18 Feb How to Apply and WIN Top Awards for Your Organization

How to Apply and WIN Top Awards for Your Organization

Ah, award season is upon us. Your organization has been doing spectacular things and now it’s time to show the world. Not to mention, being an award-winning company isn’t too shabby either. But, have you been applying for awards only to be a finalist some of the time, or not even make it that far? Perhaps you’ve put in endless hours into the process only to receive the canned and dreaded ‘thank you for submitting’ response. Awards can be costly to apply for in addition to time-consuming and even frustratingly disappointing when hopes are high.

That’s why we’re here to shed light on our top secrets for not just applying for awards, but actually winning!

Once you’ve mapped out the top coveted awards you wish to apply for, employ these top secrets for major success.

Secret #1: Be judgmental. Check out who will be the audience judging awards, not just the criteria. Is it a professional panel? Do you follow them on their social media? Do you have an understanding of their expertise and what they might be looking for? Perhaps it’s open to the general public, and in that case, what would be relevant to them? Really understanding your judging audience before writing a single word for the application process will be a vital piece to submitting an award-winning application. Always start with your judging audience.

Secret #2: Know the lingo. Is your award more professional in tone or can it have a spark of personality? Are you picking up on keywords used in the instructions for applying (perhaps there are certain phrases used that illustrate a feeling of what the award panel is looking for)? For example, we’ve seen Human Resource awards lean toward metrics and wanting detail on human capital to other awards focusing on how the HR executive led others through a changing corporate culture. These awards are completely different and need to be handled as such.

Secret #3: Give a nod to previous winners. Looking back at past winning applications provides essential information that sometimes cannot be conveyed in the submitting instructions. Take a look at their style, length, detail, and make note of elements that you believe can be successfully emulated in your application. We strongly caution to never copy anyone else’s award, verbiage, or style, but having an idea of what has won in the past gives excellent insight into what it takes to win. After all, we’re trying to win the award, not just submit another application.

Secret #4: Play the devil’s advocate. Have additional team members involved in the writing and editing process and get their feedback on what they like and don’t about the first draft of the application. Getting critical editing feedback is a vital part of the process. We sometimes put our awards through more than 20 rounds of critical editing before ever sending a final to a client. It takes being thorough as well as critical to have a refined and award-winning product.

Secret #5: Get the worm. There’s no evidence on what we’re about to suggest here; but, we strongly believe in submitting your award earlier than the deadline by a minimum of 24 hours makes a difference. While it may not be proven to affect the judging process, it will certainly impact the writing and stress levels involved if you know you have some padding in terms of your submission deadline. No one enjoys being under the pressure of final editing or review with only a few minutes to spare. This type of tension will likely result in errors, missed steps, or even components of the application to be missed altogether (which can lead to disqualification). Avoid the stress and have an internal deadline to submit earlier than the actual deadline; always.

Awards can be stressful, laborious and a real letdown or they can be a regular highlight and means of celebratory news for your business. The details are in the application process and by utilizing the five secrets shared in this article, we hope to change how your organization views award submissions.

Our firm helps organizations win awards on a regular basis. We cheer and get very excited when our clients win and we celebrate their success. We have the process down to a science and want your organization to be highlighted for doing great things.

If you would like support with award-winning applications, feel free to give us a shout at info@nspublicrelations.com.