We make changes to every Stevie Award program every year: categories are added or dropped, fees are raised (and occasionally lowered), entry requirements are tweaked, the schedule is adjusted, and so on.

It's rare, though, that monumental changes are made.  But we've made some really important changes to The American Business Awards for their 2016 (14th annual) edition, and if your organization is in the U.S.A. and you're considering submitting nominations to the ABAs, you need to be aware of these changes.

The American Business Awards are the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., with categories to recognize achievement in every facet of work life, from management to marketing, human resources to new products and websites.  There are two early-bird entry deadlines for the 2016 edition - November 19 and December 16, 2015.  The final deadline for submissions is February 18, but late entries will be accepted through March 16 with payment of a late fee.  Get your entry kit here.

That schedule itself is one of the big changes for the 2016 ABAs, because it's significantly different from entry deadline schedules of the past.

Here's a summary of all of the changes, large and small, we've instituted for The 2016 American Business Awards.  Contact us if you have any questions about any of these topics.

Eligibility Timeframe

• Eligibility for the 2016 ABAs extends from January 1 2015 through March 16 2016, the last day that late entries will be accepted.  Nominations should cite achievements during this eligibility window. Videos, publications, live events, and other media premiered since that date are eligible to be entered.  There is no eligibility timeframe for app and web site entries - it doesn't matter when apps and web sites were first published.

New Categories

• There are several new categories for 2016 including Minority-Owned Business of the Year and Veteran-Owned Business of the Year.  See the entire list of categories here.

Late Fee Increased

• Entry fees have not been raised from 2015, but the late fee charged for entries submitted after the final deadline has been raised from $45 to $55 per entry.

Shipping Fees Lowered

• The shipping fees which are payable if awards won are not accepted at the awards banquet (see the explanation in the terms and conditions of entry here) have been lowered: to $30 per Gold Stevie Award trophy, and $7.50 per shipment of Silver or Bronze medals, regardless of the number of medals won.

Schedule Changed

• The ABAs again feature four entry deadlines, including early-bird deadlines in November and December 2015.  But the two deadlines in 2016 have been moved up to earlier in the year.  While those deadlines used to be in late March and late April, the final deadline for 2016 will be February 18, and the last day that entries will be accepted with payment of a $55 late fee is March 16.

Pre-Announcement of Awards

• The most significant change for the ABAs in 2016 is that we will announce all of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements before the awards banquet.  In the past we pre-announced Finalists, and Finalists did not know whether they had won Gold, Silver or Bronze until the evening of the awards banquet.  In 2016, we will announce all of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners on May 2, and then present the awards during a gala banquet in New York on June 20.

Format of Awards Banquet

• Because we will now pre-announce all Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in the ABAs, all Stevie-winning organizations that attend the June 20 awards banquet in New York will be called to the stage to accept their awards and make an acceptance speech.  In the past, only Gold Stevie Award winners were called to the stage.  As in the past, attendance of the banquet is not required to win.

Number of Awards Banquets

• There will be only one ABA awards banquet in 2016, on June 20 in New York.  In 2012-2015 there had been two banquets each cycle.

New Websites

• We have a new mobile website for the ABAs, and we invite you to check it out at mobile.stevieawards.com/ABA.  A new desktop website will debut in January 2016.  Among the features of the new site will be the ability to schedule text-alert reminders about the entry deadlines, and the ability to add multiple points of contact to your entry-submission account.

Again, contact us if you have any questions about these changes to The American Business Awards for 2016.

More than 280 executives from over 30 nations will gather at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada this coming Friday evening, October 23 for the presentation of The 12th Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards program.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award® winners, selected from more than 3,700 nominations received from organizations and individuals in more than 60 nations, were announced on August 13. All organizations worldwide are eligible to compete in The International Business Awards, and can submit entries in a wide range of categories, including management awards, new product awards, marketing awards, PR awards, customer service awards, website awards, and more.

More than 200 executives worldwide participated in the judging process this year to determine the Stevie winners.

Winners of People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies, as voted by the general public, and Grand Stevie Award trophies, as determined by the total number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies won in the IBAs, were also announced earlier and will be presented in Toronto this Friday.

Here is the list of 2015 Stevie-winning organizations that will be represented in Toronto this Friday.

