Advertising Terms & Conditions

This document governs paid in-ballot  and guide advertising purchased through the Hey Grand Rapids Awards.

Hey Grand Rapids Awards Featured Ballot Listings are optional paid advertising placements that provide enhanced visibility for eligible businesses within selected Awards ballot categories. A purchase is for advertising exposure only. It is not a purchase of a nomination, vote, finalist position, Top 5 placement, award, endorsement, or favorable result.

Available advertising levels may include Featured listings and other packages described at the time of purchase.

2. Advertising Does Not Affect Awards

Advertising and Awards results are separate. Purchase is never required for an eligible business to appear on the ballot, receive nominations or votes, advance to finalist voting, place in the Top 5, or win.

Advertising status is not considered when determining nominees, finalists, Top 5 finishers, or winners. Results are determined according to the applicable Hey Grand Rapids Awards voting rules.

Purchasing advertising does not make an otherwise ineligible business eligible and does not modify or supersede any Awards or voting rules.

3. Eligibility & Category Selection

Advertisers are responsible for selecting categories that reasonably apply to their business. Hey Grand Rapids reserves the right to review eligibility and to approve, reject, recategorize, combine, or remove a listing when necessary to maintain the integrity and organization of the ballot.

If a purchased placement is determined to be ineligible before it is published, Hey Grand Rapids may offer the advertiser an appropriate replacement category. If no reasonable replacement is available, the affected placement will be eligible for a refund.

4. Placement & Booking Order

Paid listings are grouped according to the advertising level purchased. Unless otherwise stated, higher advertising levels appear before lower advertising levels, and unpaid/regular listings follow the applicable ballot organization rules.

Within the same paid advertising level, priority is based on booking order. For online purchases, booking order is determined by the timestamp of successful payment unless otherwise stated. Advertising bookings may come into the HeyGR system by online form, email, or phone call.

Advertising level is guaranteed as described at purchase; an exact pixel position, numerical position, or permanent position within a category is not guaranteed. Placement may vary because of category size, ballot layout, device type, technical requirements, corrections, or other operational considerations.

5. Category-Based Purchases

Unless a package expressly states otherwise, in-ballot advertising is purchased per ballot category. A paid placement in one category does not automatically provide paid placement in other categories where the same business may appear.

Advertisers may purchase advertising in multiple eligible categories, subject to availability and applicable deadlines.

6. Nomination & Finalist Rounds

A ballot advertising purchase applies to the voting phase(s) specifically described in the package. For packages that include finalist-round carry-through, a business that advances in the purchased category will retain the applicable paid placement during finalist voting at no additional charge.

If the business does not advance in that category, its advertising for that category ends with the nomination round. Failure to advance is not grounds for a refund because the nomination-round advertising has been delivered.

  • Nominations run SEPT 16 – OCT 1, 2026.
  • Finalists Voting runs OCT 8 – 23, 2026.

7. Advertiser Materials & Authorization

The advertiser represents that it is authorized to purchase advertising on behalf of the listed business and to provide all submitted business names, logos, trademarks, photographs, URLs, descriptions, and other materials.

The advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and legality of submitted materials and represents that it has the rights and permissions necessary for Hey Grand Rapids to use them for the purchased advertising.

The advertiser grants Hey Grand Rapids a limited license to reproduce, resize, crop, format, and display submitted materials as reasonably necessary to fulfill the advertising purchase and promote the related Awards program.

8. Assets, Deadlines & Missing Information

Advertisers are responsible for providing required information and assets by applicable deadlines. Failure to submit required materials does not extend the advertising period or ballot schedule.

When required materials are missing, Hey Grand Rapids may, at their discretion, publish the listing using the information already provided, use a business-name-only listing, or hold the placement until materials are received.

9. Changes & Corrections

Hey Grand Rapids may make minor formatting edits, correct obvious typographical errors, resize or crop assets, and make other non-material adjustments needed for ballot display.

Advertisers should report factual errors promptly. Hey Grand Rapids will make reasonable efforts to correct its own errors. Advertiser-requested changes after publication may be limited by timing, ballot functionality, or workload and are not guaranteed.

10. Cancellations

Once a paid placement is publicly live on the ballot, the advertising has begun and the purchase becomes non-refundable, except where these terms specifically provide otherwise.

11. Refunds

Advertising purchases are not refundable solely because a business:

  • receives fewer nominations, votes, views, clicks, leads, or sales than expected;
  • does not advance to finalist voting;
  • does not place in the Top 5;
  • does not win an award; or
  • decides it no longer wants the placement after the listing has been published.

A refund may be provided when:

  • Hey Grand Rapids is unable to provide substantially the advertising placement purchased;
  • a business is determined to be ineligible before publication and no reasonable replacement category is available;
  • a duplicate or erroneous payment is confirmed; or
  • Hey Grand Rapids determines that a refund is the appropriate remedy for a material issue with the purchased placement.

For minor disruptions or changes, Hey Grand Rapids may offer comparable placement, a correction, an account credit, or another reasonable remedy instead of a refund when appropriate.

12. No Guarantee of Performance

Hey Grand Rapids does not guarantee any minimum number of impressions, views, clicks, nominations, votes, leads, sales, customers, or other advertising results. Audience, traffic, participation, and voting activity may vary.

13. Ballot & Schedule Changes

Hey Grand Rapids may make reasonable changes to ballot categories, category names, schedules, voting periods, ballot structure, duplicate listings, business categorization, or technical implementation when needed to operate the Awards.

If a material change prevents Hey Grand Rapids from providing substantially the advertising purchased, Hey Grand Rapids may offer comparable placement for the affected placement.

14. Technical Issues

Hey Grand Rapids will make reasonable efforts to maintain ballot availability but cannot guarantee uninterrupted access. Temporary outages, third-party platform issues, maintenance, internet failures, or other technical interruptions do not automatically entitle an advertiser to a refund. Material disruptions will be addressed reasonably based on their scope and duration.

15. Paid Placement Identification

Hey Grand Rapids may label paid placements as “Featured,” “Featured Listing,” “Featured Advertisement,” or similar language so voters can distinguish paid visibility from award status or editorial recognition.

16. Awards Rules & Voting Conduct

Advertisers remain subject to all Hey Grand Rapids Awards rules, including any rules concerning voting, promotion, prohibited voting activity, manipulation, fraud, or misconduct. Purchase of advertising does not provide an exception to those rules.

Hey Grand Rapids may remove or restrict advertising associated with fraud, material misrepresentation, illegal activity, intellectual-property infringement, abusive conduct, prohibited voting manipulation, or material violations of applicable Awards rules.

17. Additional Advertising & Post-Awards Products

Unless expressly included in the purchased package, in-ballot advertising does not automatically include post-Awards advertising or promotional products such as enhanced winner listings, Awards Guide placement, interactive map placement, social media promotion, newsletter promotion, photography, influencer content, giveaways, or advertising in future Awards editions.

18. Acceptance of Terms

By submitting an order and payment, the purchaser confirms that it is authorized to act for the business, has reviewed the selected advertising package, and agrees to these Advertising Terms and any applicable Hey Grand Rapids Awards rules.

Effective date: August 24, 2026

Business/legal entity operating Hey Grand Rapids: Grand Rapids Kids LC

Contact for advertising questions: kelly@grkids.com

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