Creating a winning award entry
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Transcript of Creating a winning award entry
Creating a Winning Award Entry
Top 5 Tips
Ross Sturley
Creating a Winning Award Entry
Five top tips
1.Read the instructions
2.Hit the deadline
3.Trust the Judges
4.Look at last year’s winners
5.Hit the judging criteria
Case Study: What I did to Win
Andrew Cushing
Sales Packs briefingCreating a winning award
entry
Build Center Case Study
Contents
Background & key themesMotivation‘You can’t polish a turd’Answer the questionAgency managementPresentationMultiple entriesNumbers, numbers, numbersDon’t give up
• Build Center was a leading national builders merchant, part of Wolseley
• Struggled badly during recession but strong recovery in profitability
• A key element was customer focus, direct marketing and loyalty
• Acquired by Saint Gobain in November 2011
Background
• Created a direct marketing led customer loyalty programme called ‘Spend & Save’
• Created differentiation, execution was good, every angle covered
• Totally measureable– Acquisition, Sales uplift, Cross selling– Response rates– ROI
• Delivered great results• Blood, sweat & tears went into it, and we were very
proud• Entered Strategic Marketing and Best Use of DM
Key themes
• Ask why you are doing this?
• What do you want to get out of it?
Motivation
It may seem obvious, but you are only likely to win if the project/campaign is genuinely ‘stand out’
You can’t polish a turd
• Each category has a set of specific criteria• The judges will be awarding scores against each
criteria• Some are more equal than others• But answer each of the criteria• Layout your entry so it corresponds to the
criteria
Answer the question
• Our entry was a joint entry with our direct marketing agency
• My tips for success on this are:– The client needs to be in control and provide clear
direction (draft 1 felt like an ‘agency of the year’ submission!)
– Get someone to write the copy who hasn’t been involved
– Remember you are pitching this to someone who may know nothing about your business
Agency Management
• Spend some time on the design and layout
• Set out the sections in response to the award criteria
• Highlight key messages • Use appropriate images• Use charts/graphs to explain
concepts• Present the results clearly• Use a client testimonial
Presentation
• We won 2 categories• The underlying campaign
was the same• We tailored the content
according to the different criteria
Multiple entries
Numbers, numbers, numbers
• It helps if you work for an FD• Explain the results as you
would a business case• What are the objectives?• How are you going to
measure success against these objectives?
• Clearly explain the results achieved, especially ROI, therefore you must include the costs
• I’ve lost more than I’ve won
• I’ve got better• Back to motivation –
‘what do you want to get out of the process’
Don’t give up
Milking the Win
David Ing
By David Ing / @davidinguk / #cimcigwin
We’re Experts at Milking the Shortlist
1. It starts with the shortlist being announced - Start
shouting as soon as you have been shortlisted!
2. The night of the awards do – Use Twitter!
3. Immediately promote awards – use all of your
comms channels: PR, website, newsletters
4. Year long activities / promotion – include
appropriate references in your newsletters,
literature, tenders…
4 Key Opportunities
• Use every tool in your marketing toolbox!• PR• Social Media• Newsletters• Internal
announcements / Intranet
• Literature• Website• Tenders• Business stationery
Marketing Tools
A Few Ideas – Email Signatures
A Few Ideas – Judges Comments
“The project is a triumph of good sense”
“A great example of how most construction will be done in the future… today!”
“… has demonstrated a clear commitment to creating a sustainable, low carbon manufacturing business"
A Few Ideas – Hoardings, Signs, Vehicle Livery
• Entered 3 awards this year – shortlisted in Building Awards,
H&V News Awards & Sustain Awards• Won Sustain award
Case Study 1: Balfour Beatty Engineering Services
• Promoted all via website, internal announcements, PR,
newsletters, tenders, etc
Case Study 1: Balfour Beatty Engineering Services
• Awards are the company’s single most important
marketing activity• It provides them with: -
• Differentiation• Third party endorsement of their commitment
to safety• Help in creating client confidence
Case Study 2: Cantillon Demolition
• So far this year …• A fourth consecutive RoSPA Gold Award for
‘Health & Safety Management’• The ‘Demolition Safety’ & ‘Contractor of the
Year’ Awards at the World Demolition Summit• The ‘Health & Safety’ category at the
Construction News Specialist Awards
Case Study 2: Cantillon Demolition
• They promote their award wins and shortlists …• In their newsletters• On their website• In their site offices• In their tenders• Through PR• Via email marketing• Through staff notices
Case Study 2: Cantillon Demolition
Case Study 3: Framework CDM
• Two major achievements – key project won a RIBA
award and won ‘Offsite Specialist’ at the Building
Awards• References were included throughout company’s
literature
• It starts with the shortlist being announced• Don’t forget to tell staff – they are as important as
your customers• Use the shortlist logo in as many places as
possible• Display the trophies where they are going to be
seen• Use judges comments and quotes• Remember, the award has no expiry date –
promote it all year long
Summary
Five More Top Tips
Ross Sturley
Creating a Winning Award Entry
Five more top tips
6.Keep it brief
7.Get the judges attention
8.Put people in it
9.Make it pretty
10.Don’t do it on the side
11. Good luck!
Creating a Winning Award Entry