The OpenWater Blog

What in the world is ‘The World of Awards’ Conference?

Let me know if this sounds familiar: You are at a social event and someone new asks you “what do you do?” (in DC this is a very common question!). Your answer involving “I work in the awards industry” or “I manage my organization’s awards”, and the inevitable further explanation involving “Yes, it’s kinda like the Oscars, only for plastics…and there are lots of categories!” likely gives some blank stare responses.

via GIPHY

You won’t get those blank stare responses at the World of Awards Conference!

The goal of the World of Awards Conference is to bring together awards professionals. You are not alone. There are lots of people like you doing some really creative things in the ‘world of awards’. This is a chance to share your ideas, problems and be around like minded individuals.

In addition to this being a great chance to meet, its main structure is built around education and best practices. Larry Tise, from ICDA, has dedicated a good portion of his life to studying and analyzing awards. He’s developed an “Awards Praxis” — a 40 point checklist to ensure your awards program is using transparent and fair practices. This is the cornerstone to the first 2 days. Guest speakers from prestigious prizes and awards will be joining Larry during these talks and participation and feedback from our attendees is heavily encouraged.

The final day is on a subject that gets some of the most questions by our clients here at OpenWater: Marketing. You have a great award, you’re following best practices…how do you get the word out? This is where some of our clients really shine. We’ll dive in deep and by the end of the day you’ll have the knowledge to build a fully fledged marketing plan for your awards (from call for entry to winner announcement). One of our speakers, from Hanley Wood, has done an amazing job at using social media. Others focus on email marketing. We’ll make sure specific tactics and templates are included in the presentations.

The responses and feedback we have gotten from the conference so far have been truly refreshing. There are individuals flying in from all over the world to join. Canada, UK, Singapore, Australia…all will be represented. It seems as though this is something that people have been yearning for and at last we have OUR (those in the world of awards) annual meeting.

This is not a “one and done” conference. This is just the start of what will be an annual event we all block off on the calendar early in the year. Join us and be proud that you were here when it first started!

For more information or to register, please visit: http://worldofawards.getopenwater.com/

Timothy Spell

Timothy Spell co-founded OpenWater in 2007 with the goal of helping organizations tackle and better manage the oftentimes overlooked awards and contests industry. As an author and speaker in the awards industry, Timothy provides unique insight on how to use awards to boost membership, social media followers and search engine traffic.

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