Start-ups : apply for awards!
You’ll win something eventually!
On the back of our announcement of being nominated as finalist for two categories in the BLLA’s, I wanted to reflect back on why awards matter!
Simply put: Awards bring credibility. An external validation that what you do, and how you do it is valuable.
This has huge value in any market or industry.
Awards (winner or finalist) help you stand out in a very brutal and very competitive world.
Most of our PR noise is focused on sharing some of the quite amazing things that have happened to us over the last 3 ½ years but when you are recognised by your industry body for the work you have delivered – that’s a real fuzzy feeling moment.
All awards are not the same though and I wanted to reflect back on one of the best days of our (short) history.
The date was Wednesday 22nd March 2017. The Tesco Licensing Conference. Over 300 of the industry’s leading executives were gathered around tables nervously nibbling biscuits.
We were nobody’s in those days, pleasantly going about our bold mission completely under the radar. We were sat right at the back, totally oblivious – I was pleased we’d even been invited!
We had no idea that this was the day EVERYTHING would change for us.
We won the Licensor Values award.
It came as a complete and utter shock, as the previous award winners were Lego, Disney, Warner Brothers, MGA etc.
Our little company, that had only been trading 18 months, won a prestigious award from the biggest retailer in the UK.
Quite simply this was huge for us.
I was asked many times how did we win? We had only actually landed one project with Tesco in the last year (we had pitched unsuccessfully many, many times) but we do have a unique approach to the market. Also, we pride ourselves on being extremely nice to work with, and more importantly we are a company built on purpose and values.
I was actually talking over the award intro (sorry Tesco) so rather frustratingly I didn’t even hear what they said about us. After chasing for feedback, we were awarded because of our refreshing approach and interesting thought direction!!!! Tesco also love us going in to see them! I am incredibly proud of those statements, and we were hugely honoured and flattered to have been highlighted in front of our whole industry. To have industry heavy weights such as the BBC congratulate you was all rather mesmerising.
We have won awards previously and since but like everyone else a lot of them you have to self-nominate and whichever way you cut it feels so narcissistic. We certainly haven’t applied for any awards you have to pay for, and have certainly lost recognition due to our lack of sponsorship budget. However, this was so special because it was a surprise, we didn’t fill in huge nomination forms and we absolutely weren’t expecting it.
I have an incredible team at The Point.1888 and every one of them was beaming with pride. We work on our culture constantly and this is recognition we are doing the right thing.
Richard Reed (co-founder of Innocent drinks) said to me ahead of starting The Point.1888, “apply for every award out there, you’ll win something eventually”
Let’s see if we win either award at BLLAs or whether we can relish in the fact that being a finalist does actually mean something too.