It's an interesting conversation. Personally, I've never been driven to put forward my work for an award, however, I'd say that there are pros and cons.
Let me start with my version of the Cons (your essay covers lots): entry price; table price; sometimes with the awarding bodies I'm like, Who?; also the judging panel might not be diverse (which is a total failure by the organising body/org, and attendees should be more activate in looking out for these things and highlighting this and choosing not submit - one example (name and shame) is www.engageawards.co.uk - not one single person of colour in the 21 person judging panel. What's that about? When I've flagged these things before, some have said that they couldn't find anyone #lame); tons of made-up awards (because these orgs want to make some money).
Now for the Pros: most IC folk I know do what they do not for external awards but for internal engagement. The awards are a secondary thing to do post-event, campaign/comms. Therefore, it's an opportunity for team recognition against peers outside of the business and industry. That's a lovely feeling to pit your work against others and hear about what others are doing. Not all awards are that expensive, some are even FREE. I was surprised to see Gartner's one is Free (https://www.gartner.com/en/about/awards/marketing-and-communications-awards). There's some decent well regarded orgs running awards, so align yourself with the good ones and maybe be judged by IC superstars to get your name out there. But most importantly, a night to let your hair down (or really put it up) and get dressed up for an evening of entertainment, fun, laughter, enjoyment, maybe having a dance, and potentially collecting a trophy. It's a good excuse for a night out after all the hours and hard work you and your teams have put in. Bump into peers in your network and have a good natter.
At the end of the day, if you don't have the cash, don't bother. If however, there's budget and you build a fair case as to why you should spend the money, why not. It's not your personal money. Be driven for the right reasons and don't waste them, is what I've taken from your essay. Thank you for sharing.
A list of some of the UK award events I found (some I trust and some I'd question):
You raise very good points, which I can't argue with too much, especially the part about having a night out and celebrating good, hard work. You make a fair case for submitting for the awards -- especially the free ones!! -- but I'll maintain your time is better spent elsewhere. Thanks for your comments!
From the outside looking in, I could never see how winning an industry award led toward anything. I didn't know you had to pay to play (similar to those 40 under 40 lists). A comms executive leader told me a few years back, "yeah, we're not going to bother with those."
In earlier drafts I removed "pay to play" and "purchase" to be a little less prickly. Much like the "Best Company to Work For If You're [insert demographic]" "awards" people can spot pay to play when they see it. And then is it really an award?
It's an interesting conversation. Personally, I've never been driven to put forward my work for an award, however, I'd say that there are pros and cons.
Let me start with my version of the Cons (your essay covers lots): entry price; table price; sometimes with the awarding bodies I'm like, Who?; also the judging panel might not be diverse (which is a total failure by the organising body/org, and attendees should be more activate in looking out for these things and highlighting this and choosing not submit - one example (name and shame) is www.engageawards.co.uk - not one single person of colour in the 21 person judging panel. What's that about? When I've flagged these things before, some have said that they couldn't find anyone #lame); tons of made-up awards (because these orgs want to make some money).
Now for the Pros: most IC folk I know do what they do not for external awards but for internal engagement. The awards are a secondary thing to do post-event, campaign/comms. Therefore, it's an opportunity for team recognition against peers outside of the business and industry. That's a lovely feeling to pit your work against others and hear about what others are doing. Not all awards are that expensive, some are even FREE. I was surprised to see Gartner's one is Free (https://www.gartner.com/en/about/awards/marketing-and-communications-awards). There's some decent well regarded orgs running awards, so align yourself with the good ones and maybe be judged by IC superstars to get your name out there. But most importantly, a night to let your hair down (or really put it up) and get dressed up for an evening of entertainment, fun, laughter, enjoyment, maybe having a dance, and potentially collecting a trophy. It's a good excuse for a night out after all the hours and hard work you and your teams have put in. Bump into peers in your network and have a good natter.
At the end of the day, if you don't have the cash, don't bother. If however, there's budget and you build a fair case as to why you should spend the money, why not. It's not your personal money. Be driven for the right reasons and don't waste them, is what I've taken from your essay. Thank you for sharing.
A list of some of the UK award events I found (some I trust and some I'd question):
https://www.allthingsic.com/have-your-work-recognised-this-year-through-these-internal-comms-awards/
https://cipr.co.uk/CIPR/CIPR/Awards_.aspx
https://www.ioic.org.uk/awards/
https://www.communicatemagazine.com/awards/
https://simply-communicate.com/event/the-simplys-digital-ic-awards-2023/
https://www.boc-uk.com/awards/ic-brilliance-awards/
https://corpcommsawards.co.uk/corpcommsawards2023/en/page/home
(who?) https://www.engagementexcellence.com/
(BOO! for the lack of diversity in the judging panel) https://www.engageawards.co.uk/
(US) https://www.ragan.com/awards/employee-communications-awards/2023/
(US) https://www.gartner.com/en/about/awards/marketing-and-communications-awards
You raise very good points, which I can't argue with too much, especially the part about having a night out and celebrating good, hard work. You make a fair case for submitting for the awards -- especially the free ones!! -- but I'll maintain your time is better spent elsewhere. Thanks for your comments!
From the outside looking in, I could never see how winning an industry award led toward anything. I didn't know you had to pay to play (similar to those 40 under 40 lists). A comms executive leader told me a few years back, "yeah, we're not going to bother with those."
In earlier drafts I removed "pay to play" and "purchase" to be a little less prickly. Much like the "Best Company to Work For If You're [insert demographic]" "awards" people can spot pay to play when they see it. And then is it really an award?