Every business or organization has a way of appreciating and recognizing achievements. In fact, you have entire industries that plan events to celebrate such personal or corporate achievements. That is why you should learn how to organize an awards event.
In this resource, you are going to learn and understand how an awards event is organized or hosted.
This includes of the things you should do before, during and after the awards event.
Organizing an event is a huge undertaking. It requires that you plan in advance, and ensure you are keen on details.
You will need to have a set of different skills to be able to organize a successful awards event.
These include skills to communicate, manage team members, marketing, accounting and dealing with suppliers among others.
Over the years, I have organized and hosted several award events. This has provided me with knowledge and the insights that I am sharing with you today.
How to Organize an Awards Event – Step by Step Guide
These are the steps you should follow when planning or organizing an awards event;
- Identify the market need.
- Create a plan.
- Set your event budget.
- Pick a date and venue.
- Select key suppliers
- Create award categories.
- Form a panel of judges.
- Secure key sponsors and partners.
- Promote the event
- Host and produce the awards ceremony.
- Analyze and follow up.
Learning how to organize an awards event or ceremony is important if that is your line of business.
Also, you might be doing it for your company or industry.
On this, I am speaking from a point of knowledge and experience, having organized and hosted annual awards in last couple of years.
11 Key Steps on How to Organize an Awards Ceremony
As you embark on your efforts to organize an awards event or ceremony, you should follow these steps.
It is a guide of the key considerations you should make when planning to host an awards ceremony for your company or industry.
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Identify the market need.
It is very important to undertake research on your target market niche. Find out if the sector has other awards.
If there are other award ceremonies, find the angle that you can use to start hosting your own awards program.
Identifying the market need for your idea will help you to determine the viability of the event.
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Create an Event plan.
Once you have identified an opportunity, you should create an elaborate plan of how you are going to organize the awards event.
You should list all the requirements. Make your brief as detailed as possible to capture everything, and every step you should follow.
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Set your event budget.
Now that you know what you need, your next step is to create and set your event budget.
It is going to cost you money to organize your awards event. You need to know how you are going to fund the event budget.
Having a clear and an itemised budget will help you to understand what you need, and how much each item costs.
You will also start generating ideas of where the financing will come from.
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Pick a date and venue.
Securing the date of the event and the venue are key important consideration.
This is because you cannot host an event if you do not have a venue. Also, a date allows you to plan accordingly.
However, if you intend to host a virtual awards ceremony, the location might not be as critical as your event will be online.
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Select key suppliers.
At this stage, you should create a list of all the key supplies you will need for your event.
It could range from food and drinks, music or entertainment, lighting, marketing material and virtual platforms if online, among other supplies.
You should source and contract suppliers in advance to avoid last minute issues.
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Create award categories.
Giving awards is a great thing. You are celebrating or recognising achievements within your company or industry.
To have a successful awards event, you should identify the award categories you will celebrate.
It will help you in creating the award nomination rules and process. It will also help judges in deciding winners.
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Form a panel of judges.
The credibility of an award depend on many things. However, your panel of judges is very critical.
You need to choose leaders or judges who are credible, respected and have knowledge of the industry or sector you are dealing with.
A lot of companies or individual applicants like to know the judges in advance, to gauge the trustworthiness of your awards event.
Having a panel of judges will help you in promoting the awards.
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Secure key sponsors and partners.
While it is possible to self-fund your awards event, you can also look into securing sponsorship from businesses and other stakeholders.
If you do a good job in planning and preparing your awards ceremony, you might find sponsors or partners who want to align with your event.
Businesses like to leverage on events to promote their products or services.
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Promote the event.
Now that you have put everything together, it is time to promote and market your event.
You can use various platforms or ways to promote your awards ceremony or event.
Some can be very expensive, and others not so much. The idea is for you to leverage the marketing platforms that reach your target audience, while also creating visibility for your event brand.
One idea you can use is to partner with a media outlet.
For example, during my award event last year, I partnered with a national media company that allowed us to promote the event on their platforms.
You can execute a similar media partnership or sponsorship deal in your country or city.
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Host/produce the awards ceremony.
When the award event date comes, you will have to bring all the various elements together to make it work.
This is usually the most difficult day. You want everything to run smoothly and successfully.
If you have done your preparations properly, the day of the event should run smoothly and without major hitches.
I would advise that you consider hiring an events producer, who will run the show on the day or evening of the awards ceremony.
It is an awesome idea, and you can thank me later for it.
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Analyze and follow up.
This step comes after the event, and deals with all post-event activities. You should analyze what worked and how everything turned out.
At this point, you should also take time to write and send ‘thank you’ notes to all your partners, sponsors and suppliers who made your awards ceremony possible.
You might also need to call or send a note to your chief guest.
With all the information and data on the event, you will be able to leverage it to organize your next awards event.
How do I Start an Awards Function or Program?
You can be able to start your own awards program or function.
It might be to raise funds, celebrate achievements in your sector and recognize your employees.
When it comes to such award ideas, you do need to organize and host an awards ceremony.
To start an awards function, you need to follow the above seventeen ideas and tips. You will be able to host your own successful awards program.
However, if you find the process overwhelming, you can also seek the services of a professional event organizer. He or she will plan and coordinate your entire awards ceremony.
How Do You Do Awards Virtually?
In today’s world of events, you can hold or rather can do awards virtually. There are enough platforms and technology to make a virtual awards event run smoothly.
Virtual award ceremonies are a reality and there are several benefits to you.
Related: Tips and Ideas to Host Virtual Awards Ceremonies
If you click on the above link, you will be taken to the page that covers this topic. It is a resource that you will find very helpful.
Conclusion
In conclusion, organizing an awards gala event is not an easy thing. It is exhausting and requires you to be dedicated for the length of the entire process.
There are several reasons why you might want to learn how to organize an award event. It could you want to celebrate your employees or to celebrate professionals within an industry.
As you might find here, there are benefits that businesses or individuals get from winning awards.
That is why it is important to take time and organize the awards ceremony well. You do not want to do a shoddy job at hosting such a glamorous event.
You can get inspiration from watching some of the most prestigious award events in the world like the Grammys or Oscars.
To have a successful awards event, you should take time to learn and seek advice on how to organize an award event.
This resource will help you to start planning your next awards gala event.