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