or she must campaign for votes, or “likes.”
Bertoli had to gather support from the campus and the social networks to have his name inscribed on the Dog Bowl trophy.
“You don’t have to have the best video,” Nye said. “It’s really what levels the playing field…because really what it becomes is how best can you promote yourself.”
The first-place prize is the HDTV. The first runner-up receives a Samsung Camcorder, while the second runner-up receives a $50 iTunes Gift Card.
The rules are to create and produce a 30-to-90 second video that must mention UIndy with a “Personal Attention Unleashed” theme. Then, it must be uploaded it to the UIndy Facebook page. There are no judges.
The video with the most “likes” wins the top prize. Each participant or group can submit up to two entries.
Videos must be submitted by Sept. 30. The winner will be announced during halftime at the Oct. 6 homecoming game at Key Stadium. More information is available at dogbowl.uindy.edu.
