Winning an award for B2B marketing requires careful campaign planning and management. The first step is to be clear on the objectives of your campaign: what are you trying to achieve, and how does that tie in with wider company goals? A standout campaign will also be innovative in its approach and channels used, and will aim at catching the judges’ attention by being creative without losing sight of key performance indicators (KPIs). Finally, it’s essential to have a system in place to record results transparently and assess whether the initial goals have been reached and possibly surpassed.
For over a decade, Pod has crafted award-winning B2B marketing campaigns. We know firsthand the thrill of being shortlisted for, and ultimately winning, an industry award. Submitting a detailed entry, anxiously waiting for the shortlist, dressing up for the award do itself… While hard work, it’s all worth the effort when you’re rewarded with a shiny trophy and all its glory.
But as fun as award ceremonies can be, the work starts well ahead of clicking ‘submit’ on your entry. We’ve already talked about the benefits of winning a prestigious industry award. But how can you develop an award-winning campaign? Is there a tried-and-tested process? Well, the good news is, there is. Let’s dive in.
The first step to reach your B2B marketing goals is knowing what they are and how you’re going to track them. No matter which industry award you decide to compete for, all will have a section on targets and KPIs. Set them up at the very beginning of your campaigns, and make sure they are measurable, realistic and time-bound.
If you need help establishing SMART objectives for your B2B marketing campaign, you can check out this blog post for a step-by-step guide.
Now that you know what you want to achieve, it’s time to think about how to achieve it. Who is your target audience and what are the best channels to reach them? Which key messages will most likely resonate with them, and how will you tie them back to your unique selling proposition? Judges for an award entry will want to see a clear outline of how you mapped out your campaign. You must be able to demonstrate that campaign outcomes were not the results of a lucky strike, but of careful planning and a deep understanding of your audience.
KPIs and meticulous planning shouldn’t take away from creativity. An award-winning campaign is one that dazzles judges because of its different and unique way of pursuing a strategy and achieving those objectives. So, how can you do that?
Focus on a specific area and add your very own creative twist. Can you craft a thought-provoking message that challenges readers and captures their attention? Will you use an unusual channel to convey that message? Or perhaps an interactive game, rather than a more traditional report? There are so many possibilities. Assemble your creative team and challenge them to come up with a truly disruptive idea.
Now that you have all your elements in place – the goals, the strategy and your big creative idea – it’s time to ensure the campaign is rolled out on time and on budget. Develop detailed timelines and assign responsibilities to ensure assets are created and content is promoted through the most appropriate channels. Establish clear communication channels, and keep an eye on those KPIs to see how you’re doing.
Judges might be captivated by your innovative campaign ideas and seamless execution, but at the end of the day, they’ll need to see tangible results. It’s time to review those SMART objectives and see how campaign outcomes compared against them. If you met or surpassed them, that’s excellent, and there’s no doubt the judges will be impressed.
If you fell short of expectations, don’t despair. Maybe you have reached other milestones that were not initially planned, or faced unexpected challenges that de-routed your campaign, which you were eventually able to overcome. Explain all this in your award entry and give proof of how your organisation can handle the unexpected and put these learning into practice for the future. And what’s more award-winning than continuous improvement?
Winning an award is the cherry on top of great B2B marketing projects. Focus on creating truly impactful and memorable campaigns, and the recognition will follow suit.
Did you know that The Marketing Pod is the proud winner of three 2024 B2B Marketing Awards? If you’d like the support of our seasoned B2B professionals to develop campaigns that cut through the noise, get in touch today.