What is your award saying about your event?

Is your award promoting your brand in the right way? We spend such a long time specifying the detail of our events, but are we overlooking one of the most important aspects?

It can take a lot of effort, time and money to organise a successful event. We spend hours worrying over the small details such as the colour of the table covers, the canapés and the table centres, but what about the award itself? The awards/trophies are often overlooked until the last minute, but really this is one of the focal points of the whole event! The food will be eaten almost immediately (hopefully), invites and programmes will eventually be binned, but the award will remain for years after, as will the photos of the winners with the awards.

Think about it, the award will be used in all the publicity (look what you could win!), they will have pride of place on the night, they will be the centre of attention during the prize giving, they will be in every photograph, and they are the one thing the winners will take home from the event and treasure for years to come. Are you sure your award is representing your event/brand/business in the best possible way?

There are thousands of options available, from cups, trophies, shields and plaques and even having something designed especially for your event. In the current economic climate it can be tempting to cut costs and buy in cheap awards, but it is important to protect your brand and show it in the best possible light. The most successful award ceremonies in the country have a strong visual identity and a brand that carries through everything, from the invites, staging, awards and media. If you are charging your award entrants thousands of pounds and billing your event as the top ceremony in the industry, is it really appropriate to give the deserving winners a £15 award?

Having a bespoke award designed especially for your event can be a really effective tool for marketing your event and pushing your brand. The awards themselves have real longevity and are the focal point of media attention, so take advantage of this by branding the awards. Gaudio Awards are one of the UK’s leading designers of bespoke trophies and they have years of experience in the events industry.

Next time you are ordering trophies, take a second look through the clients eyes and think “What does this award say about my event?”