Why Awards are Essential
Industry awards are essential across all sectors, serving as a cornerstone for achieving industry recognition and creating brand awareness. By securing awards, companies can significantly enhance their competitive edge and foster greater client, employee and partner confidence. The visibility gained from awards can attract new talent, retain existing clients and play a vital role in building and maintaining customer trust, making them a key element in a company’s overall strategy for success and sustainability. Awards should be a part of a company’s strategic marketing plan, identifying the most viable and impactful awards to achieve their goals.
Small steps to your Giant success
The first step towards becoming an award-winning entity involves a strategy. Tapping into industry expertise to understand how and where to position for recognition and success is crucial. A strategy identifies the awards which best align with your company’s goals, values, image, and brand. The second step involves nominating and submitting entries. Adhering to specific criteria, compiling the appropriate information about your company, dedicating the necessary time and meeting submission deadlines is key. The final step is promotion. How do you position your award in the media and marketplace? Having a public relations plan is part of this strategy, mapping out a how to capitalize on the relevance and immediate attention of an award and setting the narrative. These small steps enhance your success, ensuring your achievement is highlighted and receives the recognition it deserves.
Q&A with PR Specialist on Awards
Q: How do awards contribute to a company’s marketing and PR strategy?
A: Just going through the award nomination process can help capture your company’s culture and capabilities. A solid submittal write-up can be repurposed in a variety of ways, from the company website to social media or even internal project recaps. Winning awards immediately gives your company credibility among your peers. If the award is for a project, publicizing the award allows your company to solidify relationships with those partner companies that were also involved in the winning project. Many awards programs come with some editorial opportunities, which are valuable. The costs to submit for an award are typically lower than an ad placement, so earning coverage by being an award winner is a great value.
Q: Can you explain the direct impact of industry awards on a company’s brand image and reputation?
A: Awards give your company immediate credibility and raise your profile. It shows that your company is either a good place to work, has strong, capable leadership or does work that stands out from the competition.
Q: In what ways do awards impact employee morale and recruitment?
A: Companies are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. Awards can be that difference maker that gives your company the edge in employee retention and attraction. Also, a company that is regularly awarded for its culture, leadership or project work likely has employees that are engaged and bought in on the culture the company is trying to cultivate.
Q: What steps should companies take after winning an award to maximize its benefits?
A: The simple steps are promoting the win on social media, on the company website or in company correspondence with clients or employees. Major awards can be highlighted in email signatures and company letterhead, as well as prominently on the company website. These award wins can also be highlighted in RFPs and RFQs to show the company has the culture, leadership and skill to deliver high-quality results.
