Tips For Entry - iTnews Benchmark Awards, Asia

Top Tips for a Successful Entry

We know it’s hard to pull together a unique entry to grab attention and impress an independent judging panel, so we’ve pulled together 10 top tips to help you craft a successful submission (and hopefully a winning entry!):

1. Stick to the word limit

Remember, the jury will be looking at a lot of entries which will take hours of their time and can be tiring, so be concise! Help them find the information they need to know quickly and easily.

2. Use images and graphs to support your entry

Using images, charts and graphs can help to reduce the word count and convey your message concisely.

3. Don’t assume the judges know about your project

Judges can only mark the work and evidence before them, so don’t assume they already know your work – give them the context and content they need to know.

4. Stick to the specific eligibility dates / locations

Don’t be vague when reporting your results. Judges can only award marks for work and results gained within the eligibility period and location so break it down for them clearly. What happened this year?

5. Report specific results

It’s important to be precise so the judges can really understand the success of your projects and award deserved points. Percentages can help to show growth, but where possible, report numerical increases and achievements against specific targets.

All of our judges are bound by non-disclosure agreements, and you can highlight any work that is to remain strictly confidential and for judging purposes only. Anything highlighted in red will not be disseminated beyond the judging panel in any way.

6. Cover each criteria point

Again, judges can only mark the work and evidence before them, and they must mark it against set criteria so make sure you’ve covered all areas, so you don’t lose marks unnecessarily.

7. Tailor your submission to the specific category

You might want to enter the same projects into multiple categories – that’s totally fine but each category will be looking at different aspects so make sure your entry is tailored to the category at hand. One entry doesn’t always fit all of it so help the judges find the information they need for that specific category.

8. Use the templates provided

If you’re tight on time, don’t waste efforts creating a beautiful deck – impress the judges with key information and great results (and maybe a catchy title!). It’s nice to be creative and stand out but not at the expense of the content which will be marked against set criteria.

9. Double check your entry

Double check everything is there and working before you submit. It would be such a shame if you missed a crucial section or have a key URL that is broken, and the judges can’t access it.

10. Plan your schedule and enter on time!

In the interests of fairness for other entrants and our busy judges, we cannot accept late entries so don’t waste all your hard work by missing the entry deadline. Get prepped and start early so you can enter on time.