How to create an awards strategy

Most people don’t have a plan. They enter an award. And cry ‘foul play’ when it comes to nothing. I understand why. Creating an awards strategy requires careful planning, clear goals, and a thorough understanding of your organisation and its target audience. It takes time and patience. And it will reward you with a higher success rate.

What is an Awards Strategy?

A strategy is a plan of action. The word ‘strategy’ comes from ancient Greek. They used it in three contexts, one of which was “stratēgós”, “a general, the leader or commander of an army”. The art of the general is to have a grand plan (the strategy) that can be delivered over time using tactics.

An awards strategy needs to encompass all of the major tactics that you will deploy to win awards. This includes what your objectives are and what actions you anticipate taking to achieve them.

Why an Awards Strategy Matters

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face”, is one of Mike Tyson's most famous quotes. Business can get, well, busy. So busy that plans can get ignored and replaced. Crucially, it’s the thinking time that is important for an awards strategy, because winning awards is like piecing together a jigsaw. Right, that’s enough of analogies!

8 steps to creating your awards strategy

1.       Get curious - Check out awards that your competitors have won. Think about what awards you could win. The more curious you are, the more you will start to notice them elsewhere in your life; from schools to shops. Coffee to cars. Ask yourself, “what was their goal” and “how are they using their awards to their advantage?”

2.       Research – Start within your sector. What awards are there? When are they? What categories do they offer? What are the timelines? Who organises them? Who wins them? What other awards do the organisers organiser? Make notes. Mine normally end up as a table in order of interest, which I’ll later shuffle in date order.

3.       Clarify Your Purpose - Why do you want to win awards? What purpose will they solve? There are external purposes such as to increase brand credibility, add brand visibility, provide networking opportunities, promote a specific product or service or to help stand out from your competitors. But there can often be important internal motivations too, such as to celebrate your workplace, help build internal morale, shine a spotlight on a specific area of your organisation to celebrate their work and help motivate others.

4.       Set SMART Goals - There are loads of resources out there on goal setting, so I’ll say no more than please ensure you have set SMART goals to measure the success of your awards strategy.

5.       Align your goals with award types – This is when you decide whether to enter awards that are:

• Industry specific or industry agnostic - For example I am a judge at the UK Business Awards where the categories are much wider than for industry-specific awards.

• Local or global - Whether you focus on local, national, or international awards will depend upon your objectives.

• The Oscars or the others – Every sector has an Oscars equivalent. Find them. And then look at the others too. They will range from (a few) ‘everyone is a winner’ to (lots of) perfectly good, reputable awards that people jump for joy when they are shortlisted or win.

6.       Draw up a long list – I normally include up to 15. Prioritise and rank them.

7.       Create a short list – It’s time to choose your top five. To help you, examine each in more depth:

• Eligibility – Do you fit the criteria and qualifications?

• Submission Deadlines – What are they? Do they work for you this time around?

• Entry requirements – What are the word count for any written submissions? Are any other requirements, such as videos or product samples viable?

• Viability - How good a fit is the award category with your objective? Can you back up your answers with evidence?

• Cost – As well as the entry fee, make a note how the awards are given out. If there is a ceremony, then budget for this.

• Resources Vs reward - Is it worth it?

8.    Prioritise your short list – Then pitch it for approval, unless you’re the boss, in which case, sleep on it and decide as quickly as possible so that you can lock the key dates in your diary and take the next step. 

In my next blog: I'll explain how to write an award winning entry.