Awards: worth the time & effort?

WRITTEN BY LANNA HILL

Something we get asked about a lot at Leverage are awards. Are they worth the time and effort to apply, do they really matter in the grand scheme of things? How do you know which awards are considered credible, and which ones won’t do you (or your brand) any favours?

Here are our two cents on how you can navigate the world of business or industry awards, and what you should consider before throwing your hat in the ring.

Ask yourself why you’re nominating yourself for an award (and what you’ll do with that if you win!).

And firstly, nominating yourself or your organisation for an award is not something to feel ashamed about! Awards are a great way to highlight your credibility and authority in your field, expose your brand to new audiences and create a stronger point of difference from others in your industry. There are many valid reasons to consider awards as part of your overall growth strategy – but being clear about your objectives going into this process is critical – especially as you will need to invest time and money to go through the process, especially if you want to do it well! The other thing to consider is what you will do with the award if you win! Make sure you have a PR and/or comms strategy to leverage the award and maximise the brand awareness and exposure from the exercise.

Not all awards are created equal.

One thing to remind yourself of is that awards are, almost always, an income-generating exercise for the businesses running them. If you’re new to an industry, speak to others who have been around longer than you, and find out the awards that are seen as credible within your business community. Whilst it might be tempting to apply for an award simply for the sake of it, an award with more industry credibility, and a more stringent process is far more likely to give you more long-term recognition, both within your industry and outside of it.

Be realistic about your ability to put forward a successful application.

Some awards have in-depth nomination processes – helping clients with their award writing and proofreading is something we do at Leverage, for exactly this reason! Being able to communicate the things you or your company does really well isn’t always easy – an objective eye may be worth the investment to assist your organisation in creating a submission that will catch the attention of those that matter. Consider the criteria realistically – if the award is really important to you and your business or brand, sometimes it’s a matter of being able to collate a more convincing portfolio, achieve more media engagements, or complete more projects for clients to be able to give you the best chance at success.