It will come as a welcome relief to many a hard-pressed marketing manager of resellers, distributors and vendors all over the UK to learn that the deadline for entry into this year’s Channel Awards has been extended to Friday 15 August 2008.

The extension will give entrants more time to sharpen their entry details and provide any missing information and those all-important testimonials.

While the number of entries has been strong, it is clear many companies would welcome some extra time this year, said editor of CRN and head of the judging panel, Sara Yirrell.

“We have had tremendous interest in the awards as usual this year, but the situation in the wider economy has put added strain on everyone so we have decided to give people a few more weeks,” she said. “It will ensure that, once again, we have good competition for a place on the shortlist, which will be stronger than ever.

Even more value
“We had a record number of entries last year and it was a challenge to choose the shortlist in many categories. I would expect it to be just as hard this year. That is why it is so important to give the judges enough time to deliberate. As ever though, it is a balancing act and we felt many companies could do with the extra time,” added Yirrell.

Ironically, while they are making it more difficult for management and marketing people to find the time to pull their entries together, the tough market conditions could boost the number of firms entering the awards this year, and make an eventual shortlisting more valuable to those that put their names forward. At times such as these, every little bit of extra help and recognition you can get is clearly welcome.

Every award will be even more of a prize this year and there is the added potential of receiving a Highly Commended Award. The Channel Awards is now in its fifteenth year and during that time the standard of entries has improved markedly.
There has also been an increase in overall voting. This has made it that little bit more difficult to confirm and endorse a winner in some categories.

Over the past two years in particular, the judges have noted a significant raising of the bar and a higher level of competition, prompting the suggestion that there should be some way of recognising the companies that came close to winning.

“Last year in particular, we felt there were a number of firms that put in first-class entries and attracted an impressive level of support during the voting stage. But in each case there was always another firm that had done an even better job,” said Yirrell. “This year, with the Highly Commended option, we will be able to recognise those companies that came very close to winning as well.”

She stressed, however, that the judges are under no obligation to award an official commendation in every category. “It will only happen when the final decision is close, so if you do receive one of these awards, it will be a significant achievement.”

Used in the correct way, the Highly Commended badge could be almost as valuable a marketing tool as a winner’s badge, although of course everyone has their eye on the big prize. The fact that so many firms put so much effort into entering shows the awards are a positive force for the channel as a whole.

“Every year it gets more difficult to win a Channel Award and we like to think this helps to raise standards and the level of effort that suppliers and resellers put into delivering their services. In this respect, the awards are a positive force and
continue to recognise the very best firms in the business,” said Yirrell.

Getting it right
In terms of what you need to include in your entry, it is recommend you provide a clear summary that spells out why you think you deserve to be considered this year, supported by further details of the initiatives, activities, programmes and achievements you have conducted this year.

You need to show how you are delivering value and benefits to customers and provide backup and proof points. Genuine testimonials from real customers and partners who support your entry and articulate the value you deliver should also be provided.

It is not advisable to include recycled marketing material and case studies because these are usually very easy to spot in an entry. The judges want to see original content that explains clearly and simply why your business deserves to be considered for the shortlist.

If you make it onto a shortlist, you will want to encourage customers to vote in your favour to maximise your chances of winning. Aside from bribing customers to vote for you, almost anything goes in terms of encouraging votes.

The companies that attract the most votes tend to run specific email campaigns, include a ‘vote for us’ message in their email footers and encourage staff to ask customers to go to the site and vote for them. All of these activities are above board.

Asking partners as well as customers to vote is fine, although the majority of votes should come from your customers. It is also acceptable if one or two people from the same firm vote, but attempts at block voting by any organisation will not be accepted. All those votes would then be discounted.

Of course, you are not allowed to vote for your own company, and votes from generic email addresses such as Hotmail accounts will also be disregarded.

It is important to bear in mind that no one is going to vote for you if they do not feel you have done a decent job in the first place. But before you worry about voting, you need to get onto the shortlist and that means putting together and submitting a decent entry.