5 ways PR and marketing pros can craft award entries that win

Having been able to both participate in the work and participate in merchandising it (through case studies and award entries), I’ve learned that success and recognition (usually) go hand in hand—but it doesn’t always.

By virtue of quality, exceptional work doesn’t mean it will be showered in trophies. If sold well, slightly less exceptional work can win just as well. Most often, it all boils down to the pages within the award submission.

What goes into a winning award entry? The work has to be stellar, but the act of composing the entry is a nuanced art. Here’s how PR pros can separate their trophy-worthy work from the pile:

1. Quantify and qualify the results.

The results section is one of the most important pieces of the entry. It’s where you really sell the success of the campaign.

Show its impact and how it influenced decisions, increased purchases or generated awareness. To fully tell that story, inject both quality indicators and quantity metrics within the section.

For example, if you’re discussing a campaign that has content marketing components, you might highlight quantity (how pieces impacted web analytics, for example), but you’ll also show quality (how it improved customer sentiment or engagement through social sharing).