Bow ties being dug out and dresses hanging on the back of office doors…it can only mean one thing… Awards Season!
In the countdown to Christmas clients, suppliers and colleagues are already getting into party mood with a few celebrations of their own. As your LinkedIn feed fills with news of awards how can you give yourself the best chance of having your own win to shout about?
- Enter the awards: You’ve got to be in it to win it! Make sure you’re on the mailing lists for the bodies that represent your industry but don’t overlook local media or independent awards, keep your eyes and ears out for something that could suit your company.
- Look at all the categories: You might hanker after the top award and should by all means back yourselves to win it but also look at some of the more specialist or niche awards which might be less fiercely contested – a win’s a win!
- Check the judging criteria and make sure you hit the keywords they are looking for. Previous winning entries might be published online as case studies, these can be a great starting point for some guidance…
- …however bear in mind that should you win your own entry might be published too, be sure that you have permission to mention clients, financial results or anything commercially sensitive. The organisers will be able to tell you what will be made public.
- Get a team involved. Too many cooks might be an issue occasionally but talk about the awards with different departments and teams, that way you can be sure you’ll pick up all the relevant information but also that the whole team is engaged and excited about the award even if it’s not directly for their area of the business.
- Who should write it? Sometimes having someone new to the project or the campaign can be a great way of making sure the most relevant and interesting bits of information get included. The team that lives and breathes the project will have all the facts but with a word count to keep to they might struggle to identify which bits to leave out.
- There will be a word limit, make every one count.
- Get ready to shout! Drafting a press release isn’t tempting fate, it’s just good preparation. Also have a list of hashtags and social media handles ready to make sure you get the message out quickly and plant yourselves in the newsfeeds of your key stakeholders.
- Have fun! You might not win but the evening is always a great way to reconnect with friends, colleagues and clients old and new.
Athene recently had our own taste of success winning the CIPR Anglian, Thames & Chiltern area’s Gold Award for Outstanding PR Consultancy at their annual awards in addition to two silver awards for client campaigns. It was a great night for the company, lots of fun for those of us attending and left us all with a warm glow, a smart new email footer and some outstanding news to share in the local media.
Ready to have a go? Athene is hosting the annual Peterborough Regional PR and Media Awards on Wednesday December 13th from 5.30-7.30pm in the Knights Chamber in Peterborough Cathedral’s Precincts. You won’t need a fancy frock as it’s a relaxed affair but it is always well attended by key companies and individuals from Peterborough and Cambridgeshire. Find out more and submit your own (hopefully) award-winning entry visit here and use #PRPR2017 to keep up to date.