Out-of-office replies can elicit very strong emotions. Whether they elicit envy:
"I'm on vacation in Bora Bora laying out by the beach sipping a tiki drink with limited access to e-mail until Wednesday."
Or elicit annoyance:
"I'm on my annual trip to 'very fancy/ expensive location.' For immediate assistance, please contact my executive assistant at mary@majorcompany.com, or my assistant's assistant at tony@majorcompany.com, or my assistant's assistant's assistant at john@majorcompany.com.
Or elicit gag reflex:
"I ate some bad fish last night at 'seedy restaurant’ and have terrible food poisoning. I'll be periodically checking email between trips to the bathroom."
All in all, out-of-office replies are delicate pieces of writing that can be hard to get right each time.
Here's where you come in! Working with Tongal, Lenovo wants YOU to come up with better out-of-office replies. We're looking for your take on fun and engaging responses (that could have links to videos, photos or GIFs) that will give recipients a better experience.
What you need to know:
The goal of this project is to source fun and engaging out-of-office replies (that could have links to videos, photos or GIFs) that will give recipients a better experience.
This project will be worth a total of $5,000 and consist of a Concept Phase. Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.
PHASE 1: CONCEPT – Tell us your Concept for a better out-of-office reply in 500 characters or less. The Concept Phase has TWO (2) parts: part 1 is for a general out-of-office reply and part 2 is for a CES 2016 specific out-of-office reply. Feel free to elaborate in each 500-character text box what you could link to (or what images/gifs) you could add to each out-of-office response.
The TEN (10) winning Concept creators will receive $500 each.
1. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.
2. In the event you utilize any third party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider not provided by Tongal, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.
3. BY SUBMITTING A WRITTEN ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.
4. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
5. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.
6. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.
7. Submissions must be in the English language.
8. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
9. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
10. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.