Award-winning secrets
How to win awards and impress your friends, family and boss!
[Presenter Names Here]
“We aim above the mark to hit the mark.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Introductions
Name
Company Ever
entered an awards program before? What’s your biggest concern about entering?
Why enter?
#1 Peer feedback #2 Profile for you, your company, and your work amongst your peers (those who might hire or promote you next. :) #3 It’s more fun at the awards gala to be picking up some hardware #4 Learn, grow, enter again, learn some more, win lots of awards, become accredited!
Organizing your entry
Follow
instructions to the letter Organize your work plan to match the Call for Entries Address everything requested Do not exceed the number of pages allowed for the work plan Submit the work sample exactly as requested
About the judges
Explain
everything - keep social, political and geographic differences in mind (watch for acronyms, internal jargon, organization names)
Remember
judges are volunteers
The
judges want you to win - no limit to number of winners
How entries are judged
Panel
of peers - experienced communicators Usually all done on one day or in the evening Each entry judged twice - consensus on scores, comments are combined Work plan is judged first No work plan - disqualified
More on how entries are judged
Inadequate
work plan - non-winner Value of work plan ranges from 20% to 50% Seven-point scale where 4 is adequate Blue Wave standards are less demanding than Silver Leaf or Gold Quill
Preparing your Work Plan
Work Plan - Need
Put
your organization into context for the judges Link the goals and objectives of your project to those of the organization (how will you change something? -behaviour, profit, sales, sustainability... Provide details about your audience(s) - use demographics
Ask yourself: Does the plan describe how the need affects the organization?
The Work Plan, continued...
Work Plan - Goals & Objectives
Include
objectives of the project prior to its implementation Make sure your objectives are SMART (i.e. numbers, dollars, percentages, changes in behaviour) Provide budget and timeline
Ask yourself: Are the goals and objectives measurable? Do they relate to the goals of the organization?
The Work Plan, continued...
Work Plan - Execution
Describe
your approach- in particular, how you sold it to your client or management Make sure your role is clear (vs. suppliers or consultants) Describe limitations or challenges you faced
Ask yourself: Have I shown how clearly I kept in mind the objectives of the project and the organization?
The Work Plan, continued...
The Work Plan - Results
Describe the measurement plan and results Simple distribution of the work is not a satisfactory result Word of mouth is not good enough unless it’s formally measured (“the client liked it”)
Ask yourself: Have I shown how thorough the plan is to measure results? How well were the project’s goals and objectives met?
“One's first step in wisdom is to question everything - and one's last is to come to terms with everything.”
~Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
The Work Sample
Does
it reflect the work plan? Does it meet or exceed standards? Does it show imagination, innovation, uniqueness or originality?
What if I don’t win?
Judging
is subjective Review judges’ comments Come to the Blue Wave Gala to see what did win Try, try again
“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?”
- Jean Cocteau
What if I do win?
Celebrate! Make sure everyone knows… Don’t be shy! Book your table of tickets to the Blue Wave Awards Gala; bring your boss or client! Get ready to enter again (fine-tune) Consider your winning work as a first step to Accreditation
“I only stop when I'm full.”
- Andy Warhol