And the winner isn’t . . . 

By Richard Clein 

If you so wished, you could probably don black tie and go to a “glitzy” awards ceremony every week or perhaps even more regularly. They’re ten a penny these days with organisations, some more credible than others, realising the opportunity to make money not only from ticket sales and the cost of the award entry itself but also from sponsorship, additional trophies and certificates etcetera.

Call me old fashioned but I tend to feel that industry awards are the only ones that will give your business credibility and help you grow, if indeed that’s your main motivation for entering in the first place.

Boxed Off, for the second year running, was shortlisted for the Low Budget Campaign at the regional Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Awards in the North West – and proud to be the only Liverpool PR agency to be so. They are though Boxed Off’s sole foray into the world of awards since the agency’s inception in 2013 and it was a huge disappointment not to win gold. But like much in life, you’ve got to be in it to win it, so maybe we should be entering more awards to showcase some of the “award-winning” campaigns we’ve delivered for clients from John O’Groats to Land’s End (literally) as we work for both!

Maybe we shouldn’t be so picky as to the awarding organisation or maybe we should just start our own!

Let’s be honest the proliferation of such events means there clearly are some people who enjoy getting dressed up in uncomfortable clothing, sitting on a table with strangers, eating over-described food with a red wine jus and drinking overpriced wine. And, I would imagine some are run by people who realise it’s the only way they’re ever going to have their moment in the spotlight.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time at this year’s NW Pride awards and will enter again next year. But only when we win will it become clear as to whether awards are worth their weight in gold or whatever cheap substitute they’re made of, or whether everyone’s taking it all too seriously and it’s just an opportunity to have a night out on company expenses.

If there’s any awards out there which you think we should be entering, please get in touch. If successful, we’ll even buy you a ticket on our table, but you’ll have to bring your own black tie.