The OpenWater Blog

You’ve Found Your Awards Judges – Now It’s Time to Spread the Word!

You’re in the midst of planning your awards program and are working on getting the judging process ready to go. You’ve recognized that relevant judges are important to the success of your program and have put in the work to find the perfect judges.

Great job! That’s a lot of work – you deserve some recognition and maybe some ice cream (ok, definitely some ice cream).

But the work’s not done yet. Sure, your new judges are awesome industry experts that are going to help build the prestige of your program, but that’s not going to happen on its own. You need to let the world know about it!

The next step to take after selecting your awards judges is to spread the word about why your judges’ qualifications, and other excellent attributes make them the perfect fit for your program. And here’s why:

Builds Prestige

When it comes to your judges, their prestige in your industry is a reflection of the prestige of your awards program itself. Prestigious programs tend to gather high quality submissions, as well as recognition from the industry, which is essential to furthering your organization’s goals.

But, how are you supposed to let people know in order to get that recognition? Try press releases, blowing up your social media networks, and even creating a separate website for your program.

Good Source of Publicity

Hard work pays off when you’re able to secure prestigious judges for your program, especially because of one necessary aspect of your marketing: publicity. An industry-known name can be the perfect reason to issue a press release around the time for your call for entry as it can help build necessary excitement.

You can also put your press release to work on your social networks and on your awards program website. By doing so, you can maximize the number of potential entrants that you reach without having to do any additional work. Now, that’s making your awards marketing platform work for you!

Indicates Legitimacy

No entrants want to apply to a program that doesn’t seem legitimate and without a few good judges, you might be missing this crucial characteristic. Luckily, when you can attach some industry-leading names to your program, your program will instantly seem more credible.

In fact, legitimacy often increases the desirability of winning an award as well. That’s because with big names come big rewards, which entrants are willing to work hard for. This means that by taking the time to spread word of your judges, you can increase quality submissions that will help make your awards program a success.

For tips on how to spread the word about your judges, download our free checklist to get started!

Original Photo: D Sharon Pruitt via Wikimedia Commons

Miriam Hancock

Miriam Hancock
Miriam is the Marketing Coordinator for OpenWater. When she isn't writing and designing content she paints and cooks for her own personal blog.

Why Are Awards Important? [FAQ]

Generating More Quality Entries With a Quality Awards Website