Back for its 6th year, the Performance Marketing Awards recognises excellence and innovation within a sector that has grown impressively year-on-year. With the number of award entries received also increasing, the importance of creating your entry in a way that hits the spot in a punctual manner is one that shouldn’t be considered lightly.
Based on last year’s entries I’ve created a round-up of do’s, don’ts, tips and pointers to keep your chances at a premium of walking away on the 7th May with a Performance Marketing Award.
Know What You’re Entering Meets Criteria
First and foremost – read the entry criteria page in full!
It may seem daft, but we’ve seen entries come through in the past that have absolutely nothing to do with the particular award they’ve entered. Make sure you read each category description carefully to understand fully the award you are about to enter – if you still have questions after this, then by all means e-mail me or drop us a line.
Ensure your campaign is eligible – The judging period for your entry must specifically detail activity between the 1st January 2012 – 31st January 2013 – if you use any other dates within this your entry won’t be eligible. You cannot re-enter the same campaign as last year, unless there have been notable or significant changes in that activity.
Multiple categories can be entered off the back of the same campaign, however you must personalise each submission and tailor it for the award you are entering.
TIP: Don’t forget about the vertical award categories!
Supporting Evidence – supply only 2 pages maximum of supporting evidence, which must be relevant and adds value to your entry. Previous examples of successful supporting evidence include campaign snapshots, testimonials, photos and videos. Un-successful examples (and ones that will be marked down) include a 40-page PowerPoint presentation, saved down as a PDF and submitted!
Failure to supply revenue figures or other elements that have been clearly requested on the entry criteria page have previously resulted in being deciding factors for winning and losing awards. For anything regarded as sensitive data please ensure it is clearly marked Judges Eyes Only – otherwise it might end up in the winners guide!
Entry Writing Tips
- Put yourself in the shoes of our judges – they spend on average 3 full days digesting hundreds of entries. Therefore keep them to the point and be short, snappy and specific.
- Keep your Executive Summary down to 2 pages maximum – judges are well in their rights to penalise lengthy entries.
- Demonstrate how you achieved your success.
- Think about what makes you unique.
- Remember the core values of the awards; to demonstrate excellence, innovation and best practice.
- Include hard figures and not just percentage increases.
- Testimonials from clients can add credibility (but do leave plenty of time for sign off!)
- Convert your entry to PDF to avoid styling issues.
Common Mistakes
- Lack of perceived effort (simple spelling, layout, design issues)
- Lack of ROI demonstrated
- Not referring your results back to your objectives
- Not leaving enough time for client sign-off
- Entry does not qualify for eligibility period (1st Jan 2012 – 31st Jan 2013)
Other Information to Note
If clarification is needed on a particular entry / set of entries, we may telephone you for further information.
For 2013 we have created a number of templates for the different awards, should this be of interest to you. Even if you don’t use the templates, it’s worth having a look to get an idea of the headings you should be using in your own entry templates! You can download them all here.
Important Deadlines:
- 31st January 2013 – Entry Deadline
- 7th February 2013 – Extended Entry Deadline*
- 11th February until 15h March – Voting Open for Industry Achievement Awards
- w/c 4th March – Shortlist Announced
- 7th May – Performance Marketing Awards 2013 – Park Lane, London.
If you have any further questions about the entry criteria for the awards, then drop me an e-mail on chris@existem.com or call the office on 0117 203 3012. For any event queries, drop events@existem.com a mail.
Happy Writing – and I look forward to seeing you at the Grosvenor House Hotel on the 7th May 2013 for the 6th annual Performance Marketing Awards Ceremony.
