CHAMPION SMALL 2024
Full Terms & Conditions
1. Promotion Period: Enter between 00.01 BST on 7 October 2024 and 23.59 GMT on 7 December 2024, inclusive.
2. For the purposes of this Promotion, an Independent Shop is defined as an independent organisation or other body that controls its own finances and operations, rather than being controlled by someone else. To meet the criteria, it must be:
a. based in the UK;
b. have a physical shop front;
c. have 30 or fewer business locations, including any online operations;
d. not be part of a government entity, charity, not-for-profit organisation, trade association or political organisation;
e. must not be part of a franchise; and
f. must accept American Express, with at least 1 Amex transaction between the Promotion Period.
Any shop that is nominated but not in line with this definition will be disqualified. The categorisation of an Independent Shop will be determined at the sole discretion of the Promoter.
Examples of Independent Shops could include for example, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, beauty salons, book shops, dentists, art galleries, car washers and florists amongst others.
3. To Enter:
a. Prize Draw for Cardmembers:
i. Visit https://championsmall2024.promo-now.com and complete the online form to provide your details (full name, postcode, email address and contact telephone number) along with the last 5 digits of your American Express Card number, where you are the Primary Cardmember, and your nominated Independent Shop to be entered into the Prize Draw. Details entered must match exactly the details on your American Express Primary Card Account.
ii. This Promotion is open to residents of the United Kingdom, including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, who are American Express Cardmembers aged 18 or over, excluding employees of the Promoter, its agents and anyone professionally associated with this Promotion.
iii. No purchase necessary; however, internet access and a valid email address are required.
iv. Maximum of 10 entries are permitted per Cardmember during the Promotion Period. Maximum of 1 entry/nomination per Independent Shop per Cardmember. No Cardmember may win more than 1 Prize.
b. Competition for Independent Shops:
i. The 20 Independent Shops that receive the highest ranking, based on the criteria in section 6.b, will be shortlisted and entered into a Competition to select 10 winners.
ii. Independent Shops can opt out of the Competition by emailing championsmall2024@promowinners.com.
iii. Any Independent Shop nominated:
1. Must not disparage the Promoter, or any other person or party affiliated with the Promotion.
2. Must not sell or promote goods or services that are inappropriate, indecent, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous.
3. Must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
4. Must not be in breach of any terms or agreements under which it accepts American Express.
iv. In the event that the Promoter determines, in its sole discretion, that an Independent Shop violates the above clause 3.b.iii, the Promoter may disqualify the Cardmember and Independent Shop from the Promotion.
v. Any Cardmember who is also an owner or employee of an Independent Shop cannot nominate that respective Independent Shop. If a Cardmember has been found to do so, the Cardmember and that Independent Shop will be disqualified from both aspects of the Promotion.
4. The Prizes:
a. Prize Draw for Cardmembers: There will be a total of 50 winning Cardmembers. Each winner will receive a single payment of £1,000 in the form of a Statement Credit, which will be applied to the American Express Card included on their entry (Cardmember Prize).
b. Competition for Independent Shops: There will be a total of 10 Independent Shop winners. Each winner will receive £10,000 which will be delivered as a business grant or equivalent to the business bank account linked to each winning shop (Independent Shop Prize, together with the Cardmember Prize, the Prizes, each a Prize), which will be specified by the Independent Shop to PromoVeritas during the prize allocation process. No Independent Shop may win more than 1 Prize.
5. Further Prize Details and Conditions:
a. Prize Draw for Cardmembers:
i. The winner must have a valid American Express account where they are a Primary Cardmember to redeem the Prize.
b. Competition for Independent Shops:
i. The Prize will be paid into the business bank account specified by the winning Independent Shop.
ii. The Prize must be used in a manner that is in keeping with the spirit of the Promotion and used towards a legitimate business purpose towards running or improving the business, for example new equipment, shop signage, research, marketing or advertising, BAU costs such as rent or stock.
iii. Each winning Independent Shop will be required to spend the business grant within six months of deposit into its respective business bank account, and send to the Promoter how the grant has helped its business and any changes that were enabled by the receipt of the grant after the six month period.
