Being a part of an “award-winning” firm is something to showcase and feature in your company’s presentations to potential clients. While we’re all overwhelmed with award shows in every possible category, the benefits of being able to point to your awards is invaluable. Having awards makes it easier to sell your business – you have already convinced a jury that you are worthwhile and this neutral party is sometimes the nudge your clients need to validate your services. But how do you take your work from being worthy of entering a competition, to being worthy of an award?

Recently Karen Albritton judged the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil Awards and wrote this excellent article with a few great tips on how to succeed in winning awards and what a judge is looking for. A few of the highlights from the article include:

• Research matters. Great campaigns begin with insight and insight comes from research. Lack of research was the most pervasive challenge for the entries I judged.
• Media impressions alone aren’t results. Award-worthy campaigns deliver a business or an organizational impact. Most clients are clamoring for real metrics and will be delighted to have their agency come to them with ideas on how to measure business impact.
• You can’t win on execution alone. Most campaigns today integrate multiple communications channels including media relations, events, collateral materials, social media and even advertising.

• Ideas over tactics. There is no substitute for a big idea — a big idea derived from an insight into your audience that is linked to strategy. Understand the power of an idea and how to package it.

(photo nasa hq photo)