Accenture
ACE enterprise Slovakia
AECOM
Airglow Aviation Services FZC
Akmerkez
Amec Foster Wheeler
Amira Nature Foods
Anadolu Efes
AssisTT
Atmel Corporation
Bahrain National Gas Company
BeneXchange Financial Group
Bharti Airtel
BI Group Company
boogy the event company
Çalik Enerji
CallidusCloud
Carbonite  Inc.
CareerArc
Carestream NDT
Cathy Turney
CCC
Ceyhinz Link International Inc.
Cisco Systems Inc.  San Jose
Cisco Systems Raleigh
Cision
Dani Communications Co., Ltd
De Beers Group of Companies
DHL Express Canada
Dogus Group
Dubai First Pvt. JSC
Dubai Statistics Center
Edelman Indonesia
Entrepreneurial Business School
Enzaim Health Co.  Ltd.
Fareportal
FCV Interactive
Firmex
Forest Seawall Association
Frank & Oak
Freelancer.com
Garanti Bank
Garanti Pension and Life
Garden Centre
GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications
GENESIS Public Relations sp.z o.o. sp.k. & LEWIATHAN
Globe Telecom  Inc.
HANAROADCOM
HansaWorld
Hay Group
Hindustan Petroleum Co.
IBM
IETT General Directorate
Innography
iPai
J2 Global
KB Kookmin Bank
KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Company
Kim Hung Ki Mentor Team
Kinova, Inc.
Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency (KOSHA)
Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service (COMWEL)
Limak Kosovo International Airport
LLORENTE & CUENCA
M3 Communications Group, Inc.
MANILA ELECTRIC COMPANY (MERALCO)
MapAction
Market Edge Limited
Micro Kickboard
Natcom S.A
Nerium International
NU SKIN Greater China
OptumCare
PagerDuty
Passion Film
Plum.io.
PMFTC, Inc.
Progress
PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) Tbk
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Tbk
QLess, Inc.
Resolute Forest Products
RheinBrücke IT Consulting
RiseSmart
Road and Transport Authority - Rail Agency
Roshan
RSA Insurance
SABIC
ScaleFocus AD
Seegene Medical Foundation
Sharjah Police
SOOHYUN
Strategic Public Relations Group
Studio 5 Designs
Su Hee Jo, Photographer
Tahincioglu Group
TELUS Communications
Textual Serviços de Comunicação
The Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
The Guarantee Company of North America
The National Archives
THEPARTNERS
Time Warner Inc.
TRACCS
TrademarkNow
Türk Telekom
U.S. Green Building Council
UnitedHealth Group
Vakif Emeklilik
Verne Global
Victaulic
Viettel Timor Leste Unipessoal  Lda
Weber Shandwick
WNS Global Services Pvt. Ltd.
Xcel Energy
Zeno Stratcom Indonesia
Ziehm Imaging GmbH
Zorlu Shopping Mall

Photos and videos of the awards presentations will be available next week.

Entries for The 2016 International Business Awards will open in January.  Join the mailing list and you'll be emailed the 2016 entry kit as soon as it's available.

We're pleased to announce that the new Stevie Awards mobile websites are live.  Check them out on your mobile device today, at mobile.StevieAwards.com. 

That's the link to the main mobile site, from which you can navigate to any of our individual awards program sites. 

Here's a rundown of the main features of the mobile sites.

Calendar

On the main mobile website you'll find a consolidated calendar of all important dates for all of the Stevie Awards programs. 

On each of the individual awards program sites, you'll find a calendar with important dates for only that particular awards program, such as the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

In many cases you'll be able to link directly from a menu item to a page of interest.

Participate Menu

Every page on every one of our mobile sites now features a Participate Menu in the lower lefthand corner of the screen.  Open the Participate Menu to find links to pages about how to participate in Stevie Awards programs, including how to be a judge, how to get the entry kit, how to schedule text-message reminders about the entry deadlines, and more.

The Participate Menu on the main Stevies mobile site enables you to perform these functions for more than one Stevie Awards program at a time.  On the individual program sites, you can perform these functions just for that individual awards programs.

Awards Programs Menu

Every page on every one of our mobile sites now features an Awards Program Menu in the lower righthand corner of the screen.  Open the Awards Program Menu to find links to the mobile websites of each of our individual awards programs.

You'll find links for all six of the Stevie Awards programs that we operate.  You'll also find a link to the entry-kit request form for the Golden World Awards for Public Relations Excellence, which we promote on behalf of the International Public Relations Association.

Get an Entry Kit

We've made it easy now to get an entry kit for all Stevie Awards programs, or just one in particular.

The homepage of each of the new mobile sites features a simple form to fill out if you'd like to be emailed an entry kit. 

Fill out the form on the main mobile site, and you can request the entry kits for any or all of the Stevie Awards programs.

If you complete the form on one of our individual awards program sites, you'll get the entry kit for just that particular awards program.

Schedule Text-Message Reminders

This is a brand-new feature that we've introduced with the new mobile sites that we're very excited about.

Now you can subscribe to receive text-message reminders six days in advance of all of the entry deadlines for a particular Stevie Awards programs.

If you subcribe to this feature on the main mobile site, you'll have the option to opt-in to text message reminders about the entry deadlines for any or all of the Stevie Awards programs.

