Ditch the modesty and enter!

Awards are in the Scene & Herd blood! Way back when I used to run the NFU Scotland Excellence Awards as well as the extremely well-known and highly sought after Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards. Monty was heavily involved in the Scottish Countryside Alliance Awards and now, as a business, we have looked after the PR for the Scottish Land & Estates Helping it Happen Awards, as well as all the many Awards associated with AgriScot.Our clients have won Great Taste Awards, Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards, World Cheese Awards, tourism awards, hospitality awards, enterprise awards, new business awards, you name it, they’ve won it! Sometimes without our help but often as a result of it.

We’ve entered them, we’ve judged them, we’ve won them and we’ve lost them and we certainly know their value. But we also understand how it can be hard to put your head above the parapet and actually enter business awards. Perhaps you don’t think you are worthy, perhaps you can’t face the paperwork, perhaps you don’t even know which awards you should be entering….If you are a client, we will already have had a conversation about which awards would serve your business goals the best and which you are eligible for. You might have entered yourself or you might have asked us to do it on your behalf and, chances are, you’ve at least made it as far as the final, even if you didn’t hold the trophy aloft!If you aren’t a client, do you routinely enter relevant industry awards? Do you understand the PR and marketing benefit of doing so? Are you daunted? Are you confused? Are you too busy? Well, we can help. Just get in touch.

The benefits of entering and being shortlisted in or winning prestigious business awards are enormous. From simply supplying you with some useful and engaging social media content to securing coverage in key publications, the benefits are numerous.Here, to kick you off, are a few tips to think about when entering your business for an award:

• Find the Awards you think you might like to enter and make a note of the deadline(s)
• Do these Awards fit with your company goals and ethos?
• Are you entering the right category or categories?
• Allow plenty of time – sometimes the application forms do take a wee while and it’s horrid to feel rushed
• Remember that judges love facts and figures. Wherever possible, tell them about your business growth statistics or the number of local people you employ or how many products you sold in the last financial year
• It harks back to school days, but remember to read the question clearly and be sure you are answering it
• Don’t worry too much about repetition – we often find that in some awards the questions appear to be asking the same thing in a different way – just go with the flow and make sure that all your USPs are put across clearly
• If you can, or if you are asked to, make sure you include images or illustrations to support what you are saying in words. There may even be a chance to create or send over a short video (don’t worry if this is not professionally shot!)
• Remember, we are at the end of the phone or email if you feel that you need any support with any aspect of what we’ve outlined above. Meantime, check out these awards and Good Luck!
• (Since March 2020 when Covid hit, some awards have been put on hold. That said, many others are still operating online so make sure you check them out and enter under their updated guidelines)

UPCOMING AWARDSThe Nourish Awards are the UK's leading health food awards. Judges are looking for nutritious, low-sugar or refined sugar-free options, products that are free from artificial additives and sweeteners. The special awards champion organic & ethical products and the prestigious Innovation Award goes to the most innovative product each year. Entries close on 29th April.Do you know a great farmer who deserves recognition for the way they have developed their farm business? Would you like to put your farm and your staff on the map? Enter one of the Farmers Weekly Awards 15 farming categories or nominate someone by 30th April.Entries are now open for the British Farming Awards with sixteen categories including Diversification Innovator of the Year, Farm Worker of the Year and Sustainability Innovator of the Year. Entries close on 25th June.