Student Event Advertising Terms of Contract

Terms of your Student Event Advertising reservation contract

The Student Organization Resource Center (SORC) agrees to render services as stated on the contract; the Advertiser agrees to pay for services as stated on the contract and abide by the following terms.

 

Payment and Cancellation

  • If you reserve student event advertising space during a lottery appointment, payment is due by 5PM on Thursday of that same week.  If you reserve student event advertising space after the lottery, payment is due within 2 business days.  Contracts not paid before the deadline are subject to cancellation. Advertiser will be absolved of financial obligation if SORC cancels the contract.
  • After the contract is finalized and deposited with SORC's nightly deposit, cancellations must be in writing, directed to [email protected].  SORC Clerks are not authorized to grant refunds/cancellations.  Include in your cancellation request:
    • Group name
    • Contract number
    • Exact dates that you'd like to cancel (you may cancel all or part of your reservation).
    • SOAS/departmental shortcode
  • If you miss the submission deadline, you are not eligible for compensation for time lost.
Unused materials are generally eligible for a full refund, but require Managerial approval.  SORC student employees cannot grant refunds unless the purchase was made earlier the same day.
 

Refunds will be issued via SORC credit (expires in one year) according to the following scale: 

  1. If you cancel your reservation 0 to 7 days before the start date 0% refund
  2. If you cancel your reservation 8-14 days before the start date 25% refund
  3. If you cancel your reservation 15-21 days before the start date 50% refund
  4. If you cancel your reservation 22 days or more before the start date 75% refund
 
 

Submitting Your Student Event Advertising board for Placement

  • All advertisements must be submitted prior to their respective deadlines for placement. NOTE: Deadlines vary greatly during holidays and breaks. 
  • You are responsible for submitting advertisements that are the right size. 
  • Materials must be submitted to SORC by 3:00 p.m. on the day before they're scheduled to go up.
    • They can be submitted anytime prior to this deadline.
    • When SORC is closed for a holiday or semester break, advertisements are due on the last business day before the event.
  • Advertisers may not post advertisements themselves under any circumstances.

Construction and Content Requirements

 
Construction
  • Advertisements must meet spatial and construction requirements before submission.  
  • You can either purchase printing from a professional sign company or make them yourself.
  • Boards must be 36" tall and 24" wide
  • We cannot accept materials that are wider or taller, because the material will not fit into the signs.  
  • Ads must be printed or hand-drawn on 3/16" thick corrugated plastic; vinyl, mesh, paper, and lamination are not acceptable
  • You may not use tape, staples, contact paper, laminates, or any other adhesive materials. You must use marker or paint directly on the material. Paper, bed sheets, and laminated items will not be accepted.
 
Content
  • The advertiser is responsible for submitting advertisements that comply with SORC and University of Michigan content standards. For more information, visit SORC Eligibility & Content  page and vpcomm.umich.edu/brand (student organizations, this document is for you).  Some, but not all, of those criteria are listed here:
    • Voluntary Student Organizations (VSO) may not use university marks, including the Block M, the name “University of Michigan,” “U of M,” or “U-M” preceding the organization's name.  Example:  "Circle K at the University of Michigan" is acceptable.  "University of Michigan Circle K" is not.
    • University departments and Sponsored Student Organization (SSO) must meet University of Michigan specifications for use of Michigan trademarks
    • No one may alter the Block M or any other university trademark. 
  • If your organization is an SSO, it is your responsibility to provide written or online verification of departmental sponsorship before advertisements bearing University trademarks are submitted to SORC for placement. 
  • If someone from your organization submits an advertisement that does not meet content or other requirements, your group is not eligible for a refund or dismissal of late fees to produce a new advertisement that meets the requirements. 
  • The organization’s full name and contact information must appear on your student event advertising material in letters at least 1” tall in order to be large enough to be read from a normal viewing distance. 
 

