Winner Takes All--How to Do it Easily
The idea of a sticker board was commonplace for my kids growing up. There were stickers for school activities, sports and home responsibilities like feeding the dog and keeping their room and the art room tidy. However, I do not come from the sticker generation. I did, to be fair, compete in science fairs, the county fair and writing contests to earn ribbons, badges and swag. One of my big wins early on was a science paper on ocean ecology in 8th grade and I won a day on the famous RV Calypso in the San Francisco Bay with four college students. Then there was a paper on how to protect the food habit for Komodo dragons in which I won a Nikon camera and a year's worth of film. Later in life I was focused on winning academic scholarships and then career awards for business, leadership, creative, and tech.
So, one of the reasons I love awards is it gives you credibility in a sea of competition and it also validates you as best in class. However, you need someone to also nominate you and if you don’t have a champion, then it’s DIY time. It’s common sense that if you don’t submit you won’t win, but here is how the process works. It can be grueling but it will be worth it when you can display the award on your top shelf and add to your marketing program materials—and maybe even close a new customer or partner deal.??
Recently I received the below email from a tech company in Atlanta that got me thinking a lot about awards—and there are many due in the coming months in a wide range of categories from innovation, AI, auto, sustainability, cloud, etc. so time to roll up your sleeves.?
“All of my competitors are winning awards for products and tech innovation, but we have not received any. Are they buying advertising to win?” — Show me the award
There are some pay-for-play awards in the marketplace and I even get solicited for “Top Leader,” “PR of the Year” and other business leadership awards, but I am wary of the ones that ask for a signature and fee with no application and you should be too!
There is no guarantee you will win every award, but it’s a bit of a numbers game. The more you submit the more you increase your chances to win!
A few myths to address: You don’t need to be venture-backed, some awards allow a concept or prototype and you are not paying for the physical award. With that said, LMGPR has won many awards for early-stage companies such as FireEye, Bastille, RealWear, Damon Motors, Butterfleye, Delfast, Kenmore & Brands, AirSelfie, UBTECH Robotics, Knightscope, Divergent 3D, Skyline Robotics, UVCeed, Monarch Tractor, Apollo Neuro, Skully, NEP Services, and more. Winning helped these companies close rival competitors, raise funding, sell product, hire talent, and garnered more editorial coverage.???
For those that have not submitted their company or product for an award, here are the basics to getting started:
Types of Awards
Company & Leadership Awards
These awards range from startups to public companies, fast growing, people and culture, conscious-driven, and agents of change.
Some of our favorite annual awards in this category are the Fast Company, Inc, Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Deloitte Technology 500, Time, Bloomberg, and Reuters. For early-stage companies I recommend the Tech Trailblazers, TiE50 Awards and Business Intelligence and Merit Awards.
Leadership Awards
The C-Suite, woman who lead, innovators, and customer best practice awards are vast and can include the Entrepreneur Magazine Rise and Leadership awards, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Stevie Awards in an array of categories, Business intelligence, CIO, AnitaB.Org Abie awards, and regional Business Journal awards.
Innovation
In the tech sector there are many innovation awards, but the ones that chart our list every year are the Edison Awards, Fast Company and Inventors Hall of Fame, Popular Science Best of What’s New, The Timmy Awards by Tech In Motion, and Business Intelligence. These are awards for breakthrough innovation, patents and first-of-its-kind risk takers.
Product
?If you are an early-stage company without a shipping product you won’t be eligible for product awards unless they ship in the allotted time frame. If you are a public company, you might be too large to apply for certain stage awards. So, if you want to make a Forbes, Fast Company, or Fortune award list, be prepared to provide the content, which can be vast.
Product reviews can also generate “Editors Pick'' and “First Look Status” at publications such as CNET, PC Magazine, Tech Radar, Tom’s Guide, Digital Trends, and USA Today. Wired does “Gear of the Year” and “Best of” lists. NY Times, WSJ, and consumer tech editors are constantly doing the Best of round ups to target them too.
Trade Shows
?These are great to get product recognition and typically have product awards for exhibitors including the SXSW Innovation, Mobile World Congress, Ai4, RSA Security and others. CES allows both members and nonmembers of CTA (Computer Technology Association) and non-exhibitors to apply.
Product Design
?The coveted product design awards are the Red Dot, Good Design, Designboom Design Prize, and Fast Company. Consumer tech categories include automotive, robotics, wellness/health, baby, home, and many more to choose from.
Analyst Firms
Frost & Sullivan has long since been the front runner for ? business and innovation awards for cutting-edge tech in b2b and consumer. Gartner’s Eye on Innovation and IDC Future Enterprise Awards are stringent but worth the submission process if your company is midsize. There is no fee but It does help to be a client and have some recognition by the analyst within the market domain.
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VIP Nominees Only
?Some awards you can’t submit yourself but need to be nominated by the awards commission. These awards include the annual WSJ Innovator Award, Solve for X Moonshot, World Economic Forum Crystal Awards, and the MIT Excellence Awards.
Jumping In
Do the Research
?Just like media relations, not every award is a match for your business.? There are several awards to research. Determine which award will best allow you to rise above the noise with customers, partners, and even venture firms. There might be some awards you can apply with your partners as well.
Read the Requirements
Business awards often have revenue requirements, product awards have shipping and general available restrictions, 40 under 40 and other specific age business awards have birth date eligibility and sometimes will ask for proof of identity.?
Choose the Right Category
Most awards have a variety of categories in business leadership, product and design so choose the one most fitting and look at prior winners.? You can also apply for multiple categories, but there is a fee for each submission and can get costly.?
Award Fees
These range from one flat fee to early-bird and final deadline fees. It’s always recommended to take advantage of the early-bird rates. Why would you want to pay more? Also, fees are not refundable as they pay for the time of the judging committee, awards marketing, awards assets, and events. This is similar to college admission fees that are also not refunded.?
Complete the Entire Form
Most of the digital award formats require you to complete sections before advancing to the next question. Others will require you to submit all at once. Top-tier awards often have a portal that you can upload, review and edit before the official deadline. Fast Company is an example of a great award portal with numerous options throughout the year.
Submitting to Win
?Take your time drafting the award submission. Some are quick Q&As and others require references, case studies, product specs, and even product submissions. Follow the word count if there is a limitation and be as precise as possible. Check, proof and check again and make sure everything is on point. I recommend a 3-4 week review process for internal review and, if there are third parties, 4-6 weeks.
Monitor Status
Most awards send updates mid-review and final selection. Some hold the suspense for a while and inform you of your finalist status. Some announce the winners and no updates in-between, so keep an eye on the award websites and social media.?
Judging Process
?The awards committees vary from committee board members, distinguished researchers, editorial staff, and business and science leaders. Typically, they do not include vendors so you can’t nominate yourself for the award.?
“An award is a validation for lots of hard work and taking the risk, challenge and reward stance every day not just for one milestone—but many” —Donna
At LMGPR we have earned numerous awards ourselves over the years including communications, creative and tech awards including Hermes, Davey, Best of Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley Women of Influence and Tech Leadership, PRSA, and others.
Again, if you don’t apply you don’t have a shot to win, so we highly recommend you do or call me and I can get your program started!
Take a listen to these podcasts to learn more about LMGPR’s agency and narrative story approach to building companies including award programs.
Schedule a free office hour consultation with Donna today at [email protected] to see how LMGPR can build your awards program with the right agency approach that matches your company.