And the Winner is…
Last Sunday’s Oscars wrapped the 2025-2026 awards season for the film industry. On the surface, the season is a celebration of artistry, but on a deeper level, it is the ultimate effort of business-building and brand definition.
You do not need to be a member of the Academy for awards to have an impact on your business. Whether it is a trade publication, professional organization or local “best-of,” submitting your projects, products and people for awards creates these opportunities:
Amplify Your Story
It goes without saying that winning an award or even being a finalist packs a publicity punch. Not only does your success create a new, newsworthy talking point, promotion from organizers and resulting news coverage provides a boost to your own media relations. Customers will discover your brand in its best light as it is being celebrated for excellence.
Take it to the Bank
Awards are a validation and endorsement of the quality of your work. Share your success with investors, vendors, partners and potential employees to show your commitment to excellence and the strength of your business. Once you win an award, you are always and “award-winning” business.
Evaluation
The process of deciding what to submit for awards naturally leads to looking back at the work your team has done in the past year. Did you update a process to great results? Did you launch a product that was truly out of the box? Did your team focus on strategic planning to create a major impact? Conversely, when you review the award categories that match your business, are you coming up short on what you can submit? All of these are opportunities to look at what is working and what needs some improvement.
Morale Boost
Who doesn’t like to win? Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the hard work of your team. Relish in the recognition and use it as inspiration as you start the process again.
A note on awards:
Sometimes even the best products, projects and people are overlooked during awards season. This can be for many reasons outside of the subject of the submission. Some omissions are political (needing to feature sponsors and favoritism) or because there are a lot of great submissions in your category. Other submissions are passed over because they do not effectively tell a story of success, exceptionality or innovation to the judges.
Working with a team that has experience in awards submissions in worth the investment. Let’s continue the conversation about how CP Bohannon can manage your industry award submissions this year.
Check out this case study that won a Award of Excellence from PRSA Georgia Chapter.