1. 2008 AMEC Awards Tips for a Successful Entry

2. The Entry Form Your ‘pitch opportunity’ Gives the framework to address all four elements of the judging criteria Makes it easier for judges to compare and contrast

3. Supporting Materials These should illustrate and give examples of the work carried out Charts, graphs, etc are fine No press cuttings Maximum of 15 pages of A4 Can in English or original language

4. Two Hurdles to Jump Shortlisting stage –Stand out from the crowd –Don’t make it easy to be sidelined Final judging panel –Quickly impress the panel –Win the debate

5. Tips Put yourself in the place of the judge Choose the right category Employ your best writer Keep it simple and clear Cross reference Select the best Allow plenty of time

6. Tips (continued) Don’t break the rules, don’t even bend them Too much information Don’t forget to double-check your entries Spelling/Grammar

7. Judges’ Feedback from 2006 Awards Must state the communication objectives as well as the evaluation objectives Too much run-of-the-mill material Would like to see more added value Would like to see how the clients are using the information Want to hear more how the evaluation really helped the client with their job, ie. got me the ear of the boardroom, etc Stop stating the blindingly obvious!

8. Classic Mistakes A good point but not proven Very precise client objective, but only generic conclusions given Lacking in evidence Conclusions read like an after-thought Too much generic commentary, didn’t say how the evaluation helped the client

9. Classic Mistakes (continued) The programme seems to have met the objective but the conclusions seem weak Stating the blinding obvious Language used is jargon, so not clear what it is trying to say The entry was selling the campaign not the evaluation