How do you showcase your marketing communications achievements and win awards and recognition?

The fundamental rule for compiling impressive submissions is ensuring your answers align with the awards criteria. While it is important to go into the process knowing the achievements or statistics you want to convey, your submission will likely not succeed unless you link the achievement to the criteria. Before you start, check deadlines, word limits and any formatting preferences. For example, some programs prefer submissions written in the first-person point of view. Lastly, always proofread!

Crafting award-winning marketing communication entries is not for the faint of heart. It's essential that you carefully read and follow the guidelines and format required for the entry. This may sound obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many entries get disqualified because the guidelines weren't followed properly. Pay close attention to word counts, formatting, and submission requirements. Remember, you're not just telling a compelling story with your entry, you're also demonstrating your ability to follow directions and attention to detail - qualities that any award-winning marketer should possess.

1. Craft a Compelling Narrative: Tell a story that captures the journey you took. Highlight the challenges you faced, the innovative solutions you implemented, and the impact you achieved. Pro Tip: Use data strategically – weave it into your narrative to quantify and validate your success. 2. Focus on the "Why" Behind the "What": Go beyond reporting results and delve into the "why": What were your strategic goals? Pro Tip: Share personal anecdotes from team members involved, showcasing passion for the project. 3. Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals, data visualizations, or even short videos to showcase your campaign in action. Pro Tip: Create an interactive element in your application, allowing judges to explore in a deeper way.

Judges are looking for responses that knock their socks off! In my experience, using the narrative style to succinctly and coherently tell a compelling story punctuated by data has led to successful submissions. Present your answers in an easily digestible format by avoiding jargon, technical terms or implied knowledge and providing evidence such as data, statistics, quantifiable results (such as revenue increase or efficiencies gained through improved systems and processes), and testimonials/ recommendations.

Entry portals can be tricky with the number of uploads they allow. Instead of uploading five separate images, turn them into a collage and upload as one image. This frees up four precious upload spaces for other supporting documentation that could help seal the deal on your entry. And if you really want to get clever, create a zip folder with multiple files in it - again, this only takes up one of your precious upload spaces. But for the love of all that's holy, don't fill the zip folder with 100 pieces of work for the judges to wade through. Keep it concise, keep it focused, and make sure every piece of visual and multimedia supports your overall message. That's how you win awards!

Don’t let spelling and grammar errors or other mistakes blemish your otherwise winning submission. Ensure you check facts and figures and that names have been recorded correctly. If in doubt, ask someone else to review your submission and provide feedback. Once you are sure your spelling, grammar, punctuation, and tone are perfect, and the format is correct (especially file type), submit your entry.