If you subscribe on any of the individual awards program sites, you'll opt-in only for the reminders about the deadlines for that particular program. 

Give this new feature a try.  If you decide that you'd like to opt-out of receiving text-message reminders, that will be easy to do.  Each time you receive a text message from us you'll also receive an opt-out link.

What Else Can I Do? Menu

Finally, the mobile homepage for each of our individual awards programs features a What Else Can I Do? Menu.

Many of these links you'll also find in the Participate Menu on each of our program sites.  But this menu is another easy way to access many of the functions and features our entrants and judges want to see on our sites.

So what can't you do on our new mobile websites?

You can't submit entries through the new Stevie Awards mobile websites, you can't (yet) apply to be a judge, and you can't (yet) perform judging.  Those functions will continue to be exclusive to our desktop websites, at www.StevieAwards.com.  Most tablet devices will continue to direct to our desktop sites rather than the new mobile sites, so you can always submit your entries and perform judging from a tablet, if you're on the go.

Speaking of our desktop sites, they're up next on the renovation agenda.  Look for our new-and-improved desktop sites to go live in January 2016.

Questions about the new mobile sites?  Contact us at help@stevieawards.com. 

You've been busy. You've been travelling. You were at a tradeshow. You were out sick. Your boss wasn't available for approvals. Whatever the reason, you didn't get around to submitting entries to this year's American Business Awards. But you've gotten a reprieve. For the first time in its 13 year history, the final entry deadline of The American Business Awards, the preeminent business awards program in the U.S.A., has been extended - through this coming Friday, May 1.

We know, you're still busy. Your calendar this week is still chockablock. But surely you can find 10 free minutes. Because in 10 minutes you can prepare and submit an entry to the ABAs and potentially win a Stevie®, one of the most coveted trophies on the planet.

Here are a number of ways you can do that.

Repurpose Nominations From Other Awards Programs
The submission requirements for the ABAs are fairly open-ended, and there's a wide variety of categories to choose from. If you've entered any other awards programs this year, simply repurpose the nominations you wrote for those competitions for the ABAs. Most categories require only the submission of an essay of up to 650 words and a bullet-list summary of the achievements portrayed in the essay. It should be fairly easy to reconfigure your other awards nominations for the ABAs.

Repurpose Your Press Releases and White Papers
It's likely you've already done the heavy-lifting of describing your organization's achievements, your innovations, your new products and services, your marketing and PR campaigns, etc. Throughout the year you've been trumpeting your successes through press releases and white papers. Simply comb through your output over the past year and cobble together the text you've already written into a short essay. Note that the 2015 ABAs will recognize your achievements since the beginning of 2014.

Repurpose Your Press Clippings
With every ABA nomination you have the option to attach any number of press clippings, work samples, video clips, photographs, etc. to your essay, to help paint the picture for the judges. Does one or more of your press clippings feature a compelling story that can be the basis of the essay for your ABA nomination? There's no need to reinvent the wheel if it already exists and you can reuse it.

Hire a Consultant
Did you know that there are a number of consultancies that specialize in preparing and submitting awards nominations on behalf of their clients? There are quite a few in the U.S.A., and they've been remarkably successful over the years in winning Stevie Awards for their clients. Contact us if you'd like a referral to one of them who can take the process of getting entries into the ABAs off your hands this week.

Submit Media Work
Sometimes you hope to win a Stevie for a specific reason - for a major achievement, or a member of your team - but sometimes you just want to win a Stevie, for any reason. If that's the case, take a look at the categories in the ABAs for videos, apps, websites, publications, and live events. It's really easy to enter these categories. These categories generally require only a short essay of up to 125 words, describing the nominated work's purpose and results to date, and the nominated video or app, etc., itself.

Resubmit a Nomination From Another Stevie Awards Program
Did you have success with a nomination in the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, or the Stevie Awards for Women in Business? One Stevie Awards competition has nothing to do with another, and resubmitting a nomination from one program to this year's ABAs is a valid strategy followed by many organizations.

Contact Us for Help
You'll save a lot of time by letting us do some of the important work for you. We'll save you the trouble of plowing through our category lists to find the category that's right for you, for example. Contact us, by email at help@stevieawards or telephone at +1 703-547-8389. Tell us what your organization wants to be recognized for, and we'll suggest the best category for your nomination.

Whichever strategy you choose to get your ABA nominations written and submitted this week, do get them submitted this week, because the deadline will not be extended further!

Ready to enter The 2015 American Business Awards?  Begin here

The American Business Awards, one of the Stevie® Awards competitions, is widely regarded as the premier business awards program in the U.S.A.  But did you know that the ABAs feature one of the top competitions in the country for marketing work? 

