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Friday ramble: A bit more American, a bit less British

Friday ramble: A bit more American, a bit less British

We seem to be in full swing business award season at the moment. Whether it’s local, regional, national or industry business awards, there seems to be a constant stream of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn updates full of awards pictures and winner information from events across the UK.

Is it me or, as the years go by, are we as businesses becoming more confident when it comes to shouting about ourselves and the good things that we are doing? And is this a good thing? Well, my opinion is, yes!

Some say it’s very American to ‘big up’ yourself and that it could turn some customers off. I say, it’s a crowded market place and therefore, from a customer point of view, it’s about making your voice heard. Going for business awards is part of this. The associated marketing and promotion that goes with being shortlisted – or winning - is invaluable from a PR point of view.

We are still in tough economic times and, more than ever, customers are being more savvy about the companies that they choose to buy products and services from. They want more from brands. Whether it’s better customer service, more environmental credentials, innovative products etc. For many customers, a company being a recognised award ‘nominee’ or indeed ‘winner’ is the tick in the box that’s needed for the sale to proceed.

Part of the work we do day-to-day is researching and discussing specific awards with our clients. Having long term relationships with a lot of our clients means that we can take much of the leg work out of award selection and nomination for them. We are their PR agency and therefore have our fingers on the pulse when it comes to their businesses marketing and PR.

And due to our experience of assisting our clients with creating award-winning nominations over the past 8 years, we are often asked to advise businesses on pre-written nominations. Questions such as ‘does my nomination contain all of the information that the judges might be looking for?’, ‘what supporting information is needed?’, ‘how should I present my information? etc. are often asked and we can respond to these quickly.

The common reason that I believe companies don’t go for awards is due to being concerned about it being ‘a waste of time’ - especially if they aren’t shortlisted.

But believe me when I say that gathering information on specific aspects of, or people in, your company is never a waste of time. When it comes to PR this information can be used in many ways and often provides a base platform for many other PR tactics such as editorial, internal communications, speaking opportunities and much more.

So go on, enter that award that you think you might have a chance of winning. You really have got nothing to lose!

NOTE FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE BUSINESSES: The deadline for the Diamond Jubilee Gloucestershire business awards is Friday 3rd August. There’s still time! For award categories and to register your interest click here. 

 

Tags: Awards; business awards

This entry was posted on 20 July 2012 at 13:25 and is filed under Friday Rambles. You can leave a response here.

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