Sebastian What’s Next Awards 2014
Its that time of year again!!! We have been keeping a close eye out for details about the What’s Next Awards and they are FINALLY here! So get your ass in gear and start putting together your plan! We attended the live competition finale two years ago and have been hooked ever since! Remember.. You can’t Win, if you don’t Enter so be sure and share your images with us.. we can’t wait to cheer you on!
Sebastian Professional’s What’s Next Awards (WNA) is NOT just another hairstyling competition. Sebastian is looking for new and established talent who dare to CREATE WHAT’S NEXT. Are you ready to showcase your talent and style for the big stage? Sebastian is giving you this once in a lifetime chance to take your career to the next level and compete live on stage in New York City.
1. Prizes:
PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY: One Grand Prize Winner will receive:
Opportunity to style backstage at New York Fashion Week with the Sebastian Design Team
Round-trip coach air transportation from originating city to New York City
Two nights stay at hotel in NYC
Sebastian-sponsored editorial photo-shoot with an industry-leading trade publication
NEW TALENT/STUDENT CATEGORY: One Grand Prize Winner will receive:
Cash prize of $1,000
Gift valued at $1,000
Sebastian-sponsored editorial photo-shoot with an industry-leading trade publication
2. How To Enter:
No purchase is necessary, and no entry fee, payment, or proof-of-purchase is required to participate in the contest. All participants must have a Facebook account to enter and/or vote.
Complete entry fields under Submit an Entry tab.
Upload photo (chest and above) of your hairstyle. Photo must not exceed 10 MB and must be in one of the following formats: .jpg, .jpeg, non-animated .gif, .png, or .bmp.
Spread the word on Facebook to your industry network and encourage your friends to vote for your entry.
Remember to get permission from your model and your photographer (if applicable). Download, print and get the Consent Form signed and have it ready in the event you are determined as a Finalist.
Dates to Remember
February 1 – Entry Submission and Voting closed.
February 15 – Semi Finalists will be selected and will appear in contest gallery.
April 12 – Grand Prize winners will be chosen by a panel of judges (industry-leading tastemakers, stylists and educators) at the live stage competition in New York City
3. Selection of Winners:
All eligible entries will be judged in relation to the following judging criteria:
JUDGING CRITERIA
QUALIFYING PHASE:
All submissions will be judged according to the following criteria:
30% Consistency with Sebastian brand equity & Suitability for promotional and advertising purposes
30% Technical Finish and Displays Clear Link to Totemic Collection
30% Overall Appeal
10% Number of Facebook Fan Votes
The above criteria will determine 30 Entries (15 from each category) who will be deemed Semi-Finalists. In addition, the one Entrant from each category that receives the most Facebook Fan votes will automatically become a Semi-Finalist (and will not be subject to the remainder of the judging criteria), for a total of 32 unique Semi-Finalists (16 per category), who will advance to the Semi-Finals. If an Entrant that is deemed a Semi-Finalist has submitted more than one Entry, only one of their Entries will move forward to the Semi-Finals round, which will be determined by the panel of judges.
SEMI-FINALS:
32 Semi-Finalists will then be judged according to the following criteria:
25% Consistency with Sebastian brand equity & Suitability for promotional and advertising purposes
25% Style & Technical finish shows clear link to Totemic Collection
25% Overall Appeal
25% Number of Facebook Fan Votes
The above criteria will determine 8 Entries (4 from each category) that will be deemed Finalists and will advance to the FINALS. In the event of a tie, in either round of judging, tied Entries will be re-judged by the judges based solely on: Visual appeal based on theme.
FINALIST EVENT:
The eight (8) confirmed Finalists will have the opportunity to compete on stage at the Live Finale in New York City, NY, USA on 4/12/2015 (location and date may be subject to change in Sponsor’s sole discretion). Each Finalist will be provided a random Sponsor-specified model to use during the live event. At the live event, each Finalist will be asked to style the Sponsor-specified model’s hair (using his/her own styling tools and/or styling tools/products provided by Sponsor at the event ) and then the models’ hair styles will be judged by a panel of judges which will include industry-leading tastemakers, stylists and educators, based on the following judging criteria:
30% Consistency with Sebastian brand equity & Suitability for promotional and advertising purposes
40% Style & Technical Finish
30% Overall Look: Hair, Make-up, and Wardrobe are holistic
In the event of a tie, tied Entrants will be re-judged by the judges based solely on: Visual appeal based on theme.
At the end of the public voting Period, all eligible votes received will be counted and recorded and account for 4% of each entrants final score. A panel of expert judges and Sebastian Brand Representatives (collectively, “Judges”) will select (8) stylist Finalists (4 professional and 4 new talent) to compete at the final event using the above judging criteria. Decisions of judges are final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest. Becoming a finalist is subject to validation and verification of eligibility and compliance with all terms and conditions set forth in the Official Rules.
We will see you at the live stage competition on April 12, 2015!!