Indeed, the ABAs offer a wide range of marketing awards categories to recognize the best of recent marketing campaigns in a wide variety of industries and media.  Plus there are a number of categories to honor marketing agencies, departments, teams, and individual professionals.

The final entry deadline for The 2015 (13th Annual) American Business Awards is Wednesday, April 22.  Complete details on the competition are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Recent Stevie winners in the ABAs' marketing awards categories include AMD, GE, OgilvyEntertainment,  Protection 1,  Sony PlayStation, SunTrust Bank, TIAA-CREF, Univision Communications, among others, so you'll be in very good company if you win a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie in this year's ABAs.

Here's what you'll need to submit in order to enter the marketing categories in the 2015 ABAs:

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee's accomplishments since January 1 2014.  In the marketing campaign categories, this will be a description of the campaign: its genesis, development, execution, and results to date.

b. In bullet-list form, a brief summary (up to 150 words) of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee since the beginning of 2014.  In the marketing campaign categories, this will be a list of the chief features and results of the nominated campaign.

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files, work samples, and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges.

What makes a great marketing entry in the ABAs?  Having done something to crow about is obviously important, but telling a great story is just as important.  You'll need to impress the judges with your 625-word case study and supportive work samples, press clippings, etc.  Great entries walk the line between being too boastful and too factually dry.  Presenting the facts of your case in a way that will fascinate, impress, and keep the attention of the judges is key.

Awards in the marketing categories will be announced and presented at the first of two ABA awards banquets this year, on June 22 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.  Attendance is not required to win.

So here are the marketing categories in this year's competition.

Marketing Campaign of the Year - Industry Categories

E01. Agricultural / Industrial / Building: for all related products, materials, tools and services.
E02. Automotive - Aftermarket: gasoline, motor oil, tires, batteries, paint, quick-lube, oil change, muffler, transmission, windshield wipers, enhancements, etc.
E03. Automotive - Vehicles: cars, trucks, motorcycles, both brand and model advertising.
E04. Beauty: cosmetics, fragrances, hair products, nail products, beauty services such as salons, spas, etc.
E05. Beverages - Alcohol: beer, champagne, liquor, wine, wine coolers, after dinner drinks, etc.
E06. Beverages - Non-Alcohol: diet and non-diet soda, coffee, tea, juices, milk, milk substitutes, bottled water, sparkling water, etc.
E07. Breakfast Foods: cereals and other foods intended primarily for breakfast consumption.
E08. Corporate Reputation/Professional Services: includes sponsorships, image & identity, communications to promote corporations, not exclusively their products. Includes business/professional services such as consulting, accounting, legal, employments, etc.
E09. Culture & The Arts: plays, museums, music organizations, concert series, cultural festivals, theater festivals, etc.
E10. Electronics: audio and/or video devices such as TVs, radios, mobile devices, home entertainment (DVD/Blu-ray players), cameras, computer hardware, game consoles, laptops, tablets, sound systems, etc.
E11. Energy/Nutrition Products & Services: products and services aimed at the energy, sports, wellness lifestyle. Vitamins, energy bars, drinks, etc.; weight loss and fitness programs/camps, training camps and facilities, etc.
E12. Entertainment & Sports: includes entertainment and sporting events. Sporting events such as the Super Bowl, sports teams, etc. All forms of entertainment including specific films, books, DVDs, videogames, games (online, mobile, social, board, card, etc.), entertainment apps, greeting cards, online, radio and TV programming, etc.
E13. Fashion & Style: brands of clothing, eyewear, footwear, hosiery, jewelry, accessories, etc.
E14. Financial Cards: credit, charge, debit, reward, phone and other cards.
E15. Financial Products & Services: communications promoting overall image and capabilities of a financial institution and specific products or services including home banking, loans, mortgage, mutual funds, traveler's checks, etc.
E16. Government / Institutional / Recruitment: municipal or state economic development, lotteries, utilities (i.e. electricity conservation messages), membership drives, armed forces marketing communications. Includes political messages and special interest/trade group communications.
E17. Healthcare - Disease Education & Awareness: communications to educate and/or spread awareness about a certain disease or health issue, whether to healthcare professionals, patients, and/or consumers.
E18. Healthcare - OTC: communications efforts for products that may be purchased without a subscription that address a specific illness, disease, or health issue, whether to healthcare professionals, patients, and/or consumers.
E19. Healthcare - Rx: communications efforts for products that may be purchased with a subscription that address a specific illness, disease, or health issue, whether to healthcare professionals, patients, and/or consumers.
E20. Healthcare - Services: marketing communications efforts that were developed for hospitals, HMOs, referral services, dental and medical care services, or chronic care facilities, whether to healthcare professionals, patients, and/or consumers.
E21. Home Furnishings & Appliances: kitchen appliances, air conditioners, carpeting, furniture, decorator's supplies, paint, wallpaper, etc.
E22. Home Supplies & Services: cleaning products, waxes, detergents, floor-care products, fabric softeners, paper products, domestic services, mowers, fertilizers, lawn care, gardening services, etc.
E23. Insurance: communications promoting specific products or services related to insurance and the capabilities of financial institutions offering these services. All types of insurance are eligible (home, auto, financial, health, life, travel, business, etc.).
E24. Internet / Telecom: wireless/cellular providers, high speed Internet access services, online services, portals, search engines and related Internet products & services (including SaaS/IaaS and Cloud-based services), bundled communications (Internet, telephone, and cable TV).
E25. Leisure Products & Services: recreational, sporting, and camping goods/services and other items/services intended for leisure activity.
E26. Media Companies: broadcasters, magazines, newspapers, web sites, consumer or trade media, radio and television stations, including networks.
E27. Office & Delivery Products & Services: delivery - overnight delivery, packagetracking, international service, etc. Office - printers, physical servers, fax machines, copiers, supplies, office furniture, etc.
E28. Packaged Food: packaged and frozen foods both regular and diet/light.
E29. Personal Care: soap, dental products, face & body lotions and cleansers, cotton swabs, deodorants, feminine hygiene products, razors, shaving cream, etc.
E30. Pet Care: animal care products and services of all types, including food, toys, veterinary and boarding services, training, and breeders.
E31. Real Estate: homes, real estate brokers, malls, etc.
E32. Restaurants: quick service, casual dining, mid-scale, white table cloth and other restaurants.
E33. Retail: general -- stores and/or web sites that provides a multiple range of non-related or generally related merchandise, which include department stores, food retailers, and discount/bulk retailers, craft stores, etc. Specialized -- stores and/or web sites that specialize in one particular line of products (e.g. clothing, fashion, jewelry, health food, shoes, pet care, toys, greeting cards, etc.).
E34. Snacks / Desserts / Confections: ice cream, candy, chips, cookies, bakery items, nut, fruit & vegetable snacks, popcorn, etc.
E35. Software: software, groupware, operating systems, or software stored locally on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. (See category E24 for Saas/IaaS or Cloud-based services, and category E12 for online and mobile games.)
E36. Transportation: air, train, bus/trolley, taxi, subway systems, bike shares, car rentals, leasing not including automobile sales/leasing, ferries, etc.
E37. Travel / Tourism / Destination: cruises, hotels, resorts, amusement parks, travel websites and booking services, travel tours, tourism campaigns, etc.

