Written by Andrew Thornton, AMI Chair

The 2023 AMI Marketing Excellence Awards are now open!

The awards celebrate excellence in marketing, and support marketers of all disciplines and career stages to thrive and receive recognition for their contributions.

So why should you consider entering this year’s Awards?

With resources often stretched, entering the awards is not always the top of the agenda. Here are seven key reasons why simply entering an award could be good for your organisation…and for you!

1. Benchmarking

Writing an award entry forces you to look at your business from a different perspective and compare yourself to competitors. This will help you think about ways you could do things better and identify areas for improvement and is one of the ways your business could benefit from that could be more valuable than winning an award itself.

2. Brand differentiation

Becoming a finalist or an award-winning organisation is a great way to set your business – and you and your team – apart from the competition. By carefully selecting the category you enter, you can create a niche to make you stand out from your competitors.

3. Raising credibility

Entering the Awards will put your brand in the company of industry excellence. Being a finalist or winning an award builds recognition for the work that you and your team have been doing and certifies your place within the industry, especially if the award has been judged by industry leaders and experts in their field, as is the case with the AMI Marketing Excellence Awards.

4. Marketing and PR

Being associated with the Awards provides excellent PR and marketing opportunities.   Awards celebrate hard work and success and provide an opportunity to put your organisation in the spotlight.

Awards can be an overlooked tool in your marketing toolbox. Just being a finalist can improve brand awareness and promote your business to new customers. Make sure you maximise PR exposure and update your marketing materials with the award logo including website, literature, email and social media. Awards celebrate hard work and success and are great PR opportunities. It’s fantastic to be recognised so it’s important to make sure that people know what your organisation has achieved. Winning a business award can open doors to getting contracts, finding new supply channels and breaking into new markets. According to Performance Marketing UK, on average, winning an industry award can see over a 37% growth in revenue, putting your brand in the spotlight.

5. Boosting morale

Winning or being a finalist for an award is a very public way of recognising the hard work and achievements of your team. And awards remind employees what’s good about the company and why they are proud to be part of it – and should be celebrated as a team.

6. Attracting talent and investment

If you’re the best – the best will want to work with you. Being recognised as the ‘best in class’ and building your organisation’s brand helps attract new talent to your business – as well as engage with stakeholders.

The AMI Marketing Excellence Awards culminates with a Gala Dinner…which is more like a celebratory party!

Attending the Gala not only provides the opportunity for you, your team and colleagues (and customers) to celebrate success but provides other opportunities, such as:

Industry recognition: showcase your achievements as an industry or category leader in front of industry peers.

Customer or client relations: celebrate your success with your customers or clients, building existing partnerships and spotlighting achievements in front of new prospects.

Networking: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” and the importance of networking should not be underestimated. Attending the Gala provides an opportunity to ‘rub shoulders’ with the best talent in the industry. Consider using social channels to tag other finalists to congratulate them, and make appointments to meet up with new contacts and prospects you’ve met at the Gala. Also, think about sponsoring a relevant category to help raise awareness of your brand.

So, what are you waiting for? There are so many reasons why you should enter the 2023 AMI Marketing Excellence Awards. Start now with your entry and allow sufficient time and resources to submit a first-class awards entry. Good Luck!