A business or trade awards programme often places the spotlight on the event itself, but the power of the shortlist is frequently overlooked. In this article our Sales and Marketing Lead, Chris Chisman, highlights five ways to make more of your shortlist.
What is the purpose of an awards shortlist?
Every event manager who has run an awards campaign knows the work involved in curating a strong shortlist. From securing the right venue and coordinating a judging panel to juggling budgets, seating plans, and production schedules, awards are among the most complex events to run successfully.
Yet, in the midst of all the to-dos, the shortlist announcement is one of your most valuable engagement opportunities.
Your shortlist can be used to:
• Advertise who will be in the room.
• Showcase the organisations you work with.
• Help sponsors identify who they can network with.
• Generate content that nominees can use to promote themselves.
• Demonstrate your organisation’s authority and influence in recognising industry success.
Who should it reach?
Your shortlist should do more than inform the nominated companies. It should enhance your reputation across the wider industry inspiring others to enter next time. Competitors should be impressed. It also reassures sponsors and partners of the calibre of people and organisations attending. In fact, many sponsorship decisions are made or accelerated once the shortlist is announced.
Why should it be announced?
Think about the purpose behind your awards. It’s not just about the glamour of an industry party. If you’re excited to reveal the shortlist, why should others be too?
Focus on your “why”. What makes this event more purposeful than others? What opportunities does it create that are rarely available elsewhere? If you shape your messaging around these answers, your announcement will generate far more meaningful engagement.
Where should you announce it?
As with all marketing activity, go where your audience already is. There’s no point investing heavily in TikTok or other platforms if your audience isn’t active there. I once made the mistake of assuming LinkedIn would always be the best platform for a B2B campaign. But one client’s analytics revealed their primary audience was on Facebook – with only one eighth of their followers on LinkedIn. Every day’s a learning day!
Spend your time and budget wisely. Choose the platforms your audience uses, and focus your effort there. Don’t forget that nominees and sponsors have their own channels too – often with wider reach than yours. Provide them with ready-to-use assets and encourage them to share. If competitors take notice and want in, even better.
When should you announce it?
Timing is everything. You need to give nominees time to submit entries and judges time to review them – particularly if you have multiple rounds.
But release the shortlist too late, and it loses its impact as a marketing tool. Aim for a sweet spot: early enough to drive sponsorship and ticket sales, but late enough to have a credible list of finalists. In most cases, 3 to 6 months before the ceremony works well, depending on your sector and seasonal busy periods.
Want help to improve your awards?
Brightelm delivers awards programmes for a number of membership organisations. Get in touch to see how we can help you elevate yours.