Which contest requests fall outside our promotion work?

Start with the contest's written terms

Treat the organizer’s published terms as the first decision record. We review the wording that governs how entrants may share, advertise, or invite support; a project cannot proceed through a channel the rules exclude.

Before sending a request, locate the full terms and check:

• Whether entrants may promote their own entries outside the contest page.
• Whether paid advertising, direct invitations, or public sharing are restricted separately.
• Whether any rule applies to all promotion or only to certain channels or periods.
• Whether the organizer has issued a clarification that changes the written terms.

When a clause is vague, we identify the exact sentence and suggest a short clarification request to the organizer. A written reply can change the workable plan; assumptions based on what other entrants are doing cannot. If the terms prohibit every kind of outside promotion, we decline rather than relabel outreach. If only a particular channel is restricted, we can review a narrower option through contest rules and risk consulting.

How do political and chance-based campaigns fit?

Political campaigns, lotteries, and gambling-related entries are outside our project scope. We decline them before campaign planning, including a contest format used to promote a political objective or an activity built around gambling or a chance-based draw.

Use this quick classification:

• A campaign or poll intended to advance a political cause is declined.
• A lottery or draw based on chance is declined.
• A gambling-related project is declined.
• A skill-based contest can be reviewed when its participation terms and promotion rules are clear.

Some cases need context: the entry page, organizer, and actual participation terms may distinguish a public skills contest from a draw or gambling offer. Send those materials with your request; we will state which element triggered the decision rather than suggest a route around it. For projects within scope, the contest marketing overview describes the promotion work we can consider.

Which voting requests are outside our methods?

We decline any request for automated or purchased votes, followers, or engagement. We do not use bots, scripts, fake accounts, or click farms. On a contest platform, those methods can conflict with the published voting procedure and put an entry at risk.

An acceptable plan asks supporters to follow the organizer’s stated voting steps. If the process uses email verification, registration, a captcha, phone confirmation, or a daily limit, promotion should explain that step and let each person complete it themselves. We do not help bypass voting controls. The campaign may invite people to view an entry and decide; it cannot direct them to misrepresent participation.

Read our no-bots policy for the boundary, or see community and email outreach for consent-based ways to share an entry. We can assess an allowed promotion plan, but a request that depends on purchased or automated activity is not eligible.

What information helps us assess a youth entry?

A youth contest is reviewable only when a parent or guardian has agreed to the entry and planned promotion. Without that consent, we decline. The intake also checks whether the requested creative uses a minor’s image and whether the organizer permits the proposed sharing.

Include the following in your first message:

• The contest URL and complete rules.
• The entry link and the organizer’s instructions for promotion.
• Any written clarification from the organizer.
• For a minor’s entry, confirmation of parental or guardian consent and permission for the proposed image or clip.

At Spec Review, AEOTech records the rule or missing condition, then replies with the decision and any change that could make a compliant plan possible. A consent document does not override contest or platform rules; it addresses only the guardian-consent condition. Our youth contest guidance explains the additional checks. If your request is eligible, the next discussion can cover contest creative and copy or an appropriate promotion channel. Send the contest URL and rules to begin with our free contest analysis.