Vandalism/SORC failure

  • If SORC double-books a space, the group whose contract was completed first will be honored, and the SORC supervisor will attempt to contact the other ADVERTISER and accommodate the its advertisement at a different location.  If a different location cannot be agreed upon within one business day, the remaining reservation will be canceled, and the ADVERTISER has the choice of multiple remedies:
    • posting at a later date
    • credit toward future SORC services
    • other solution to be negotiated with Supervisor
  • If SORC staff fails to place advertisements as scheduled, the advertisements will be placed as soon as the oversight is noted.  The SORC supervisor will communicate with the ADVERTISER to negotiate compensation for the lost time.  Typically, this consists of:
    • Place advertisement at better location if one is available.
    • Leave advertisement up longer if relevant.
    • Free services to supplement (digital advertising, for example). 
    • If timing does not allow for any of the above, a credit toward future SORC services in the pro-rated value of the missed exposure time will be issued.
  • If you notice that an advertisement is in need of repair, kindly notify SORC. 
  • If weather, staffing, or equipment conditions prohibit the posting of advertisements, SORC reserves the right to post the signs at a later date (as soon as possible, generally within 24 hours).  This happens rarely, and usually only because of severe weather, such as a tornado, blizzard, or extreme cold.  When SORC is able to place ads within 24 hours of the scheduled start date, SORC not responsible for refunding time lost.
  • If an advertisement is never submitted, SORC does not have the responsibility of contacting the organization to find out why. 
  • SORC drivers check locations two times per week during the academic year (once per week during the summer).  Corrections are always made when possible.  However, it is the advertiser’s responsibility to check their advertisements regularly (and encourage other group members to observe when out and about on campus as well), and contact SORC so that the problem can be addressed as soon as possible.  
  • SORC is not responsible for the replacement cost of advertisements that are damaged, vandalized, or found to be missing.  
    • ​If an advertisement is found to be missing or is vandalized to the point that the ADVERTISER wishes to take it down, SORC is not responsible for the replacement cost of the advertisements (the materials).  However, the Supervisor of SORC will negotiate a mutually agreeable course of action with the ADVERTISER.  
    • If the ADVERTISER suspects theft:
      • The equipment is University of Michigan property; the advertisement itself is the ADVERTISER's property. 
      • Thus, if you suspect that someone stole your advertisement, it is your organization's right to file a complaint with the Department of Public Safety and Security.  Call 734-763-1131.  This is the same phone number for emergencies, so as a courtesy, please tell the dispatcher right away that your call is not an emergency.  They will respond accordingly. 
      • The supervisor of SORC can be contacted for further details, if requested by DPSS officer. 
    • If the ADVERTISER does not respond within 3 business days, the remainder of the reservation will be canceled.  SORC is not responsible for refunding the space rental charges that were paid at the start of the reservation.  
    • If the ADVERTISER opts to replace the adverti, there will be no additional labor cost to the ADVERTISER.  SORC staff will place the ad as soon as possible.
    • If the ADVERTISER opts to cancel the remainder of the organization's reservation, a credit for the full amount of unused space will be issued.
  • SORC is not responsible for refunds after the fact.  For example, if an ADVERTISER fails to submit (or retrieve and resubmit) advertisements in January, then contacts SORC in April to ask for a refund for the missed advertising time, the ADVERTISER is not eligible for a refund at that point. 
 

After advertisements come down

  • Advertisements are kept for two weeks after the take-down date.  After that, storage space contingent, they will be discarded.
  • If you have an ad that goes up, comes down, and goes back up again weeks later, this does not happen automatically.  
    • It is the ADVERTISER’s responsibility to retrieve the item and re-submit it for placement. 
    • This can be done either in person, by phone, or by email. 
    • SORC employees are happy to retrieve an advertisement from the "taken down" pile and put it back into the "to go up" pile, but we need a prompt from the ADVERTISER.  
    • SORC employees have no way of knowing what your intentions are for which ads you want to go up at which time, so please help us by communicating regularly throughout the duration of your contract. 
  • An organization may always retrieve old advertisements from storage, regardless of how old the material is if it has not yet been sold. 
 

If you have any questions about student event advertising that are not addressed here, email us. Thank you!