Marketing Campaign of the Year - Specialty Categories

E40. Brand Experience of the Year - Business-to-Business: recognizing work that reaches out to business audiences to establish meaningful relationships, memorable, engaging experiences, and unique connections with their brands.
E41. Brand Experience of the Year - Consumer: recognizing work that reaches out to consumer audiences to establish meaningful relationships, memorable, engaging experiences, and unique connections with their brands.
E42. Mobile Marketing Campaign of the Year: for campaigns targeted to consumers' mobile devices.
E43. Branded Content Campaign of the Year: A new category for 2015. Recognizing work that has used branded content - original or sponsored - to reach out to audiences to establish meaningful relationships, memorable, engaging experiences, and unique connections with their brands.
E44. Online Marketing Campaign of the Year: for campaigns that were conducted in their entirety online.
E45. New Product or Service Introduction of the Year: for campaigns conducted to introduce a new product or service to the U.S. market.
E46. Small-Budget Marketing Campaign of the Year (<$3 million)
E47. Viral Marketing Campaign of the Year: for campaigns that used word-of-mouth, video stunts, and other viral tactics as their primary means of communication.
E48. Youth Marketing Campaign of the Year: for campaigns that targeted the youth market (up to age 24).

Marketing Professional Categories

E50. Marketing or Advertising Agency of the Year
E51. Marketing Department of the Year
E52. Marketing Team of the Year
E53. Marketing Executive of the Year
E54. Marketer of the Year (for non-executive marketing professionals.  There is no entry fee for this category)

Need help figuring out which categories are right for you?  Contact us.

This Friday, March 27 will mark the historic occasion of the presentation of the very first German Stevie Awards, the newest Stevie Awards competition.  The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards to recognize the best in business throughout Germany will be presented during a gala event at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Berlin.

The 2015 German Stevie Awards accepted nominations in a wide variety of categories, including

* Management Awards
* Company of the Year Awards
* PR Awards
* Marketing Awards
* New Product Awards
* Website & App Awards
* HR Awards
* IT Awards
* Customer Service Awards
* Video Awards
and more

All organizations operating in Germany were eligible to submit entries. Nominations of more than 200 organizations were considered for the awards this year.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners, selected by more than 50 executives who participated in judging, were announced on February 26.   The Grand Stevie winner, presented to the organization that submitted the best body of nominations to the awards, will be announced at the March 27 banquet in Berlin.

