Winning an award can have a significant impact on your business. It can attract recognition and new business – however having the best product, service, event or marketing campaign doesn’t guarantee you a place among the finalists.
The key to making it into the shortlist is how you tell your story in the submission. Before deciding to enter an award, it is important you take the time to consider a few things first:
Understand the submission criteria and make sure you chose the most suitable category.
Before you start writing your submission take a careful and thorough look at the criteria. You don’t want to be disqualified just because you exceeded the word count or your work was completed outside the qualifying period. In the same vein, are you entering the most suitable category – a critical decision to make from the start. Do you have enough evidence to demonstrate the winning results of your work? Do you have all the necessary information to address the criteria effectively with enough detail?
Identify what makes your entry different.
What is it about your entry that makes your submission unique? What idea or insight makes it stand out from the others? How does the campaign support your broader business objectives?
Tell a story, don’t just regurgitate the information.
Your entry needs to tell a story and hook the judges from the get-go. If you simply repeat information or present a spreadsheet of how your campaign had a phenomenal ROI and engagement, the likelihood is you won’t be a finalist. It needs to be enjoyable and engaging for the judges to read – they are judging a lot of submissions, you want to stand out.
Know your audience, but don’t assume that they know you.
When you are creating your entry, write it under the assumption that the person reading it has never heard of you, nor are they familiar with industry terminology or jargon. Make your submission simple, clear and easy to read.
Don’t leave it to the last minute to decide to enter!
Leaving your awards submission to the last moment will make you feel rushed, stressed and can lead to basic errors. Allowing sufficient time to collate, draft, polish and submit your entry will ensure you produce the best possible submission.
A good award entry requires time, hard work, teamwork and collaboration to create a high-quality submission. We often suggest interviewing multiple members of your team to delve deeper and uncover those hidden gems (sometimes you might not even realise what you are doing is award-winning!) and fill in any gaps in your submission.
The team at Zadro are the experts in developing a compelling, professional and winning submission via our tried and tested process – and we can show you the awards (and shortlists) to prove it. Find out more here, or contact us at advice@zadroagency.com.au.
