Industry Awards - Should You Have To Pay To Enter?!

[SeanDigitalSave]

We recently came third in What Mobiles Industry Awards for Best Accessory Retailer. The entry came on the agreement that we advertised in the magazine for a few months. We knew what the deal was really, but the potential badge on the site and some magazine advertising couldn't really be bad could it.

Now I've just had an invite to Mobile News Awards 2016 - which wants to pay £135 to enter!?! Is this the norm, or as I suspect, would an award thats worth anything not be touting for money? Thanks guys.

 

[PipeTen-Carl]

If they want fees for application, insist on attendance or paying for hospitality to be considered, or any other sort of advertisement based kickback, I would consider them a waste of time.

 

[Jayser100]

I think most industry awards are nonsense. How can someone win an award which declares them "Best New Retailer in Suffolk 2015" or whatever when they've simply beaten a small handful of other companies who were prepared to pay an entry fee?

Most business award schemes are nothing more than a money-making exercise. Unless you are confident of winning, and you genuinely feel that being able to trumpet the award on your marketing literature will bring you loads of new business, I wouldn't bother. All you end up doing is wasting a lot of time that could be better spent elsewhere, on preparing entry paperwork and going to lunches and ar*e-licking around judges and executives whilst eating canapés at launch parties and award ceremonies. All you've really done is pay for the canapés and cheap wine through your extortionate entry fee, which also covers the 'lining of the pockets' for the organisers.

 

[SeanDigitalSave]

Yeah thanks guys, I fully agree and this is what I suspected, that a lot of them are set up to make money.

 

[Nochexman]

"a lot of them are set up to make money" - have you thought about getting a Product of the year award? Check how John Gorman's 'Life is goodish' on TV to understand how this award works.

 

[Jayser100]

I said a lot of them, not all of them. There are bound to be exceptions and I am sure UKBF users would be grateful to know of any that are free, and genuinely worth having.

The last time I even thought about entering for an award was about five years ago. I went to the launch of the Kent Business Awards. After consuming a few volovants and listening to the patronising speeches of the 'suits' and past winners, it put me off for good. If I run my business well and make money, why do I need a plaque on the wall that tells me how good I am? I'll leave it up to those with enormous egos to get into that sort of thing. The only reason I even considered it is that an unscrupulous eyewear company in Oxfordshire (no names, no packdrill) entered and won an Oxfordshire Export Business Award by mischievously listing all of the countries WE were selling their eyewear too, on their entry form. For one silly moment I felt like I needed to put the record straight by entering for an award myself but ended up thinking better of it.

 

[fisicx]

FIFA might be good people to talk to regarding fees for application and subsequent awards.

 

[Jayser100]

Indeed LOL

 

[SeanDigitalSave]

If I run my business well and make money, why do I need a plaque on the wall that tells me how good I am?

Its not so much for us but for the customer. Our industry is plagued with counterfeits, copies, fakes etc and is dominated by the Chinese. Having a few badges on the site could help convince those who need a bit more convincing. But I'm not going to pay for it!

 

[HazelC]

I was recently nominated for an award in East Anglia (and I won which I was over the moon about) - it was free to nominate someone and I was over the moon to be nominated HOWEVER I then went looking at other awards that I could nominate myself for and you're right, a lot of them you do need to pay to enter - which as someone else said, is that not just a case of who can pay will win?

It's similar to the 'Best Of' franchise - they're not the best of anything, they're just the first to pay and join (I speak as a previous 'Best Of' business)

 

[VicDadson]

As a general rule, you will have to pay to enter industry awards. Costs vary, some are free, but we've paid as much as £500 for some entries. The benefits are mostly around PR and improving the company reputation, adding a sense of security and authenticity for your customers.

The worth of an award is only determined by its perception - as in, local small business awards are good if you are a small, local business - and what you would actually do with it.

£135 to have a badge on your website seems a lot, but if you can use it to generate some PR (e.g. story in local newspaper) or milk it in your communications, and it's something that will make you stand out from your competitors, it might well be worth it.

 

[Ian J]

Most business award schemes are nothing more than a money-making exercise. Unless you are confident of winning, and you genuinely feel that being able to trumpet the award on your marketing literature will bring you loads of new business, I wouldn't bother.

Industry awards are something that I have long had a bee in my bonnet about and on my factoring blog I often extract the urine out of the factoring awards winners as in almost every case they are undeserved.

A few years ago I invented a fictitious factoring broker and was rather surprised to receive an email stating that this company had received a nomination for a prestigious award.

The reason that I am so anti these awards is that in my own industry the public generally don't have a clue whether a particular factoring company is any good or not and are likely to be swayed by a logo on their website stating that they have won the prestigious Wheeltappers & Shunters award for invoice finance company of the year

 

[cjd]

Awards vary by industry - a lot are totally corrupt; but not all. You can see from my signature that we routinely enter some relevant awards but we never pay to enter them. The more relevant the award the more valuable they are and they certainly help customers choose between providers.

Of course the Queen's Awards are the holy grail - and are free

 

[Gecko001]

I live in a small town which have several chip shops. About half of them have a sign up saying they have won some award. By the way the chips in my town are not really any better than anywhere else, but it looks like the chip shop owners and/or their customers are a little more gullible than elsewhere.

 

[The Byre]

they have won the prestigious Wheeltappers & Shunters award for invoice finance company of the year

Funny, I got 'Best Curry' award from them! But then I got 'Best Great Dane in Show' from The British Skin Foundation and 'Best Christmas Song, 2012' from The European Plastics and Ceramics Manufacturers Association.

I'm holding out for the much-coveted Dobbytex Medical Cummerbund award for 'Best Nicki Minaj Impersonator Over 65' - now that's the one to get!

 

[Easy Loans Company]

I'm starting to see a Nicki Minaj shaped theme in your posts Byre

 

[The Byre]

That's cos she is like this great poet and thinker and is able to say things that mean something else, like metaphorical things. She keeps writing about her pet cat and it seems to get in all kinds of trouble, like falling into the pool or staying out in the rain and how it's gona get so wet, it's gona need goggles.

Then there's this bloke wot's got a pet snake wot likes buns.

Anyway, this was our entry in the 'Best Christmas Song, 2012' for The European Plastics and Ceramics Manufacturers Association -

 

[Quality Formations]

The most of them are set up to generate a money. They bring up so many different categories to fit you into the award. On top of the entry fee, they invite you to their Gala ceremony which could easily cost you 2-3k for 5 members of staff.