9 Years, Thousands of Entries, and One Winning Formula that WORKS
Nine years ago, I founded August Recognition with one goal: to help great brands and people win valuable recognition that helps them to achieve their goals.
Since then, we’ve crafted thousands of entries, and supported hundreds of entrants across every industry you can imagine. We’ve seen tear-jerking community projects, jaw-dropping innovation, and leaders who’ve turned adversity into real-world impact.
And while every story has been unique, one thing has become clear:
There’s a real formula to winning.
A formula that works, whether you're a startup with no external recognition or awards yet, or a seasoned corporate driving towards your next team win.
To celebrate 9 years in the industry, we’re sharing 9 essential award-winning tips that have helped our clients go from nominated to multi-award-winning.
These aren’t cliches, they are the strategies we’ve tested, tweaked, and trusted to win the best awards in the world for our clients.
1. Awards Aren’t About You, They’re About What You Do for Others
Imposter syndrome is one of the biggest barriers to entering awards.
So many brilliant people hold back, not because they aren’t worthy… but because they feel they’re not “ready”, or feel uncomfortable about putting themselves forward.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have to talk about what you did, how hard it was, and how great you are in an award entry. And while that all matters, it’s not what wins awards.
Awards aren’t about showing off, they’re about showcasing the people you’ve impacted.
Judges aren’t looking to reward egos. They want evidence of real-world change. They’re looking to understand:
Who did this make a difference to?
What changed because of you?
How can you prove it?
When you shift your focus to who you’ve helped and how, Imposter syndrome fades, and purpose takes its place.
Winning entries don’t say “Look how great I am.” They say “Here’s how we made life better for others, and here’s the proof.”
If you asked yourself: “Whose life, business, health, or happiness improved because of what we did?”
Make that your reason to enter. Then find your evidence and tell your story.
2. Your Brand Story is Your Superpower
Facts inform, but stories win.
Time and again, we’ve seen how the entries that stick in a judge’s mind are the ones that tell a story, and not just list achievements.
It’s tempting to pack in every stat, milestone, and bullet point you can. But a strong award entry doesn’t read like a CV. It should tell a story that pulls the reader in, shows the ‘before’, the journey, the challenges, and the outcome.
When you tell your story clearly, and honestly, you turn what you’ve done into something a judge can relate to, remember, and score highly.
Your story should embrace your purpose; why did you take action? What problems were you solving? Who believed in the mission, and what did they do to bring it to life?
Think of your brand as a protagonist; What obstacle did you face? What decision did you make? What changed as a result?
A great story with clear outcomes is what sets winners apart, and your story, well told, is your greatest advantage.
3. Don’t Wait for the ‘Perfect’ Moment to Enter
One of the most common reasons people delay entering awards is that they’re “not quite ready.”
It sounds like a reasonable excuse, you might want more data, more client testimonials, or one more project under your belt. But here's the thing, like most things in business and in life, there’s rarely a “perfect” moment. And waiting for it often means missing your window entirely, or something like a pandemic, a contract loss, or even a change in the industry interrupts your progress and puts you back to the beginning again.
Award entries are time-bound and often looking back just a year or so for measurement of success. That means once you’ve completed impactful work and are getting results, that is the moment to start entering. Even if you don’t have every stat polished, and the work is still in progress, you can still tell a powerful, outcome-driven story with the results you’ve got.
We’ve seen entrants who didn’t think they were “ready” go on to win national recognition, simply because they entered while the impact was relevant and current.
And if you enter and don’t win? You’ve still gained:
- Finalist PR, social media impact and a great news story for your customers
- Valuable networking and brand alignment with other finalists
- Feedback and a clear benchmark for future success
So if you’ve achieved something in the past 12–18 months that’s made a genuine difference to people, business, or your industry – you’re probably ready enough. Capture it while it’s still alive in your mind, and build from there.
4. Data Makes the Difference
You might have a powerful story and a clear purpose, but unfortunately without evidence, it’s just your word against the competition’s.
Judges aren’t just moved by what you say, they’re persuaded and impressed by what you can prove. And that means every claim you make should be backed up by credible, relevant, and clear data.
Too many entries try to rely on enthusiasm alone. They sound impressive, but when the judges ask “How do we know this really worked?”, there’s nothing solid underneath.
To stand out, your entry needs to show results that are both quantitative and qualitative. That could include;
- Growth and performance statistics
- Reduction and savings data
- Client results and case studies
- Genuine, meaningful testimonials
- Feedback scores or reviews
- Accreditations or industry benchmarks
- Media coverage or public impact
Don’t save the stats for the end. Make data part of the story from the start. Use it to support each major point you make and show the judge you're not just making claims, you’re demonstrating real impact.
5. Don’t Chase Every Badge, Enter the Right Awards for you
Not all awards are created equal. And not every award is right for you – even if it’s prestigious.
To get the best results, you need to enter awards that:
- Reflect what you’ve actually achieved, and
- Support where you want to go next
That means being strategic.
If your recent success lies in building a thriving team culture, it makes more sense to enter people and workplace awards than generic business categories. If your growth came from sustainability innovation, that’s where you should focus your energy.
But there’s another layer, one many miss:
Use awards to fuel your wider business goals.