6. Winner Selection:
a. Prize Draw for Cardmembers: 50 provisional winners will be selected randomly from all valid entries received during the Promotion Period. For your total confidence, the Prize draw will be conducted independently by PromoVeritas, an independent promotional verification service, by 25 March 2025.
b. Competition for Independent Shops:
i. Stage 1 Ranking:
1. All valid Independent Shops nominated during the Promotion Period, subject to moderation and verification, will be ranked based on the following criteria and weighting to select 20 shortlisted entries, by 25 March 2025:
a. Number of nominations – 80%
b. Amex Vibrancy – weighting using internal Merchant and Card Member metrics to ensure geographical fairness, for example the number of Amex Cardmembers spending at that Independent Shop, divided by the number of Amex Cardmembers spending in the postcode – 20%
2. In the event of a tie between two or more Independent Shops due to equal ranking, a draw will be conducted to determine which of those Independent Shops will be included in the shortlist for the Competition.
ii. Stage 1 Limitations:
1. No more than 1 Independent Shop per Postal Area will be shortlisted, Postal Area is defined as the postcode area, the longest string of letters in a postcode. For example L: Liverpool, EH: Edinburgh. Please see ideal-postcodes.co.uk/guides/postcode-areas for reference.
2. No more than 8 Independent Shops will be shortlisted within the Greater London Postal Area.
3. No more than 3 Independent Shops per sub-industry will be shortlisted.
4. City and postal area boundaries and sub-industries will be at the sole discretion of the Promoter.
iii. Stage 2 Judging:
1. Following moderation and verification, the shortlisted 20 Independent Shops will be contacted and asked to provide an answer via writing, voice note or any other format the Promoter deems appropriate to the following question: ‘Why should you win the £10,000 business grant and what will you use the funds for?’. Independent Shops must provide their answer within 21 calendar days of being contacted. If the Independent Shop does not provide their answer within the specified timeframe, they will be disqualified and an alternate may be selected based on the same criteria. If an alternate is contacted, they will have to provide their answer within 7 calendar days of being contacted.
a. The voice note must contain no more than 250 words.
b. The written submission must be no more than 250 words.
c. The submission must be written/spoken by the owner, or a representative (with proof of permission from the owner) of the Independent Shop.
d. The Promoter reserves the right to reject written or voice note submissions which, in the reasonable opinion of the Promoter:
i. contain any content that is offensive, harmful, objectionable or which is otherwise unsuitable for publication including with respect to race, religion, origin or gender, or which could reflect negatively upon the name, reputation or goodwill of the Promoter or any brand partner;
ii. include trademarks, logos, or copyrighted material not owned by you or used without the right holder's prior written permission (including famous names, company names, etc.);
iii. defames, misrepresents, or insult other people or companies, including, but not limited to the Promoter (including its partners);
iv. contains or refers to any unauthorised third-party brand or reference any third-party names, logos and/or trademarks;
v. promotes any political party or affiliation.
2. The shortlisted Independent Shops will then be independently judged by a panel of judges, including an independent party, within 21 working days from receiving the submission to select 10 winners based on, the following criteria:
a. Customer Feedback from third party websites
b. Community Impact
c. Product Innovation
d. Customer atmosphere/shop aesthetics
e. Written or Voice Note Submission – impact of grant on business and customer impact.
3. In the event of a tie between two or more Independent Shops due to equal scores, a draw will be conducted to select the winning shop
4. The judges’ scoring is solely at each judge’s discretion. Each judge’s decision is final.
iv. Stage 2 Limitations
1. No more than 1 Independent Shop per Postal Area will be selected as a winner.
2. No more than 3 Independent Shops per sub-industry will be selected as a winner.
c. City and Postal Area boundaries and sub-industries will be at the sole discretion of the Promoter.
d. The selected winners may be asked to sign additional Terms and Conditions as required by the Promoter in order to receive their Prize, and the acceptance of such additional Terms and Conditions will be a condition for the grant of the Prize.
e. During the promotion, the eligibility status and count of nominations for both Cardmembers and Merchants will not be available. All nominations will be processed at the end of the promotion, where ineligible nominations will be removed from the subsequent Cardmember Prize Draw and Independent Shop Promotion.
7. Winner Notification:
a. Prize Draw for Cardmembers: Provisional winners will be contacted via the email address they have provided on entry within 5 working days of Winner Selection. They will be asked to provide evidence of identity and eligibility. Once eligibility has been confirmed, the provisional winners will be confirmed. If a provisional winner does not respond to the initial contact within 14 calendar days, the Promoter may (at its sole discretion) attempt to contact the entrant again by other means, but (in all cases) it reserves the right to disqualify that entrant and award the Prize to an alternate winner selected in the same manner. Alternate winners may have less time to respond.
b. Competition for Independent Shops: Provisional winners will be contacted via championsmall2024@promowinners.com within 5 working days of Winner Selection and will be asked to provide evidence of identity and eligibility. Reasonable efforts will be made to contact the provisional winners. Once eligibility has been confirmed, a provisional winner will be confirmed as a winner. If a provisional winner does not respond to the initial contact within 14 calendar days, the Promoter reserves the right to disqualify that entrant and to award the Prize to an alternate winner selected in the same manner. Alternate winners may have less time to respond.
