Voters may nominate any product that is manufactured in Mississippi. There is no limit on the number of products a person may nominate.
The finished product must be made in Mississippi. The manufacturer’s headquarters do not need to be in Mississippi.
Nominations must include the name of the product, the name of the manufacturer, link to the product/manufacturer’s website along with the name, email, and telephone number for the person making the nomination. The nominator’s information will not be made public but may be used for verification or follow up questions from MMA staff.
Nominations must be made exclusively at msmakerschallenge.com. Products nominated through email, letter, fax, etc., will not be accepted.
Nominated products can be from any sector of the manufacturing industry.
A company can have multiple products nominated for Makers Madness but only one product per company will be allowed into the Round of 16. If a company has more than one product in the top 16 after the Initial Voting round, the product with the highest vote total will be that company’s sole entry into the contest in the Round of 16.
Voting during the Nomination Round will occur February 13-24, with the ability to vote for up to five times per day.
In the First, Second, and Final rounds, a voter may vote in each bracketed contest once per day per device. There are eight head-to-head contests in the First Round (16 total products), four head-to-head contests in the Second Round (8 total products), and one Final Round contest with four products competing.
During the First and Second Rounds, the product with the most votes in each seeded, bracketed contest will advance to the next round. The product with the most votes in the Final Round will win the Mississippi Makers’ Challenge.
In the First, Second, and Final Rounds, voters may vote once per day per device.
Before winners are announced, votes will be tabulated and confirmed by the Mississippi Manufacturers Association at the conclusion of each round.
The number of votes will be reset at the beginning of each round.
Products nominated are subject to qualification verification by the Mississippi Manufacturers Association. In case of questions about nominations, the MMA will make every effort to contact the nominator for additional information.
The Mississippi Manufacturers Association will attempt to contact all companies with products nominated for the Makers’ Challenge for every round of voting.
Contest Schedule
The contest will begin January 30, 2023.
Nominations will be accepted from January 30 through February 10. All nominations and voting will be done on the Mississippi Makers Challenge website, msmakerschallenge.com. Nominations received via other methods will not be accepted.
Nominated products will then be voted upon from February 13 – 24.
The 16 products receiving the most votes in the Nominating Stage will advance to the seeded bracketed contest.
The Round of 16 will run from February 27 – March 3.
The Round of 8 will run from March 6 – 10.
The Round of 4 will run from March 13 – 17.
The winner of the Mississippi Makers Challenge will be announced during luncheon on March 23 at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson, MS
The overall winner will receive an article written about the winning product on the Mississippi Makers Challenge website to also be shared on MMA’s social media channels, the MMA website, and the MMA’s monthly member newsletter.
