Award deadlines coming up (scroll down below text for a list of awards organised by industry) 

Welcome to my latest award deadline update for September, October and beyond. With the COVID-19 situation continuing, we are finding that the vast majority of schemes are postponing their events but not cancelling, so it is business as usual. With autumn ceremony season imminent, an increasing number of events have switched to virtual awards or moved their physical event to spring next year. We are currently getting a lot of companies contacting us and placing even more importance on awards, many with the same message that ‘this award would be a way of giving something back to our people.’ With the possibility of Christmas parties not happening, how about winning a team award instead?

Arguably the most prestigious award of them all, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, is open for entry. The 9th September deadline is only a week away and the entry process for these is formidable and requires lots of planning and collecting evidence, and a huge written entry. We already have multiple bookings as we are highly experienced when it comes to these awards, having written dozens of winning entries, so please get in touch and we will be happy to provide you with a free eligibility check. You may find our guide ‘How to win a Queen’s Award for Enterprise‘ helpful. I can’t emphasise enough that our unparalleled expertise here can make all the difference to winning this business-changing accolade.   

As ever, contact our team here at Boost if you need help with your entries or guidance on which awards to enter. But please bear in mind that we work on a first-come-first-served basis – and our capacity is filling up fast, so don’t leave it until the last minute. Okay let’s get started…

Business awards

For a great-sounding award to win, The European Business Awards are now open until 15th September. They reward national winners from across 33 countries, so as well as the obvious recognition benefits, there is also considerable networking and idea-exchange opportunities associated with them.

Similarly, if you are looking for a well-run general business award providing global recognition then do consider The International Business Excellence Awards by Awards International. These have a 17th September deadline and obviously, with the current travel restrictions in place, the event will be entirely online this year.   

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are also open (deadline 16th September though expect this to be extended) and feature 85 categories for everything from entrepreneurs to marketing campaigns aimed at women. Similarly US-based but open to global entry, The BIG Awards for Business are open until 18th September, or consider The Business Brilliance Awards (deadline 2nd October) which were previously UK-only but this year have become international.     

Customer contact awards

It is still very much customer contact awards season with lots of October deadlines. For a more comprehensive overview, please read our guide, Which are the best customer service awards to enter?

If you are quick, The International Customer Experience Awards are an excellent way of recognising the incredible work being done by CX professionals around the world, something extremely pertinent during these times. Incredibly well-run awards and now, in response to the pandemic, entirely online. Experience online presentations, judging and the ceremony all in one day. You will need to enter before 4th September. We have written a guide to everything you need to know about entering in 2020.

The International Engage Awards, previously UK-only but now fully global, are fairly unique in that they cover both customer and employee engagement. They are also a good example of an award moving from venue to virtual with their ceremony. (Deadline 7th September) 

CCA Excellence Awards (Customer Contact Association) are UK-only and feature 16 categories and online second stage presentations. The deadline is 16th October. Another very prestigious scheme in the UK, The ICS Customer Satisfaction Awards are also accepting entries (deadline 19th October). There are 14 categories and they are hoping to hold their event on 2nd March 2021 at the Hilton in Park Lane London. 

The first 14th October deadline is approaching for the credible-yet-winnable Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service – a great way to get global recognition and tons of categories to choose from.     

Financial services awards

Open for entry from the UK and Republic of Ireland, The Card and Payments Awards are a very well-run award scheme and highly competitive. You have a few weeks to choose from the 20 categories as the deadline is 21st September.

Leasing and fleet awards

This time of year sees three key award schemes within the vehicle leasing sector – The Fleet Europe Awards (deadline 14th Sept) Fleet Hero Awards (yet to open but usually end of Sept) and The Greenfleet Awards (2nd October).

HR awards and training awards

For a more comprehensive overview, please read our guide ‘Which are the best HR Awards to enter?’

The Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Program is a highly sought-after US-based award open to international entry. Its focus on technology, systems, processes and programs to improve the workplace means that it is ideal for the times we are experiencing. New categories specific to crisis management include the tools and technologies organisations deploy to enable their workforce to develop, including those used during the COVID-19 pandemic and other global and domestic crises. Applications may also cover Future of Work initiatives unrelated to these events – apply by 10th September.

Another couple of awards in the learning space that are highly credible – The Learning Awards (deadline 25th September) which we ourselves at Boost won last year for Learning Impact Evaluation, and the Learning Excellence Awards (deadline also 30th September) which are open to both longstanding organisations in the learning/training development sector and newcomers. It is worth noting they are free to enter for charities and not-for-profits. 

Marketing awards

The very credible CorpComms Awards are not happening this year, but instead the organisers are choosing to run a separate scheme called The CovidComms Awards, entirely dedicated to the best in comms during these unprecedented challenging times. As well as the categories you might expect for innovation and campaigns, we love the wooden spoon categories like “The ‘Let’s Try Drinking Disinfectant’ Award” for the worst examples in leadership. 

For some global recognition in the digital and creative industries, The dotComm Awards and The Videographer Awards have plenty of categories to choose from. The deadline for both has been extended to the end of September. Equally, consider the Marcom Awards (30th September), which this year are focussing on the great work of the creative industry during these ‘turbulent times’    

Finally, another international scheme to consider, The Muse Creative Awards – global creative awards recognising the world’s best marketing, communications and video concepts. The entry deadline for season 2 is 23rd September. Their sister schemes are also open and well worth entering – The Vega Digital Awards remain open – while NYX Awards will close for entries slightly later on 30th September.  

Sustainability awards

Final mention to a great scheme – The SEAL Business Sustainability Awards – recognising Sustainability, Environmental Achievement and Leadership. These are US-based but open to global entry until 18th September.   

Hopefully these highlights have provided some insights to help you plan which awards to enter. Below you will find all the awards with deadlines occurring within the next two months, organised by industry sector. Remember, do please contact Boost if you need a helping hand entering any of these – our in-house team of experienced award writers have won over 1,400 awards and can increase your chances of a win significantly.

You can also sign up for our email deadline reminder service, so that the next two months of deadlines arrive in your inbox – completely free of charge. Handy, I think you will agree!  

Stay safe and well, and let’s all keep recognising the outstanding people, teams, projects and businesses out there.

Chris.