The Stevie Award trophy, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, is among the world's most coveted prizes.

Here are the organizations who've already booked their place at this Friday's awards banquet.

affilinet GmbH München Bayern
aok teleservice marketing- und callcenterdienstleistungen der defacto GmbH Erlangen Bayern
Arkadin Frankfurt
AVL Emission Test Systems GmbH Neuss
Blacklane GmbH Berlin
CB-PraxisBeratung, Heidelberg
CCC Berlin
CocaCola GmbH Berlin
COMBITEL GmbH München Bayern
Deutsche Post DHL Bonn NRW Deutschland
E2open AG Karlsruhe Baden-Württemberg
Emanate PR München Bayern
Epicentrum de Colonia Köln
F&H Public Relations GmbH München Bayern
Feingold Technologies GmbH Unterföhring München Bayern
fischerAppelt Hamburg
Hamburger Software GmbH, Hamburg
Hewlett Packard CDS GmbH Bad Homburg Hessen
Integration Matters - Faiz & Siegeln Software GmbH Essen NRW
Inventorum GmbH Berlin
JUNIQE (Kollwitz Internet GmbH) Berlin
Kemper Kommunikation GmbH Frankfurt Hessen
Ketchum Pleon Dusseldorf
Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Berlin
METRO Cash & Carry Deutschland GmbH Düsseldorf NRW
MID GmbH Nürnberg Bayern
mobilcom-debitel GmbH Erfurt Thüringen
optivo GmbH Berlin
Packsize GmbH Herford NRW
The Phone House Telecom GmbH, Münster
promio.net Gmbh Bonn Nordrhein-Westfalen
RheinBrücke IT Consulting GmbH Köln NRW
Sky Deutschland Unterföhring Bayern
trio-group GmbH Mannheim Baden-Württemberg
uberMetrics Technologies GmbH Berlin Deutschland
Vocalcom GmbH Mannheim Baden Württemberg
Weber Shandwick München Bayern
Zebra Advertisement Dudenhofen Germany
ZIEHL-ABEGG SE Künzelsau Baden-Württemberg

Entries for the 2016 edition of the German Stevie Awards will open this August.  Add your name to the mailing list, and you'll receive the entry kit by email as soon as it's available.

A record-setting crowd of more than 500 executives from around the world will gather at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Friday, February 27 for the 9th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top sales awards, business development awards, contact center awards and customer service awards.  Tickets for the event are still on sale.

The presentations will begin at 5:15 pm with the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards in the business development, new product, and solution provider categories.  After cocktails and dinner, the awards will continue at 7:40 pm with awards in the sales and customer service categories.  The evening will conclude with the presentation of Grand Stevie Award trophies to the 10 organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the 2015 competition.

More than 1,900 entries were submitted for consideration in this year's competition, a 27% increase over 2014.  Entries to the competition have more than doubled over the past three years.

So who's coming to the event in Las Vegas on Friday?  Here's the list of organizations that have already confirmed their participation.

