Having just announced the finalists for this years AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence, I’m prompted to reflect on the benefits of entering an industry awards program. The benefits go beyond the obvious ones.

Sure, there is the personal satisfaction and pride in being a finalist and winning an award or being part of a winning team.  But the benefits go well beyond this.

Winning or being a finalist for an award is a very public way of recognising the hard work and achievement of your team. Award success reminds other employees (and your customers for that matter) what’s good about the organisation they work for and why they are proud to be part of it. This boosts morale and should be celebrated as a team.

Preparing an awards entry forces you to look at your organisation from a different perspective and compare your organisation to the competition. Benchmarking in this way helps you think about ways to do things better or differently. This can be more valuable than winning an award itself.

Becoming a finalist or an award-winning organisation is a great way to set your organisation – and you and/or your team – apart from the competition. By carefully selecting the category you enter, you can determine a point of differentiation to make your organisation stand out from the competition.

Entering a reputable awards program, such as the AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence, will put your brand in the presence of industry excellence. Being a finalist or category winner builds recognition for the work that you and your team have been doing. It raises credibility and certifies your place within the industry, especially if the award has been judged by industry leaders and experts in their field. As an aside, judging for this year’s AMI awards were conducted by nearly 150 Certified Practising Marketers across all streams of the marketing profession.

Being a finalist or winning an award provides excellent PR and marketing opportunities. Awards celebrate hard work and success and provides an opportunity to put your organisation in the spotlight. If your organisation entered this year’s AMI awards, and has made it through to the finalist list, then you should start spruiking it! Finalists are given digital badges and certificates to use.

Mix it with the best. Even if you haven’t made it on to the finalist list, there is still the opportunity to ‘rub shoulders’ with the best talent in the industry.

The AMI Awards culminates in a gala celebration where you have the opportunity to network with finalists and winners. Consider social media channels to tag finalists to congratulate them and make arrangements to meet up with them after the awards to learn how they did it. Remember, it’s ‘not necessarily what you know, but who you know…’

So, get along to the AMI Awards for Marketing Excellence Gala celebration taking place this year in Melbourne, at Zinc @ Federation Square. It’s on the 17 October. But hurry, because tickets are selling fast. Visit the AMI website for booking details.

And if you didn’t enter the Awards this year – don’t despair – entries for the 2025 Awards open in February 2025.