PR Awards Categories in The 2011 American Business Awards

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Thu, Oct 28, 2010 @ 03:54 PM

In 2010 we introduced a lot of new public relations and communications awards categories in The American Business Awards, and we haven't added any new ones for 2011.  But I thought I'd take a moment here to outline the categories that I think are the best fit for public relations, corporate communications, public affairs, and investor relations professionals, because not all of them are plainly labelled.

First off, there are those categories that are plainly labelled, and they include the many Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year categories we introduced in 2010.  Here are the main communications categories (the letter/nomination combinations are our internal category codes):

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Topics: communications awards, PR awards, public relations awards, pr award, public relations award, investor relations awards, communications award, ir awards, ir award, investor relations award

HR Awards Categories in The 2011 American Business Awards

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Tue, Oct 26, 2010 @ 04:56 PM

There are a good many HR awards categories to choose from in The American Business Awards, although there are only three that are specifically labelled as HR:

Human Resources Department of the Year
Human Resources Team of the Year
Human Resources Executive of the Year

Here are some others that human resources professionals should consider submitting nominations to:

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Topics: hr awards, human resources awards, best hr, awards hr, russell campanello, phase forward, irobot

New Product Awards Categories in The 2011 American Business Awards

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Mon, Oct 25, 2010 @ 06:22 PM

These are the new product awards categories in The 9th annual American Business Awards, which opened for entries last week.  The first early-bird entry deadline is November 17.  (The letter/number combinations are our internal category codes.)

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Topics: product of the year, product awards, new product awards, awards new product

New Marketing Awards Categories in The American Business Awards

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Mon, Oct 25, 2010 @ 06:11 PM

We've added many new marketing awards categories to The American Business Awards for the 9th annual edition, which opened for entries last week.  The first early-bird deadline is November 17.

We used to have just a few marketing categories, including...

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Topics: Advertising awards, marketing awards, ad awards, awards marketing

American Business Awards entry kit now available

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Wed, Oct 20, 2010 @ 12:00 PM

Today we've published the entry kit for The 2011 (9th annual) American Business Awards.  Get your entry kit on the ABA web site.  The ABAs are the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., honoring achievement in every facet of the workplace.

The ABAs are open to all organizations in the U.S.A., including the U.S-based operations of foreign organizations.

There are a couple of early-bird entry deadlines this fall by which the entry fees are substantially discounted - November 17 and December 15.  The ultimate deadline is March 31, but we'll continue to accept late entries right through April 27 with payment of a late fee.

There's quite a bit new about the ABAs this year, most notably a lot of new marketing awards categories.

There are also new categories specifically for organizations in the health care industries, including Executive of the Year - Health Products & Services, and Best New Product or Service of the Year - Health Products & Services.

Topics: marketing awards, American business awards, stevie awards, new product awards, management awards, executive of the year

Women in Business Awards Finalists Announced

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 02:16 PM

Today we announced the Finalists in the 2010 (7th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  Personally this is my favorite Stevie Awards competition, because the stories of success that women entrepreneurs and executives tell are often so dramatic, and women give much better acceptance speeches than men do.  Find the full list on the Stevies for Women web site.

We had a record number of entries to the Stevies for Women this year - more than 1,200.  13% better than last year.  The majority of entries to this competition are still from organizations in the U.S.A. - I'd like to see this competition become more broadly international, and we're workingStevie Awards for Women in Business Logo on that - but we received entries from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and the United Kingdom as well.

This year's awards dinner is back at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City, and tickets are now on sale.  Last year the event had more than 330 women and their guests from the U.S. and several other countries, and I expect this year's attendance to be just as strong.  Sara Eisen of Bloomberg TV will emcee.

Among the leading contenders with multiple Finalists are BGT Partners, Miami, FL; The Buildmore Group Pty Ltd, Caloundra, QLD Australia; Elite Editing, New York, NY; Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, New York, NY; JCPR, Parsippany, NJ; Kryon Systems, Tel Aviv, Israel; MWW Group, East Rutherford, NJ; ODEL Limited, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka; Reserveage Organics, Gainesville, FL; and VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA.