(mt) Media Temple Culver City CA
60K Ltd. Sofia Bulgaria
Access One Inc Chicago IL
Acquia Inc. Burlington MA
Active Digital Tonbridge Kent United Kingdom
Adobe Systems San Jose CA
Allianz Global Assistance Richmond VA
Artificial Solutions Stockholm Sweden
Asurion Nashville TN
Avea Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. Istanbul Turkey
BDNA Mountain View CA
Beeline.com Jacksonville FL
Billhighway Troy MI
Black Knight Financial Services Jacksonville FL
Blacklane GmbH Berlin Germany
Blinds.com Houston TX
Blizzard Entertainment Irvine CA
Bluebeam Software Pasadena CA
Box Inc. Los Altos CA
BTC Bahamas
BuildASign.com  Austin TX
Buildium Boston MA
Carbonite Boston MA
Cars.com Chicago IL
Cisco Systems Inc San Jose CA
Clean Power Finance San Francisco CA
ClearSlide San Francisco CA
Code42 Minneapolis MN
Comcast Cable Philadelphia PA
Common Sense Solutions Shreveport LA
Competence Call Center Vienna Austria
Comview Corporation Huntington Station NY
Constant Contact Waltham MA
Core BTS Carmel IN
Corporate360 Pte Ltd Singapore
CubeSmart Malvern PA
DataCore Software Fort Lauderdale FL
Delta Air Lines Atlanta GA
Delta Defense West Bend WI
DenizBank Istanbul Turkey
DHL EXPRESS ARGENTINA Buenos Aires Argentina
DHL Express Mexico
DHL EXPRESS NZ LTD Auckland New Zealand
DHL Express U.S. Plantation FL
DHL Global Forwarding Miami FL
Digital Risk  Maitland FL
Donlen Corporation Northbrook IL
EFG Companies Irving TX
EMKAY Inc Itasca IL
eMoney Advisor  LLC  Conshohocken  PA
eMoney Advisor LLC Conshohocken PA
fastjet  Gatwick  United Kingdom
FedEx TechConnect Memphis TN
Findasense Madrid Spain
FLOW Jamaica Kingston Jamaica
Fujairah Police General Head Quarters Al Fujairah United Arab Emirates
Gaggle Bloomington IL
GoDaddy.com Scottsdale AZ
GraduationSource Port Chester NY
GuideWell Connect  Jacksonville FL
Halyard Health Irvine CA
HomeAway Inc. Austin TX
HomeServe USA Norwalk CT
HotelTonight San Francisco CA
IBM Corporation Armonk NY
Imparta Inc Austin TX
IMVU Inc. Mountain View CA
Infinite Conferencing Springfield NJ
Informatica Corporation Redwood City CA
INTERTECH A.S. Istanbul Turkey
Invenio Solutions Austin TX
ISN Dallas TX
j2 Global Inc. Ottawa ON Canada
Janek Performance Group Las Vegas NV
Kohl's Department Stores - Credit Division Menomonee Falls WI
Lennox Industries Inc. Richardson TX
LivingSocial Inc. Washington DC
Lucernex Technologies Plano TX
Magnolia HVAC Riverside CA
MaintenanceNet  Inc.
MarketBridge Bethesda MD
Marriott Intermediary Partner Care Omaha NE
Marriott International Inc. Bethesda MD
Marriott Vacation Club International Orlando FL
MassMutual Life Insurance Company Springfield MA
Mastercard Miami FL
Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
MedCost LLC Winston-Salem NC
Mercury Payment Systems Durango CO
MetTel New York NY
Microsoft Corporation  Redmond  WA
Ministry of Interior Sharjah Police HQ Sharjah United Arab Emirates
Mozy by EMC Pleasant Grove UT
Network Alliance Reston VA
Nuance Communications Burlington MA
Nudge American Fork UT
NYCM Insurance Edmeston NY
Oi  Rio de Janeiro  Brazil
OmniUpdate Camarillo CA
OnTarget Partners Frisco TX
OptumRx Irvine CA
Paycor Cincinnati OH
PCCW Teleservices  Dublin OH
Photodex Austin TX
Picore International Calabasas CA
Police Attache  Washington DC
PrimePay West Chester PA
Pronq-by HP Sunnyvale CA
PSCU St. Petersburg FL
Rackspace San Antonio TX
Revana Tempe AZ
Revenue Storm Schaumburg IL
Richardson Philadelphia PA
Rocket Matter Boca Raton FL
Salesforce  San Francisco, CA
SalesStaff LLC  Houston TX
Service Express Grand Rapids MI
Sharegate Montreal QC Canada
ShopKeep New York NY
Sofica Group JSC Sofia Bulgaria
Sparkcentral San Francisco CA
Statewide Intake Austin TX
SugarCRM Cupertino CA
Sundance Vacations  Wilkes-Barre  PA
Swiss Reinsurance Company Zurich Switzerland
Telerx Horsham PA
Telogis Aliso Viejo California
Texas.gov Austin TX
The Coca-Cola Company Iberia + Findasense Madrid Spain
The Efficiency Sales Professional Institute San Francisco CA
Time Warner Cable New York NY
Trupanion Seattle WA
Turner Industries Group LLC Baton Rouge LA
TweetMyJobs Burbank CA
United Credit Consultants Burnsville MN
United States Equestrian Federation Lexington KY
UnitedHealthcare Minnetonka MN
UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh PA
USANA Health Sciences Salt Lake City UT
USHEALTH Advisors L.L.C. Grapevine TX
ValueSelling Associates Rancho Santa Fe CA
WCCT Global Cypress CA
Webs  Reston VA
Wells Fargo San Francisco CA
Wheels Inc. Des Plaines IL
WP Engine Austin TX
Wyndham Vacation Ownership Orlando FL
XDBS Corporation Hawthorne CA
Ytel Foothill Ranch CA
Zions First National Bank Salt Lake City UT

It's too late to submit nominations to the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, but it's the right time to plan for the 2016 competition.  Join the mailing list and you'll be emailed the 2016 entry kit as soon as it's available in July.

What do you do if you really want to pursue Stevie® Awards recognition for your organization and your colleagues, but you haven't a dollar or a euro or a pound or a won or any other form of currency in your budget for entry fees?

