All you need to know about Award Submissions and Ceremonies (because frankly, we’ve been to enough of them to know!)

Last week saw the 8th annual Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Awards at Grange St Paul’s Hotel, London. Whilst ‘Award Fatigue’ is quickly becoming a recognised legal industry condition, these awards arranged by Barker Brooks didn’t disappoint

This year saw a number of Scala clients shortlisted for the awards. Entries were up by 40%, so just getting shortlisted felt like a genuine achievement.

• Parklane Plowden – Chambers of the Year;
• Michael Stubbs, Parklane Plowden – Practice Manager of the Year;
• Suzanne Munro, Switalskis Solicitors – Claimant Lawyer of the Award and,
• Scala – Supporting the Industry’s (1-10 employees).

But why should you enter your firm or employees? This article explains why.

Enter here

Nominating is easy. You can nominate yourself, your own firm, colleagues and peers. Concentrate on why you should win when submitting your entry, and explain why you’re good at what you do. Don’t forget to include evidence to support what you say. Treat your entry like a piece of persuasive writing and don’t be afraid to use bullets points which can be an effective way of hammering home a key point!

Importantly, don’t leave it to the last minute. Writing your entry needs to begin well before the submission deadline. We work with clients up to a year in advance to make sure they stand a good chance of being shortlisted or winning.

Recognising members of your team is also a sure-fire way of boosting internal morale, whilst motivating everyone at your firm. Individuals getting the acknowledgement they deserve for their hard work within the sector ensures people feel that their work is valued.

Recognition, be it by being shortlisted for an award, or in fact winning, is a powerful tool in highlighting your company’s capabilities and success in a competitive industry. It also differentiates you from your competitors.

Once shortlisted, tell everyone that you are up for an award. Find out if the awards ceremony is using a hashtag (take our word for it, they will be, #piawards2016) and join the hype on Twitter in the run up to the event.

And despite what many people think, it’s free to enter; and win. The judging panel is made up of people from the industry, who consider all entries before choosing a deserving winner. Many people have a preconceived idea that you must sponsor an event to win, but this is not the case. Judges use their skill, judgement, knowledge and experience of the legal profession; considering all the information that is presented to them in the nomination form.

Sponsoring any event is worth considering too. It is a great way to showcase your organisations profile, as well as being an opportunity to identify future potential clients. 

The evening

If you’re lucky enough to get shortlisted, you need to think about who you want to invite as your guests on your table. Invite members of your team, along with key clients and referrers of work. By sharing your achievements with them, they will feel reassured that they have made the right choice when they chose to work with you. Take the opportunity to get to know your clients outside of a workplace environment.

Working on personal relationships is key to building business ones.

Award ceremonies are great for PR and an ideal place to meet new, potential clients. Use the evening to develop new business relationships and set up future meetings. We managed to set up 3 whilst we were there!

The night itself is always guaranteed to be a ‘feel-good’ factor for the industry, and a great opportunity to network with clients and industry peers. 

And the winner is…

If you win, make sure everyone knows as soon as possible. (Again, that hashtag is going to come in very useful here #winner).

Winning any award is invaluable to raising your company’s or an individual’s profile. Awards are also a vital marketing tool, and are often instrumental in generating more business from existing clients and attracting new ones. 

Didn’t they do well

So, what makes a good awards ceremony?

The guys at Barker Brooks once again did an amazing job. The venue was in a great location next to St Pauls Cathedral which definitely gave the evening a sense of occasion. First and foremost the firms and individuals shortlisted and who won were genuinely all deserving within their chosen category.

The event was packed with 440 guests from across the legal sector which provided a perfect networking opportunity. There was ample time for guests to talk and mingle, as well as the ‘after-party’ in the basement of the hotel hosted by CL MediCall.

A decent host can make or break an award ceremony. Comedienne Katherine Ryan was very witty and pitched her comedy at just the right level. She also kept the night moving along nicely whilst engaging with the guests.

The live band were also excellent. They played intro and outro music throughout the awards, making them very much a part of the evening.

So what now?

Here at Scala, we have a skill for identifying relevant awards that will highlight your capabilities and success within your chosen sector.

We can write you an award-winning entry and support you throughout the process in the run up to the awards.

Contact us at: office@scala.uk.com, 0114 4070159.