Apply for a CES 2020 Innovation Award

Entry Criteria

Entries must be submitted online through the Call for Entries portal by September 13, 2019, by 11:59 PM EDT. There will be no extensions granted under any circumstance.

• All entries must comply with the official program rules.
• Entries must be submitted into the relevant product category. See the category descriptions.
• Products entered must be available for sale to the public, for the first time, in U.S. retail outlets or online between April 1, 2019, and April 1, 2020.
• Non-exhibiting companies may apply; however, they may not display their product in the Innovation Awards Showcase at CES or be listed in the honoree directory in It Is Innovation (i3).
• Entry fees must be paid at the time of submission using a credit card. Check and invoice payments are not accepted. 
• Refunds will not be issued for applications withdrawn after submission.
• Entries submitted in previous years are not eligible for resubmission unless significant unique and innovative enhancements have been made to the original product and a new model is submitted. CTA reserves the right to disqualify entries at its sole discretion where significant improvements have not been made to a product or technology submitted in a prior year. If an entry of a similar model previously submitted is disqualified, entry fees will not be refunded.
• Products, including audio, video and/or live content, should be appropriate for a general audience. Explicit or simulated sex, virtual pornography, nudity and violence are prohibited. CTA, in its sole discretion, may determine if a product is not eligible for consideration.
• A minimum of two (2) different product photographs must accompany each entry. Photos must be submitted in a .jpg format and be less than 10MB. All photos must be submitted via the online application process.
• The same entry may be submitted into multiple product categories and is eligible to win in each category entered, provided the entry meets the requirements for the product category and a separate application fee is paid for each category submitted.
• An entry is qualified for judging when all required sections of the entry application are completed, entry fees have been paid in full and the application has been submitted. If the wrong entry fee is paid at the time of submission, the entry is subject to disqualification if the balance is not rectified by October 5, 2019.  
• Incomplete and unpaid entries will be disqualified. If you are unsure if your entry is complete, please contact us at InnovationAwards@CTA.tech. CTA is not responsible for follow-up of incomplete entries.
• To evaluate an entry, CTA or program judges may ask for additional information.
• If improperly categorized, an entry may be moved to a different category based on the recommendation of the judging panel without consent from the entrant.
• If the awarded company is a CES 2020 exhibitor, one (1) sample of the submitted product (prototype or final product) must be available for display in the Innovation Awards Showcase at CES 2020, January 7-10, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Best of Innovation Honorees must allow a sample to be held by CTA for up to one (1) year.
• CTA reserves the right to rescind any awards granted to honorees that have misrepresented their product or entry in this competition.
• Entrants must be 18 years of age or older and authorized by the organization to submit product entries.

How We Select Honorees

The program recognizes two levels of honorees among the product categories:

• Honoree: A product that scores above the threshold set for a specific category.
• Best of Innovation: Given to only the highest-rated product in each category, or to multiple, in the event of a tie. Best of Innovation in each category is not guaranteed.

 
A panel of industry expert judges will review applications in each product category based on the criteria below. The scores are combined resulting in a cumulative score for each product. A baseline value is derived from the cumulative scores in a category, and all scores above the baseline are designated as honorees.

All award designations by our judges are final.

Evaluation Criteria 

Software & Mobile Apps

• Software’s intended use and functions.
• Platform(s) on which the software runs.
• How the software enhances the quality of life for the user.
• What makes the software unique and innovative to the consumer technology market.
• Does the product come to the U.S. market, for the first time, during April 1, 2019–April 1, 2020.

Sustainability, Eco-Design & Smart Energy

• Engineering qualities.
• Aesthetic and design qualities, functions and how they relate to user value.
• How the product's design, aesthetics, materials, components and processes relate to environmental impact and ecological responsibility, emissions reduction, sustainability and smart resource management, energy conservation and/or other ecologically impactful functions.
• What makes the product unique and innovative to the consumer technology market.
• Does the product come to the U.S. market, for the first time, during April 1, 2019–April 1, 2020.

Tech for a Better World

• Engineering qualities.
• Aesthetic and design qualities.
• How the product relates to a positive global impact and/or social responsibility.
• What makes the product unique and innovative to the consumer technology market.
• Does the product come to the U.S. market, for the first time, during April 1, 2019–April 1, 2020.

Other Product Categories 

All other product categories are scored on the following criteria:

• Engineering qualities.
• Aesthetic and design qualities.
• What makes the product unique and innovative to the consumer technology market.
• Does the product come to the U.S. market, for the first time, during April 1, 2019–April 1, 2020.

Applicants will be notified by email in mid-October of their status.

Public Reveal of Innovation Award Honorees

October 17: Honorees from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium,Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom will be revealed at CES Unveiled Amsterdam.

October 22: Honorees from France will be revealed at CES Unveiled Paris.

November 7: All other honorees will be revealed at CES Unveiled New York and listed on the Innovation Awards Honoree page.