Topics: business awards, stevie awards, women awards, Women in Business

Sales & Customer Service Awards

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Thu, Oct 07, 2010 @ 01:46 PM

We're a week away from the October 15 early-bird entry deadline for the 5th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and here are some thoughts about this year's competition.

Despite challenging economic conditions worldwide, I expect to see strong growth in the number of entries in the customer service awards categories.  Every organization worldwide wants to be known as providing great customer service, and winning a prestigious award such as a Stevie Award can be a useful tool to illustrate that one's peers, and perhaps customers, agree that you're achieving that.

Entries to the sales awards categories may be another matter, however, and I think that presents an opportunity for smart organizations out there.  Sales people love a pat on the back.  Strong commissions aren't enough to satisfy most sales professionals.  But many organizations hesitate to seek recognition for their sales teams when sales growth is stagnant or tepid at best.  And frankly, many organizations can't claim to be beating sales records in the current economic environment. 

And that's where the opportunity lies.  If your sales people are holding their own, if you have compelling stories to tell about the problems they're solving and solutions they're providing, then by all means, nominate them in the sale awards categories.  You're likely to have less competition than you would in years when all boats are rising.

Topics: customer service awards, business awards, stevie awards, sales awards

And the Business Awards Go to

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Thu, Oct 07, 2010 @ 12:22 PM

You Really Like Me!

Who doesn't want to hear their name spoken over a public address system...or a nationwide television broadcast...after those words?  We all grew up watching the Oscars and the Emmys and the Grammys on television (or some other assemblage of entertainment industry awards, if you didn't grow up in the U.S.A.).  We dreamed of climbing the steps onto that stage, while the audience roar their approval, to accept that massive trophy that weights about 10 pounds, while our loved ones weep tears of joy for us in the audience, and we thank our teachers and our parents and everyone else we've ever met in a 90-second acceptance speech that will be replayed in highlight broadcasts for decades.

We all want to be recognized for what we do, for what we accomplished.  And that's what this blog is about.  It's about giving people their "Oscar" moment for their workplace achievements.  The Stevie Awards are business awards.  We recognize companies and non-profits, executives and employees, teams and departments.  We'll blog about their achievements, and would like to hear your comments, suggestions, thoughts and ideas.

Tell about your achievements, about those of your co-workers and colleagues.  Point us to articles you've read about extraordinary people and their accomplishments, and we'll see about getting them even more recognition.

Topics: business awards, oscars, emmys, grammys, recognition

Top 5 International Business Awards Observations

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Thu, Oct 07, 2010 @ 11:44 AM

IBA 10 Ceremony

We staged the awards banquet of The 7th annual International Business Awards at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey on Monday, September 27.  What a weekend, what an event.  The hotel is lovely, and is about two stone-throws from the Bosporus.  Istanbul is a vibrant, busy, fascinating city. I had heard that Turkish food is good, but it was great and memorable!

The awards banquet was attended by more than 260 executives from 24 nations, making it the largest IBA awards banquet to date, surpassing Dublin, Ireland in 2008.  Thanks to the Turkish companies who participated in the IBAs this year for their strong support.  You'll find photos and video clips of the event here

It's easy to forget that even the most powerful business executives are just men and women who want to be recognized for their achievements like everyone else does.  Whether you're winning marketing awards, sales awards, public relations awards, or what have you, it's a moving experience to receive a substantial trophy, a round of applause, and a moment in the spotlight.

Here are my top five observations from this year's IBAs:

1. The Turks are on the verge of rivalling the Koreans for IBA dominance.  Turkish companies took home the most awards this year, but the event was on their home turf.  Nevertheless, I look for them to be a leader among IBA winners for years to come.

2. Korean companies are successful in the IBAs because they enter as a bloc.  They smartly concentrate their entries on a handful of categories, and dominate those.  More countries should follow their example.

3. The British give the best acceptance speeches.  Always engaging, always literate.

4.  Best acceptance speech of the night had to be Maxim Behar's, of M3 Communications in Bulgaria.  But maybe I'm biased because he wore a tuxedo?

5.  Best IBA meal ever.  Caviar, fine wine, fabulous olives.

Topics: business awards, International business awards, maxim behar, m3 communications