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Why You Should Enter Awards

Guest post by: Wendy McWilliams

Article Overview: Winning a business or industry award provides independent recognition of your expertise and success. And if promoted well, it allows you to stand out from your competitors. Reasons why organisations should enter awards include the opportunity to raise the profile of the company, demonstrate you are well-run and successful, attract media coverage, increase the company's appeal to potential investors and be seen as a good employer, which can help attract top flight staff. Winning is also a fantastic morale booster for everyone and sometimes provides a valuable prize.

Why You Should Enter Awards

Awards can be a key instrument in the public relations arsenal of PR tools.

Most organisations would be eligible for at least one industry award and one or more general business awards, of which there are many. In Australia, these are just a few of the more high profile business-related awards: Telstra Business Awards

My Business Awards

SmartCompany Business Start Up Awards

BRW Private Business Awards

The Australian Business Awards

City of Sydney Business Awards

Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards

Australian Export Awards

Which award is right for us?

To choose which award to enter, we recommend a careful investigation of all the possible awards that are applicable to your business, both industry and business related. Don't forget to check out international awards as well.

Review the categories within each award and assess which ones are the most suitable. View previous winners in the selected category and read the reasons why they won. This is usually covered in media releases that are on the award website or on the "news" page of the winner's website.

Create a shortlist of awards that are relevant and provide a good chance of becoming a finalist. It is worth noting here that being selected as a finalist is still a valuable honour, even if you don't go on to win.

Check the deadline for entries to be submitted and review the entry form, making sure you have sufficient time to complete the entry. With this information you should be able to make an informed decision on the award/categories to be entered.

What next?

The application process for awards differs greatly depending on which award you enter. Some require detailed financial information and others require scant information in advance of a lengthy interview process. Read the entry form carefully. Have someone else read the entry form carefully as well and compare notes to make sure nothing is missed.

Often the layout of an entry can determine whether it is accepted or not. Imagine spending 50 hours on an award just for it to be rejected because you didn't include an index or use the right font (yes, this is true).

Bring together the people needed to complete the entry form and give them the questions they need to address. This team needs to take ownership of the process and ensure what they need to do is not left until the last minute (this is not unusual).

Highlight your strengths and illustrate how innovative and special your achievements have been.

The coordinator needs to make sure he/she is across public holidays, staff taking vacations and away on business trips. A schedule or timeline should be created that takes these into account.

Many entry forms give you the maximum number of words required to answer each question. Make sure you don't exceed this and even put the number of words you have written at the end of your answer (saves them having to check).

When the entry form is completed give it to some fresh eyes to check and revise as necessary. The Financial Controller and Managing Director should also carefully review it prior to its compilation.

Submission

Many awards can be submitted online, others require hard copies and some will accept discs.

If a hard copy or disc is being submitted, ensure the document looks good. If you can include appendices, can these be photographs, bar charts and other material that will enhance the entry? Have a graphic designer create an attractive layout using the award logo on the frontispiece and the company logo or style discretely throughout, perhaps as a header and/or footer on the page.

Check the page numbering and ensure it matches the contents/index page.

Use an attractive method of binding if a hard copy is being submitted and ensure you have produced sufficient copies for the award organisers and file copies.

Make sure the entry is delivered in excellent condition and it is in advance of the deadline.

Some awards are free, others require payment of a fee. If this is the case, make sure this is provided at the time of submission (or when an application is submitted for nomination).

Further benefits

In addition to the above benefits that can be obtained when entering awards, there are other advantages in entering awards. The first of these is the actual process itself.

Answering probing questions about your company succinctly will allow you to drill down to the key issues that make your business a success and stand out from the rest. Listing your major achievements and quantifying them is an excellent process that can be used in other areas of your business.

For example, in sales presentations and speaking engagements concise accounts of these achievements can be more effective than long-winded and detailed explanations of how you got to where you are.

Preparing the financial information allows you to review every aspect of the business and is valuable if investors, or the bank, are being approached for additional finance.

And if it is an award where you are required to sit in front of a judging panel or go through a personal assessment, this is an opportunity to deliver a performance that is genuine and covers all the salient facts.

Even if you don't win or become a finalist, the fact you are nominated can give your company considerable credibility and at the very least, some free publicity.

Another benefit is that being grouped among other winners and finalists, particularly at the presentation award ceremony, is the opportunity to network with your industry peers and other successful businesses. Swap business cards and keep in touch with other award recipients.

Also, make sure good photographs are taken with the host and award presenter (usually a high profile person) at the ceremony as these are useful for future publicity purposes.

Where to from here?

When you have won an award, the publicity team can push the start button. Take advantage of every way in which the award can be promoted. This includes:

• Prepare a press release and send it with a photo to all your media contacts. If you have been nominated or are a finalist, this could be prepared in advance.

• Use Twitter and Facebook to announce yourself as a winner.

• Make sure the email signature of every employee reflects the win.

• Use the award logo on letterhead, your website and other material. It could also be shown on business cards.

• Proudly display the award trophy in reception or the boardroom.

• Put on a staff morning tea to acknowledge their contribution.

• Send an email to all your suppliers and partners advising them of your win. If you have an e-newsletter, make sure this is the lead story.

• Create a video or use footage/images from the ceremony and show it on YouTube.

• Tell your bank manager!

• Depending on the award won, consider offering yourself as a speaker to associations, talking about what it takes to be a successful company. A feature article could be prepared on the same subject and submitted to a magazine or newspaper. Many publications are interested in success stories such as this.

• Ensure that any advertisements show the award logo. Perhaps you may like to create a new advert with the sole purpose of communicating the award won to your target markets and business community.

• If your company is featured prominently in a magazine, either one that covers all winners, or just one that mentions your own company, consider purchasing an additional 50 or 100 copies. These can be sent to your customers / prospects / partners with a covering letter. It is surprising how such a simple "gift" can have a strong impression on the receiver.

• Ask staff for suggestions on other ways the award can be promoted.

Summary

Once you have completed the application for one award the next one will be considerably easier. Quite a lot of the material provided for one, may be applicable for another.

If you didn't win an award the first time, don't be disheartened. Look for other awards and make sure the categories you choose are right for your business and your submission is the best it can be.

However, if that is the award you really want to win, go for it again the following year. Make sure your entry demonstrates what you have done differently to grow and consolidate your position in the past year. You've got nothing to lose.

ends

White Paper: Why you should enter awards

© copyright 2010 WMC Public Relations Pty Limited, Melbourne Australia.

This white paper cannot be reproduced with permission.

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Article Tags: awards, entering awards, industry recognition, PR, public relations, win awards, wmcpr



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