Today the number of competitions organised by award bodies, associations, publications etc… is countless. There are so many medals flying around that consumers are probably insensitive to this proliferation. Read here how at Brand Reveal we help make the most of this tool.
Awards ultimate promise is about value building based on a jury and selection reputation. However, there is little proof that show that awards drive consumers’ choice. Brands can spend money under the excuse that it is better to have an award than none. Brands can also try to make the most of an award – when there is one.
The only case we know awards have an immediate return is with wine buyers in retail chains / stores. The amount of existing wine brands and harvests is so huge, that some buyers use awards as a fast way to list wines. In this case, awards are useful.
For consumers, the awards’ usefulness is not that evident because of the complexity of the decision making in shopping (stimulis, attention span, availability to options, promotions, shelf space…).
But if a brand decides to play the awards game, here a few tips:
- Decide who you want to communicate with. If only trade, then stick to your guns and develop a punchy communication to inform your partners. Give your distributors the photo, artwork, award logos, texts etc. for their communications with the rest of the distribution chain. If you want to communicate with your target consumers, understand their connection points. Social Media? Advertising? In Store? And make sure you are visible. After all, an award looks like a little medal…
- Budget for communication. Awards are like Sponsorships: they only work if you activate behind to multiply opportunity to be seen and engage. Budget for communication or costs, to stick the award sign on a bottle batch. And so awards costs are not just about registration fees. And if you don’t communicate on awards, then why compete?
- Communicate with the Brand tone. The amount of brands that say “we’ve won a medal” is staggering. Ask yourself “So What ?! A few years ago, I ran a award campaign for an irreverent rum. The copy was “we’ve got gold. Let’s hope it won’t loose our reputation”. In fact, look at awards as opportunities to add stories and build content.
- No gold ? Then decide if going public is worth. The other day I saw an outdoor ad which said “We are 49th best Portuguese Wine”. Duh… So if you get silver or bronze, ask yourself if it is newsworthy, because everybody loves the winer.
Last, here is a plea to the Awards organisers. Please, design beautiful award medals ! All award stickers are really ugly. Beverage brands spend thousands on bottle and label pristine designs. So make Award stickers that brands will love to wear with pride on their bottles! Remember, this too is good business…