You owe it to yourself and your team to enter the UnAwards17. It's free and easy to do and you have plenty of time to do it. So no excuses, right?
by Darren Caveney
Each year the UnAwards has a theme and this year - the fourth annual UnAwards – has a very important theme.
We’re looking for the comms aces who have done it differently – creating work which stands out from the crowd, be it an individual, a team or a project. It’s easy to churn out the same old, same old – we want to see the brilliantly brave, the truly creative and the work which made a genuine difference.
Whether you’re a team of one, a medium-sized team who’s taken some financial hits and trying to keep pace, or a large team with big expectation on your heads, it still comes down to delivering stand-out communications which delivers results.
Along with great planning, good use of research, brilliant execution, measured outcomes, and big slabs of creativity, it’s often the teams who do it differently and set the creative standard who make their comms, pr, marketing and digital work fly highest.
I have seen first-hand this year so much great work being delivered across the UK - this is your chance to showcase yours, and your team’s, best work to a wide audience.
Some reasons why you ‘might’ not enter…
I’m constantly impressed by the hard work, professionalism and creativity which keep organisational comms wheels turning.
In truth, I know that some teams are a bit brow-beaten. Some have been put under increasing pressure to deliver with smaller resources. Some individuals aren’t sure if they do work which is worthy of an entry.
My answer to this is simple: Be proud of the great things you do and give yourself a chance of being shortlisted by entering your work.
It’s really important to feel confident in your work. But if you’re in a team which has taken quite an internal beating it’s completely understandable that confidence gets knocked. The UnAwards are an opportunity to redress the balance – to remind yourself that you do good things, work which makes a difference to people.
There’s a truism that will never go away and it’s this:
“No one else internally is likely to shout about you and your work. You need to do it yourself.”
Of course nobody likes a show-off but putting your work forward to compete with the rest is a really good way to tackle this issue. I've seen the difference an award shortlisting or a win to can make to a comms pro, a team, even an organisation.
There has literally never been a more important time to shout about your work than right now, especially for those facing another round of annual cuts to budgets, and morale in some teams in need of a small boost.
I know you’re busy. Everyone is. But the people who get on - and get noticed - manage their time so that they give themselves an hour to nail a really strong award entry. You owe it to yourself and your teams.
So enter the UnAwards17 and let our judges decide whose work stands out.
OK, I’m in – how do I enter?
Easy. You simply complete a short word document form and you email it to us. That's it.
Take a look here for everything you need.
What are the categories?
There are 18 categories to choose from so absolutely something for everyone.
Can I enter more than one category?
Yes, absolutely.
And don’t forget you can put your entry into more than one category. So, for example. if you have delivered an effective campaign with great research, strong use of social media, backed by brilliant evaluation but with no budget there are literally four categories you could enter right there.
So make the next thing you do, right now, putting an hour in your diary asap to get the ball rolling with a brilliant entry or two.
Darren Caveney is creator of comms2point0 and organiser of the UnAwards
Want to soak up the atmosphere of the coolest comms, PR, marketing and digital event of the year in person? UnAwards17 tickets are priced at just £20 + vat each. See, we told you the UnAwards were really accessible.
Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis and will sell out so don’t hang around.
If you’ve forgotten how epic the UnAwards are, or you’ve not been involved in them before, here’s a short film of the UnAwards16.