The SMPS National Marketing Communications Awards (MCA) Program was established in the early 1980s to recognize excellence in marketing communications within the A/E/C industry.
Now that we’ve established the purpose of the MCA program, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: Why add one more deadline to your day? “No one will notice if my firm doesn’t enter,” you might say. “No one will care if we win, anyway.”
First, let’s address the excuses for not entering the MCA program.
"But we’re a small firm.” Small in size? Yes. Does that mean your marketing message is buried in drab, uninspiring pieces—no way! Small-firm winners are recognized in each category. You can choose to compete against firms similar in size or throw your lot in with the ‘big boys’ and show them how it’s done!
“Hey, I’m not Bill Gates—we have limited budgets.” Return on investment is the basis for many marketing and promotional efforts in recent years. We’re challenged to think smarter and find unique-yet-cost-effective ways to communicate our messages to clients, prospects, employees, and the media. Purple-Cow thinking (transforming your business by being remarkable) doesn’t mean big budget.
“We’re not a national firm.” Neither is Bob Beaver, Principal of Beaver Engineering, a Nashville-based geotechnical firm. However, the coverage and exposure Bob received in the local press when he won the 2002 Best in Show, Small Firm award helped expand his brand in ways he could not have imagined.
“It’s too expensive.” How much did you spend on postage for that last direct-mail piece? If you sent more than 84 pieces using first-class mail, you just covered the entry fee!
Now, the fun part: Here are a few reasons why you SHOULD compete in the 2005 Marketing Communications Awards.
Success breeds success. Through participation in the National Marketing Communications Awards, you will add to the total body of knowledge available to professional service marketers. We’ve all been inspired by either a good lead line or graphic that drives us to look at our own messages in new ways.
BUZZ onto the front page. We all crave “good ink.” MCA finalists receive national exposure during and immediately following the national conference. In addition, many publications—for example, ZweigWhite’s A/E Marketing Newsletter—have continued to feature MCA entrants in their publications regularly over the past six months. SMPS’s newly reworked Marketer will debut a new column in February that details how recent award winners create distinction through their work.
Jump-start your internal sales. A consistent theme with marketers across the country is that the technical staff just doesn’t understand why we do what we do. But winning awards gets their attention! Just ask Tamara Goff, Director of Marketing with Hnedak Bobo Group. Its 2003 Best in Show award provided as much internal promotion and recognition as it did with clients and prospects.
I hope this brief discussion will get you thinking about your firm’s efforts to “spread the good news” and move you to submit at least one entry in the 2005 National Marketing Communications Awards competition. The Call for Entries is in the mail, and entries are due Friday, April 8, 2005. Additional details can be found at www.smps.org/awards/mca.htm.
P.S.: Did I mention winners will be announced at a black-tie Gala in New Orleans during the Build Business: Beyond Boundaries, the SMPS/PSMA National Conference? Good times, good food, good friends—and Bourbon Street within your grasp? What more motivation do you need?
Additional SMPS Resources
Anxious about preparing an award submittal? Join SMPS online on March 8 for Submitting Award-Winning Competition Entries, a webinar moderated by Karen O. Courtney, AIA, FSMPS. Award-winning experts will discuss their secrets for maximizing results when entering design competitions. For details and registration information, visit www.smps.org/education/webinar.htm.
About the Author
Donna Corlew, FSMPS, CPSM, is Director of Marketing at Gould Turner Group (www.gouldturner.com) in Nashville, TN. Active nationally and locally, Donna chaired the 2004 SMPS National MCA Program. She can be reached at dcorlew@gouldturner.com.