8. Prize Acceptance: Notification to arrange fulfilment of a Prize will take place within 28 calendar days of acceptance of a Prize. In the unlikely event that a winner has not received communication to arrange their Prize the winner must inform the Promoter by emailing championsmall2024@promowinners.com. If a winner does not do so, the Promoter reserves the right to not reissue the Prize at its sole discretion.
9. Provided no objection is received from the winners, a winners list containing the surname and county of residence of the winners will be made available by the Promoter 4 weeks after the close of the Promotion Period, for a period of 8 weeks. It will be available at www.promowinners.com/championsmall2024. Winners can object to their details being published during the Winner Notification process. Without prejudice, the Promoter will provide winner information to the Advertising Standards Authority when requested by them.
10. The Promoter may request that the winners participate in publicity arising from the Promotion. Participation is at the winner’s discretion and is not a condition of Prize Acceptance.
11. The Promoter seeks to run a fair and secure promotion and prevent abuse and cheating. If you enter in a way that is not consistent with these Terms & Conditions, your entry/ies (and any of your associated aliases) will be disqualified. Any Prize awarded may be void and recoverable, and the Promoter reserves the right to bar you from entering future promotions for a period of at least six months. For this reason, the Promoter reserves the right at any point to:
a. Verify the eligibility of entrants and/or provisional winners through multiple means by requesting such information it consider reasonably necessary for this purpose. Entry or a Prize may be withheld until verification is completed.
b. Disqualify entries that are not made directly by the individual entering the Promotion.
c. Disqualify entries made using anonymous email services such as, but not limited to, GuerillaMail, Dispostable or Mailinator.
d. Disqualify bulk entries from individuals, trade, consumer groups or third parties, incomplete entries and entries submitted by macros or other automated means.
e. Disqualify entries beyond the maximum allowed, or those using techniques such as ‘script’, ‘brute force’, masking identity by manipulating IP addresses, using aliases or identities other than their own or any other means.
f. Disqualify entrants who tamper with the entry process.
g. Disqualify entries which, in some other way, do not meet the requirements of these Terms & Conditions.
h. Cancel, modify or suspend the Promotion should it not be capable of running as planned for reasons including but not limited to tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, dishonesty, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Promoter which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Promotion.
12. The Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be redeemed for monetary value or for any other form of compensation. If for any reason a Prize is not available, the Promoter reserves the right, at its sole discretion to substitute that Prize for another of equal or greater value.
13. No responsibility can be taken for entries which are lost, delayed, corrupted, damaged, misdirected or incomplete or which cannot be delivered for any technical, delivery or other reason. Proof of sending will not be accepted as proof of receipt. The Promoter does not guarantee continuous or secure access to the entry page.
14. The Promoter and its associated agencies and companies are not liable for any loss (including, without limitation, indirect, special or consequential loss or loss of profits), expense or damage which is suffered or sustained (whether or not arising from any person’s negligence) in connection with this Promotion (JS14712) or accepting or using the/a Prize(s), except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law. Nothing will exclude the Promotor’s liability for death or personal injury as a result of its negligence.
15. The Promoter will not be liable for any delay or failure to comply with its obligations for reasons beyond its reasonable control arising from but not limited to Acts of God,
global or regional epidemic or pandemic, adverse weather conditions, fire, industrial dispute, war, terrorist activity, hostilities, political unrest, riots, civil commotion, plague or other natural calamities, or any other circumstances.
16. All personal data supplied for this Promotion will be used for the purpose of this Promotion and for research and analytical purposes by the Promoter and/or by any agent
appointed by it to assist with running the Promotion. Personal data will not be disclosed to an unconnected third party unless your positive consent has been obtained. Your personal data will be handled in accordance with the Promoter’s privacy policy, available at: www.americanexpress.com/uk/content/internet-privacy-statement.html. By entering into, or otherwise submitting your personal data in connection with, the Promotion you submit that you agree with the Promoter’s privacy policy.
17. If any part/s of these Terms & Conditions are legally ruled to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remainder will not be affected and will continue in full force and effect.
18. By entering, you will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by these Terms & Conditions.
19. If there is a discrepancy between these Terms & Conditions and those in any promotional material, these Terms & Conditions will prevail.
20. These Terms & Conditions are governed by English law and their interpretation and application will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
Promoter: American Express Services Europe Limited. Registered Office: Belgrave House, 76 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9AX, United Kingdom. It is registered in England and Wales with Company Number 1833139 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Where American Express Services Europe Limited services are issued in the United Kingdom but obtained within the Economic European Area, local rules may apply to the way that it conducts its business which can be enforced by that country’s applicable regulatory authority.