The OpenWater Blog

Why Your Awards Ceremony Should be More than Just a Party

Galas and awards ceremonies are a great way to end the awards program cycle and celebrate all of the participants, especially the finalists and the winners. It gives everyone who was involved the chance to relax, support their peers, and celebrate the best in the industry!

However, an awards ceremony isn’t just a large party. Your gala can be much more than merely an event where you honor your finalists and winners. In order to have the most successful event you can, it’s important to think of the big picture and start seeing your awards ceremony as something more.

For example, two lesser known benefits and outcomes of your awards gala are:

1. It Facilitates Interactions and Conversations.

The best of the best within your industry are the attendees at your galas and awards ceremonies. They are connecting with each other, having discussions, and sharing ideas. Like any professional event, business relationships can be established and fostered during the course of the gala or ceremony.

When planning your event, ensure that the layout of the space makes it easy for attendees to move around. Also make sure that the ambiance music isn’t so loud that your attendees can converse with each other.

2. It Increases Publicity of Your Organization and Reinforces Your Brand

Your gala or awards ceremony is another avenue in which your awards program participants get to learn more about you as an organization. They get to interact with leaders and learn first-hand about the expertise and experience your organization has.

If executed well, your attendees can become brand ambassadors. When planning your gala or awards ceremony, consider having organization leaders stand right by the door or registration table(s) to personally welcome attendees. That added simple touch of personalization ensures that attendees start experiencing your event on a positive note.

This blog post is an excerpt of our upcoming book on how to effectively and efficiently manage awards programs. Interested in learning more about it?

Click to receive updates on our book!

[button id=”” style=”” color=”orange” type=”large” size=”large” href=”http://www.getopenwater.com/subscribe-to-openwater-blog” align=”center” target=”_self”]Like what you’ve read? Click here to subscribe to this blog![/button]

Theresa Delgado

Theresa is our resident awards guru. She managed the Greeting Card Association's LOUIE Awards before joining us here at OpenWater. She brings first hand knowledge and experience in successfully managing and expanding awards programs.

Are You Still Reviewing Abstracts Like This?

What We’re Reading: Event ROI, Social Media Tips, & the Dangers of Multitasking