Marketing Communications Awards

The Marketing Communications Awards, which were presented for the first time at the Fall 2001 meeting, recognize another important aspect of construction writers' efforts -- communications, including advertising, corporate communications, and public relations. The competition is open to any industry-related individual, corporation, association, or publication. View past winners »

With CONEXPO-CON/AGG coming up early in 2008, our industry's communications have been ramped up, and right now, are extremely important to those served by agency, corporate and independent marcom professionals.

The competition showcases the best of the best in construction-related communications and is a prestigious acknowledgment that the work of these writers through their various communication efforts has met a very high standard of excellence. The CWA Marketing Communications Awards Committee enlists seasoned business-to-business media professionals to serve as competition judges.

New in 2008

The T. Randolph Russell Award for newsletters (view info and past winners) is now part of the Marketing Communications Awards. The Russell Award was formerly part of CWA's spring journalism awards, but the newsletters being submitted over the past few years were promotional in nature and so fit the fall marketing communications awards niche much better. Entries may be a single newsletter or a series of related issues covering a single topic. 

Award Specifications

The competition is open to any industry-related individual, corporation, association, advertising agency/pr firm or publication submitting a completed entry form accompanied by a $100 entry fee. Entries will be divided into three classifications:

• Advertising - includes single ads, campaigns, advertorial supplements
• Corporate Communications - includes annual reports, brochures, internal newsletters, video/multimedia, direct mail (single piece or campaign), corporate identity, trade show exhibits, proposals/presentations.
• Public Relations - includes PR campaigns, media kits, special events

 

Based on the number and breakdown of entries, the judges may establish subcategories to facilitate judging. A winner will be selected and receive an award plaque in each of the award categories/subcategories. In addition, the judges may elect to award certificates of merit to worthy runners-up. Judges reserve the right to not select a winner in any category where they deem the entries do not meet award standards.

Judges

Judging will be conducted by an impartial panel of peers in each category with acknowledged expertise in marketing communications, selected by the CWA Marketing Communications Awards Committee. The committee serves to screen entries to ensure they meet the prescribed entry rules. No individual is eligible to serve as a judge if he or she has submitted an entry in the CWA Marketing Communications Awards or is affiliated with a company or organization that has submitted an entry.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be judged on the basis of the following criteria:

• Graphic design (25%)
• Editorial content (25%)
• Effectiveness in achieving the stated marketing and communications goals (50%)

 

Entry Requirements

Entrants must submit to the chairman a completed entry form (printed from our brochure or a photocopy or a copy downloaded from the CWA website). All entries must be received no later than Friday, August 24, 2007. Submissions should not be mounted on boards. Entries must have been produced between January 1, 2006 and the submission deadline. Video/CD submission must include the entry's running time. Entries will not be returned. An entry fee of $100 should be sent separately to CWA headquarters.

For additional tips on successful entries, please take a look at our entry tips below.

Entries should be mailed to the chairman:
Note: Please delete credit card information from the form you send to the chairman:

Don Marsh
Concrete Products - Penton Media, Inc.
By mail: 330 N Wabash, Suite 2300, Chicago, IL 60611
By fax: 312-840-8483
By email: dmarsh@concreteproducts.com

Entry fees should be sent to the CWA office:
Sheila Wertz, Executive Director
Construction Writers Association
By mail: PO Box 5586, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-5586
By Fax: 847-590-5241
By Email: office@constructionwriters.org

If you have questions, contact the chairman, Don Marsh (by phone at 312-840-8483 - mailing address, fax and email above), or Sheila Wertz at the CWA office by phone at 847-398-7756, by fax at 847-590-5241, or by e-mail at office@constructionwriters.org .

2007 Official Entry Form

Tips for Successful Entries

1. Entries should be typewritten. Whether it¹s fair or not, presentation counts, and judges are not as likely to rate highly an entry that they have trouble deciphering because it¹s handwritten.
2. Make it as easy as possible for the judges to review your entry. While it may be more convenient for you to put your 30+ press releases and/or photos on a CD, it is much more difficult for the judges to read/view them in that format. Remember, the judges are evaluating 60 or more entries in a single day, many of them voluminous, and despite their dedication to the task, they are human and subject to fatigue and frustration.
3. More is not necessarily better. While you¹re encouraged to include everything necessary to support your entry, overkill can work against you, particularly with respect to the PR category. For example, rather than including a copy of every single placement your campaign garnered, consider instead several samples along with a complete listing of all the publications and placement dates. Again, be conscious of the judges¹ time and attention.
4. Pay particular attention to the sections on the entry form that call for a description of your entry, its marketing and communications goals, and the documented results. In the past, a number of award-caliber submissions have not received the recognition to which they were entitled because these areas were inadequately or not clearly addressed. As stated on the entry form, 50% of an entry¹s score is based on its effectiveness in achieving the stated marketing and communications goals. The judges will not make any assumptions; they can only base their evaluation on the information with which you provide them.