This category spotlight is about the categories in two Stevie Awards competitions, The 2015 (13th Annual) American Business Awards and The 2015 (12th Annual) International Business Awards, that you can enter without having to pay entry fees. These are the largest and most diverse business awards competitions in the world, together attracting more than 6,800 entries in 2014.

The ABAs are open to all organizations operating in the U.S.A. The IBAs are open to all organizations worldwide. The 2015 editions of both competitions will recognize achievements since January 1, 2014. Both offer a wide variety of categories to choose from. Most categories require payment of an entry fee (the Stevie Awards are funded primarily through entry fees), but there are a handful of categories in both competitions that anyone may enter, free of charge. See below for the entry deadlines for the ABAs and IBAs .

Startup of the Year

Both competitions feature several new Startup of the Year categories that may be entered free of charge. Companies that began operations since the beginning of 2013 may be nominated, as long as the nomination describes the company's achievements since the beginning of 2014. There are four variations of  this category in both competitions: for startups in business products industries, business services industries, consumer products industries, and consumer services industries. Submissions to these categories require an essay of up to 650 words, describing the company's achievements since the beginning of 2014, and a bullet-list summary of up to 10 of the company's primary achievements in that time. You have the option to attach any number of supporting materials (work samples, videos, images, press clippings, etc.) to the entry.

The ABAs also feature a separate category for Tech Startup of the Year that may be entered free of charge. The entry requirements for this category are the same.

Energy Industry Innovation of the Year

This is another new free category for 2015, common to both the ABAs and the IBAs. This category recognizes singular innovations in energy-related technology, production, conservation, storage or delivery, by an organization or an individual, since January 1, 2014. See our recent blogpost about this category.

The Startup of the Year and Energy Industry Innovation of the Year categories are part of the Company/Organization categories in the ABAs and IBAs.

• The Company/Organization categories in the ABAs are listed here.
• Those Company/Organization categories in the IBAs are listed here.

Categories for Non-Executive Individuals

The ABAs have more free categories than the IBAs do. The American Business Awards also feature several free categories in which non-executive professionals in the U.S.A. may be nominated. (By non-executive we mean anyone under a Vice President level.) These categories include Marketer of the Year, Communications Professional of the Year, Product Developer of the Year, Technical Professionals of the Year, and Support Staffer of the Year. Submissions to these categories require an essay of up to 650 words, describing the nominee's achievements since the beginning of 2014, and a bullet-list summary of up to 10 of the nominee's primary achievements. You have the option to attach any number of supporting materials (work samples, videos, images, press clippings, etc.) to the entry.

The entry deadline for The American Business Awards is March 25. Late entries will be accepted through April 22 with payment of a late fee. Complete information about the ABAs is available at www.StevieAward.com/ABA.

The early-bird entry deadline for The International Business Awards is April 15. The final deadline is May 13, but late entries will be accepted through June 10 with payment of a late fee. Learn more at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

So who are you going to nominate in The American Business Awards and/or The International Business Awards?

Biz TV will broadcast a special television program about the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business on Friday, January 30 at 10:00 ET, with a repeat broadcast on Sunday, February 1 at 6:00 pm ET.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run. The 11th annual awards were presented during a dinner in New York on November 14, 2014. More than 400 nominees and their guests from around the world attended.

Read Biz TV's blog post about the broadcast here.

Biz TV is associated with Biz Talk Radio, which broadcast the November proceedings live across the U.S.A.

We saw a preview of the program the other days and it's outstanding! The program features all of the on-stage Grand and Gold Stevie Award presentations, selected interviews with Stevie Award winners, and some original videos produced by 2014 Stevie winners.

Biz TV promises to broadcast the program several more times in the first quarter of this year after the first two airings. We'll publicize those dates when we have them.

Learn more about the women in business awards at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.  The 2015 competition will open for entries in May.

We have struck a very limited number of 2014 Gold Medals that are now available for purchase in the Stevie Awards Store to all 2014 Gold Stevie Award winners. 

We have had only 50 Gold Stevie medals struck and once they are gone they will be gone for good.  The price of each Gold Stevie medal is $50 + shipping & handling.

Only Gold Stevie Award winners in the following 2014 Stevie Awards programs are eligible to purchase this limited edition item:

• The American Business Awards
• The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards
• The International Business Awards
• The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service
• The Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Medals are 3 inches x 0.25 inches. Each medal features the Stevie® Awards image and the year of conferral. Each medal comes in a presentation gift box, with a transparent viewing window on top.

Order your 2014 Gold Stevie Award medals today.

In addition, we are offering discounted pricing this month on 2014 Silver and Bronze Stevie Award medals.  Typically available for $50 each + shipping & handling, this month 2014 Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners can purchase additional medals in the Stevie Awards Store for just $25 each + shipping & handling.

Questions about these items?  Email us at help+awards@stevieawards.com.