Crafting a Winning Awards Entry - a4uAwards 2011

Writing Effective Award Entries
Avoiding the common pitfalls by Matthew Wood, founder a4uAwards

New for 2011
Best use of…. Social Media and Mobile
Hot shot rising star award (under 30 years of age)
International Award (for excellence)
Best Managed Affiliate Programme
Network Excellence Awards
What about the community choice awards?
Scaled back except the ‘Community choice of Network’
Blog award on hold but may return in the future

The right category
Think carefully about selection
Don’t forget the vertical awards (casino & gaming or travel historically under-represented whilst Retail is very popular)
Enter multiple categories to boost your chances, however ensure you personalise each submission
Check eligibility carefully especially when your activity has taken place
Second time lucky?
You are unable to re-enter unless there have been notable enhancements

Writing an effective entry
Put yourself in the judges shoes (judges marking all categories spend on average 3 full days + digesting hundreds of entries)
Be short, snappy and specific
Aim for 2 pages max, size 10 font minimum
Include 1 or 2 pages of supporting evidence (only if relevant)
Stand out from the crowd
Demonstrate how you achieved your success

What to include
Think about what makes you unique
Equally, do demonstrate Innovation, excellence and best practice
Demonstration of ROI is a must
Include hard figures and not just % increases
Testimonials from clients can add credibility
Remember
All judges sign an NDA agreement, mark anything not for publication as ‘Judges eyes only’ else we may publish it in the winners guide or on the night
Please convert to PDF
With some awards we will telephone you for further quantitative information

Need Inspiration?
Learn from last year’s winners
The 2010 winners guide contains details of each award, who won and why
Search for blogs written by judges about their experience
Remember our core mission ‘to reward excellence and innovation’

Judging criteria
Clear Campaign Objectives
Provide evidence of clear, well thought out objectives and overall strategy for the campaign or product
Innovation and Uniqueness
Demonstrate to judges innovation and uniqueness used within the specified activity
Feasibility
Define the need, drivers, opportunity and commercial feasibility for the campaign
Smart Execution
Briefly describe how your strategy was executed and what made it stand out
Success and ROI
Clearly show ROI from the campaign (figures) and ultimately why it was a success

Common mistakes
Lack of ROI demonstrated
Lack of perceived effort (simple spelling, layout, design)
Not adhering to the rules of submission
Not leaving enough time for client sign-off / general preparation
Remember
All activity must be related to the period 1st January 2010 to 31st January 2011
Submissions cannot re-submitted unless significant developments have taken place

Timeframe
31st January 2011 – Submission deadline
7th February 2011 – Extension for late entries
1st March 2011 – Shortlist announced
17th May 2011 – The Awards
Is late entry possible?
Yes, but it’s a ruddy pain and as per other industry awards attracts a £50 late entry admin fee.

Questions?
Follow a4uAwards
twitter @a4u
blog @ a4uawards.com/blog
Subscribe to the affiliates4u newsletter
Call me on 01172 033 009

Crafting a Winning Awards Entry - a4uAwards 2011

by a4u on Nov 30, 2010

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Crafting a Winning Awards Entry - a4uAwards 2011 Presentation Transcript