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Interesting, I see. That's too bad for you, because you're totally dominating right now! Another interesting/peculiar thing is that i was in the running for a season 9 bonus check, but was knocked out by people who won more recent contests, yet, they don't have any more points than I have...

I'm not entirely sure how the system works for the seasons. This season I was a finalist in 4 of the projects and haven't won a single one! I've been doing well in the Concepts and 500 character ideas, and the Season projects are all 140 character ones. I'm not sure if the Brand needs to request they be a part of the season and put up extra money, or if that's a decision Tongal makes. I think all the ideas are ranked by the brands and that's what decides the tiebreakers, but the season is still young. 25 points hasn't really been enough to crack the top 20 anyway it seems! Ervin had 4 wins and placed below someone with only 2 wins, because they seem to always add some high point projects at some point. Season 8 I had 3 wins and ended tied for 8th for $72.52! When the season ends they go through and finalize the list/break ties. I think it took about a month for them to send out the congratulations email about it when the final project winners were announced.

When ideas are similar, they'll go with the idea that was written and submitted first. I've had 2 ideas that were nearly identical lose and asked about it in an email. I always read the full brief and make sure to know what the sponsor wants/doesn't want before I start thinking of ideas. I'll try and write as clearly as possible with the 140 character limit so it doesn't sound like a 13 year old's text message. Though, sometimes I want to write way too much and am guilty of that too! After I write something I really like, I usually spend another 5-10 minutes giving it the right title so it stands out. I like to write ideas as if I'm writing for Arnold in a Terminator movie. Instead of "Come with me if you want to live." it's more like "Pick my idea if you want to live! (Or maybe just "Succeed")" Write like you're giving the brand the only idea worth reading. When you re-read it, make sure it still conveys what was in your head. Lastly, ideas are only meant to inspire the Pitches. Most of the time someone takes my idea and goes in an entirely different direction than I was originally thinking. Give them a general guideline, but leave it open to interpretation and creativity.

Scroll through the Tongal Blog posts and read through the Tongaler of the Month interviews with other Ideators. They've got some pretty good advice too!