Business Awards - Ideas & Thoughts Please!

[Weddingsday]

Hi Folks,

Having officially launched yesterday (yippee!) my batteries are a little low at the moment, so apologies if the second part of this question has been covered recently.

Anyway, what I'm wanting to know is:

1. What awards you are aware of that you think may be relevant to my company (we have just launched a 2000+ page wedding planning website offering ideas & advice, free planning tools, supplier directory, news, competitions, special offers etc. etc.)

2. Whether the awards (or awards in general) are worth applying for in the first place. I have heard mixed stories in the past - some say that they provide a really good boost to image and reputation, others say that they are just gimmicks designed to get cash out of businesses who have to pay a small fortune for tickets & tables at award ceremonies.

Any help or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Chris.

[eimanshalash]

I've applied for awards in the past and won some but they're usually classed as grants!

The closest I got to winning a business related award was for my business plan. I won a merit award given by the Enterprise Pavilion at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth.

Now I've applied for the SHELL awards, this is the final year I can apply and be eligible before I get my walking stick..however, I think I may be allowed to apply next year if I fail this year (again!) as I'll be bang on 30 then.

My product has won an Innovation Award and I've won a Social Entrepreneur award but they'd also be classified as grants..no ceremony for them.

There are lots of awards available without the glitz and glamour as the ones you're referring to and they're usually done by the local unversity or business enterprise agency. Contact them you may find that there isn't a big competition for those more accessible awards.

If you do win an award its a great opportunity to send out press releases to the local and national paper on the chance you may get a story in their publication. Also try the trade mags to see if you're even luckier to get an article published around your story.

[lukehome]

On a side note your company names very similar a competitors.