From brand awareness to increased visibility, credibility and even attracting new hires or clients entering industry awards can offer many benefits for start-ups or established tech leaders to receive recognition for their innovations or organisation.

But with hundreds of national and regional awards dedicated towards celebrating tech, when do you decide to invest in awards and where do you even start?

Which industry awards do you enter?🔗

With so many industry awards out there, it’s understandably a difficult thing to navigate and there are plenty of criticisms about some award events, particularly when it comes to trust.

And that’s completely understandable, there are some to definitely be wary of, but that’s why you need to do your research before entering and look into the company’s values and past winners to understand what the judges might be looking for.

The number one consideration on whether you should enter an awards event or not, besides the obvious benefits, is to look to see if it’s one that is credible and transparent.

At Prolific North, there is a fair, transparent judging process at the heart of all our awards. Winning awards is undoubtedly amazing PR and good for business, but just because you’ve paid to enter doesn’t mean you’ll win - that’s down to the judges!

Each year, we pull together a carefully selected panel with dozens of industry experts across the tech sector to judge our Tech Awards.

The panel is then split into subgroups, depending on their expertise and assigned categories to score.

As part of a rigorous, two-step process, the judges will first read and score all entry forms, considering any supporting materials submitted if needed. Judges will be asked to give a score (1-10) for each of the following areas:

• Effectiveness (measurable impact and results)
• Implementation
• Innovation
• Evidence of growth or potential for growth
• Social & environmental impact where applicable

These will be combined to give an overall score for each entry. All judges’ pre-scores will then be combined and the highest scoring entries will determine the shortlists.

The judges then meet to discuss the highest scoring entries and agree the winner for each category, deciding the shortlist and ultimately, the winners.

Writing that award-winning entry🔗

Budgets can be tight, so make sure you pay attention to things like early bird deadlines as this is usually a significant discount on entering before the standard entry deadline.

Here are some of the top tips for crafting an award-winning entry with Prolific North, filled with tips from some of our previous judges:

Make sure you select the right categories 🔗

Have a read of all category descriptions here and gauge the quality of your work/innovation or organisation/team performance against the descriptions of what judges will be looking for. Misaligned entries may be disqualified or placed in a more suitable category. ​

Tell us a story 🔗

Similar to the brevity needed for a pitch deck, make sure you tell the judges a story that flows logically from the problem to the solution, highlighting your approach and points of difference. The judges will have lots of submissions to read through so to stand out, make sure your entries present a clear and compelling story, showing what makes you truly different.

This could be emphasising what makes your product, story or service unique, but don’t forget to demonstrate impact and results.

Results are key 🔗

The number one differentiating factor between most entries is evidence of impact, results or effectiveness. You might have your storytelling and passion finetuned but the judges really want demonstrable evidence of impact and effectiveness.

Ask yourself what would the judges find compelling – this can be stats, client testimonials, evidence of focus on people, or wider social impact depending on the categories you’re entering. Ensure you highlight these clearly and how they measure up to your original objectives where possible.

Keep it simple!🔗

Detail is crucial. Make sure you are as concise as possible, get straight to the point and make sure you complete all sections in your entry!

Include supporting material🔗

Supporting materials, such as compelling videos or images, can help bring an entry to life if it adds value and complements the story. Keep it relevant and to the point though to avoid overwhelming judges. ​

Allow sufficient time!🔗

Make sure you allocate enough time for learning about the entry process, gathering supporting documentation or feedback from colleagues to create a well-rounded submission. We recommend you work to deadlines even if extensions may be available.

Finish with a strong summary🔗

Now that you’ve written the bones of your submissions, think of the most compelling elements of your entry and summarise them for the judges. This is crucial as judges often start there - time is key! It should provide a clear and engaging overview of the entry, including the objectives, points of difference, and results.

Budget🔗

If you’re a budding start-up, entering awards may be last on your list of priorities without a big budget so always check out the categories page as at Prolific North, there are often a number of free-to-enter categories.

Awards are not just accolades but a way to boost brand awareness and industry recognition, and it’s the perfect opportunity to practice storytelling around your mission.

If you ever are unsure about how to enter awards - whether they are Prolific North’s or beyond - get in touch with us here.