Some things can be so simple that it may seem like stating the obvious but when it’s written down it can become a mantra to remember. The sporting equivalent of the phrase, ‘you have to be in it to win it,’ applies equally well in the world of advertising awards and it is ‘to win it, you have to enter it.’
Enter the Awards
It may be fairly obvious but to achieve any success at all in the world of accolades, the first stage is to enter the awards in the first place. What might not be quite so obvious is that there are literally hundreds of awards around the globe in both the areas of radio advertising and radio programming that any hopeful winner can initially be eligible for, secondly to enter and subsequently hopefully win. Relevant award ceremonies with appropriate radio categories include:
- The Ariel Awards
- London International Advertising Awards
- New York Festivals
- Mobius
- The Ariels
- Chassis Awards
- Creative Circle
- Design and Art Directors Awards
- Yorkshire Publicity Awards
- British Recruitment Awards
- Scottish Advertising Awards
- Cresta Awards
- The Advertising Festival
The above is by no means an exhaustive list and a search of most advertising, marketing, and business awards may reveal relevant categories that will accept radio commercial entries.
Types of Award Ceremonies
The categories of many awards and their Call For Entries might not be immediately obvious or titled “Radio,” but a quick glance down the list may reveal opportunities that at first wouldn’t at first be calling for radio entries. Award ceremonies may be categorised as:
- By location: International, National, Regional and (more) Local Awards
- By Industry: (common ones are) e.g. Automotive, Replacement Windows, Recruitment and Medical
- By specialisation: Audio and Sound recording,
- Media Trade Awards: Magazines, TV, the Radio Industry, and more recently the Internet
So examining not only the name of the award ceremony, but individual categories within each award ceremony may reveal opportunities to enter and of course to win an award well worth pursuing for success. Some awards are more prestigious than others and the competition therefore more intense, but generally winning any award has few in any drawbacks.
Read the Guidelines
Time spent in preparing the entry will reap benefits. Many entries fall foul when the entrant simply doesn’t read the conditions of entry and puts the chance of success in jeopardy even before their work reaches the judges. As in any examination, if the exam question is not answered then the exam is failed. An award entry that could stand a great chance of winning, may be rejected at the first stage for failure to attend to details. These details for any radio commercial entry could include:
- Enter the correct category.
- Only enter relevant commercials or campaigns into relevant award ceremonies.
- It may (or may not) be possible to enter the same commercial in several categories
- Ensure the right commercial in the right length or duration as dictated.
- Enter in the correct format, with any accompanying material requested
- Enclose the appropriate paperwork and payment where appropriate
- Mark the entry clearly and carefully (if it gets lost it won’t be entered)
- Enter well before the deadline dates.
It’s useful and increases the chances of winning to make as many entries as possible, to as many categories. This will be tempered both by budget and by the area of possible entry categories. The judges and entry committee will generally not make allowances for breaches of guidelines but some will re-categorise entries or advise entrants with their submissions. Take their advice!
Listen to Previous Winners
It’s usually possible to listen to the work and result of previous winning entries; both the finalists and the winners. This is great way to get some idea of the standard of past entries and the expectations of the judges. Promotion of the awards is a very important to the organisers. It increases the award’s kudos among the entrants and the entrant’s contacts; it increases the number of entries; and t increases any potential revenue and profit.
Judges are human beings. Many judges are aware of the past results of winners, possibly the history of the awards, and what that particular award means both to the recipient and to status of the award itself. Some judging is completed in one particular place, while other awards are judged remotely with copies of the entries sent to the judges for consideration. Every award ceremony is different and the more well known the award, the bigger an occasion the actual presentations will be for the winners, finalists and entrants.
One thing all awards have in common is that ‘The decision of the judges is final.’
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