Here's what we mean by that;
If you want to recruit top talent, winning an employee-focused award will build your employer brand and help attract the right people.
If you want to expand into new sectors, target awards with categories or media coverage in that space.
Or if you are launching a new product, recognition in innovation and product, or customer service awards adds trust before you hit the market.
When your entry is both authentic and intentional, your awards success becomes more than a badge and trophy, it becomes a catalyst for further growth, and you’ll get even more value from it.
6. Make the Judges Feel Something
You can have the best results in your category, but if your entry feels flat, or overly technical, it won’t clinch the title.
Award-winning entries do more than inform. They move the judges.
Because at the end of the day, judges are real people, and they remember how something made them feel far more than they remember numbers on a page.
We like to use the following quote as a reminder of this;
“They may forget what you said – but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Carl W. Buehner
That doesn’t mean writing an emotional essay, it means connecting your outcomes to human stories, relatable, real-life events, and the “why” behind your work.
If you transformed a process, explain the difference it made to real people’s lives.
If your team went above and beyond, show the spirit and passion, not just the strategy.
The most compelling entries balance evidence and emotion, by making the judge care about what you’ve done, and then convincing them to score you highly.
7. Read the criteria. Read it again. Then answer it
This might sound obvious… but this is one of the most common reasons strong entries miss out: They don’t answer the criteria.
Either not fully, not clearly, sometimes, not at all!
Award criteria isn’t there to restrict you, it’s there to help you. It literally spells out what the judges want to see in order to give you top marks.
And yet, too many entries fall into the trap of:
- Writing what they want to say, and not what’s been asked
- Repeating a standard company blurb
- Skimming over whole sections because they “didn’t quite fit”
Luckily, the fix is simple if you follow these steps;
Step 1: Before you start putting together your entry, read the criteria fully, top to bottom
Step 2: Make sure you understand what the awards are asking for, highlight important words or parts of the criteria
Step 3: Write a response that answers all parts of the criteria, directly, fully, and with evidence to back it up
Don’t make judges work to find the information. Instead, give it to them in the order they’re expecting, and use the language they’ve given you. That way, you’ll make their job easier, and they will be more likely to score you well.
8. It’s not all about Winning
“I never lose. I either win or learn.” Nelson Mandela
Of course, winning feels good, and it brings opportunities. But the real value of entering awards goes far beyond taking home a trophy.
Every time you enter, you go through a process that delivers value in its own right:
- To define your story, you stop and review what you’ve actually accomplished
- When creating your entry, you have to delve into your data and evidence, and sometimes find more impact than you realised
- At shortlisting, you are compared against your industry and discover who you're aligned with – which is perfect for social sharing
- As a finalist attending the ceremony, you get to be in a room with like-minded businesses and individuals, to connect with, learn from and even work with in the future
If you win, that’s brilliant – you can shout about your result and start reaping the benefits of being award-winning
But if you don’t win, don’t despair, there’s still value to gain.
Most awards offer judges' feedback, either by request or as a standard part of the process.
Many awards even send out benchmark reports to all entrants, the reports include the judges scores and comments so you can see exactly how close you were to winning, and where improvements in your entry could be made for next time.
Often awards also explain why the winner stood out, either on stage at the ceremony or on their website, or in a press release after the event. This can be a really valuable insight for your next entry or to take your initiatives further.
In short, the process of entering awards can be highly valuable and productive to the growth of your personal brand and business. It builds your confidence, clarity, and competitive edge, whether you take home the win or not.
9. Be Loud About Your Wins
So many people win an award… get excited for 24 hours, and then barely mention it again.
Whether it’s modesty, uncertainty about how to promote it, or just moving on to the next task, it’s a missed opportunity.
Because when you win an award, you’re not just celebrating you – you’re giving your whole community, your team, your customers, your partners and your industry – something to be proud of and your business will gain as a result.
They want to cheer you on. They want to share in your success. And in doing so, they can help amplify your impact, far beyond the award night itself.
Winning gives you:
- Independent validation
- A compelling story to share
- Trust signals that build your reputation
But how much value you get from a win, depends on how you use it.
To get the biggest return on investment from your award wins, you should;
- Announce the results across all channels, don’t just say you’re thrilled to win, tell people why it matters
- Celebrate your team, include their voices and stories
- Add the winner's logo to your proposals, email signatures, website, and pitch decks
- Reuse your award entry content in PR, thought leadership, and social media
People want to work with, buy from, and join award-winning brands. Sharing your success clearly helps them see exactly why they should want to work with you.
Now is the Time to Win
Over the past nine years, we’ve had the privilege of helping hundreds of brands turn their achievements into recognition, and recognition into opportunity.
Each of these nine tips is rooted in real-world experience. From startups to global businesses, from first-time entrants to serial winners, we’ve seen what works across all industries. And we’ve been there to support individuals and brands to win at all levels.
Whether you’re aiming to attract talent, boost credibility, gain press coverage, or simply stop flying under the radar, award recognition can accelerate your brand in powerful ways.
As we look ahead to our tenth year in the awards industry, we want to help make this your most successful year yet.
And the best way to start?
Simply answer some questions about your business and we’ll suggest the awards you could be entering right now to start your journey to standing out and becoming award-winning.
