Being shortlisted for an award brings recognition and an opportunity to celebrate a great piece of work, a fantastic organisation, team or individual.
It can motivate employees, promote your business to new customers, and act as an endorsement for your organisation.
It can also help you to evaluate your work, compare yourself to competitors and even identify areas for improvement.
All those shortlisted receive a logo to help them shout about their success. Even better, you might even win!
If you’re thinking of entering the Creative Moment Awards there are a few things to consider when planning and completing your entry that will give you the best chance of success.
Here are some thoughts which we hope you find useful...
Follow the entry instructions. The awards website includes an Entry Kit that you can download. You should also read the ‘Terms & Conditions’ of entry. Take note of the format your entry needs to be in, the time limits for work entered, how to make payment for your entry, the word count and deadline date. Judges don’t take kindly to incorrect or late entries!
Pick the right category. You won’t have a chance of winning if you enter your work into the wrong category – read the category descriptions and if you are still unsure, give us a call as we’re happy to offer advice. Remember that you aren’t restricted to entering one category. If your campaign fits into more than one you can enter the same work into as many as you wish, but do ensure you tailor each entry form to the specific category criteria.
Read the judging criteria. Ensure your entry covers the judging criteria for the category you are entering and answers all questions for your category. Judges can only mark you on what is included in your entry form so make sure all important information is included and all criteria adhered to. This leads on to the next point…
Stick within the word limit. Judges may mark entries down, or even disqualify them, if they exceed the stated word limit. Please ensure your answers are clear and succinct. Judges love clear, concise entries – use bullet points or infographics to effectively illustrate points.
Link your results to your objectives. If there is one thing that judges hate, it’s when outcomes don’t bear any relation to the objectives.
- Evidence your results. Judges love quantified results and want to see some proof of what you’ve achieved – include facts and figures, testimonials, and even images or infographics.
Get the judges attention. Remember that judges will be reading a large number of entries, so you need to make your entry memorable. Make sure your entry is passionate, tells an interesting story and is backed up with statistics and evidence.
Watch your language! Always write in clear, concise English, avoid jargon and never copy and paste from existing materials. Do ask someone to check your entry reads well and is free of typos.
Take your time. Winning award entries take time and effort to write and perfect. Again, we’d highly recommend you get someone to proofread your entry before you submit it.
Get approval. If you are submitting work on behalf of a client, make sure they are happy for you to do so. It would not be fun to spend days writing an entry and then have to withdraw it.
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Provide supporting materials. Use a selection of documents and URLs to provide context and background to your entry. These can be in Word, Excel, PDF or JPEG format and must be below 2MB each. In addition, judges love to watch video content so please provide links to relevant videos on Vimeo or YouTube and remember to include any necessary passwords in your entry form.
Picture perfect. Attach an image or logo to your entry form. This will be used in the event presentation should you be shortlisted. Ensure this represents the campaign, product or organisation you are entering.