Winning awards and being recognized by industry associations is one of the most cost effective yet creidble ways to build a company’s brand.
The interesting thing is that you have acquired no new capabilities, but customers and peers look at you differently! An independent validation of your capabilities makes you a “safer” company to work with, and also makes customers proud of their association with you.
To that extent, it baffles me whymore companies do not use this avenue more. One reason is perhaps the lack of confidence in your own ability to win- but our take is, you need to make a start, and if you approach the effort methodically you may be pleasantly surprised on the outcome.
Take our own case- we applied for the International Marcomm Awards last year, sent three entries, and won three awards, including one in the highest category- Platinum.
This year, we sent only one entry ( lack of time to identify and send more entries being the ostensible reason), and I am happy to say, we won the Platinum award yet again.
I can vouch for the fact that these awards have definitely increased our credibility in the eyes of our customers and prospects. What is more, it is a great shot in the arm for the Prayag team and reinforces our belief that we are up there with the best.
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Defintely from an internal perspective, awards help us take a step back and pat ourselves on our backs for work we have done. Many a time, there is hardly any opportunity to do that. External validation of your work is always welcome.
By winning an award you might not have acquired any new capabilities, but in the eyes of the customer, you are now a ‘winner’ and most people want to work with winners. You have demonstrated value not only to your clients but also to an impartial judge who has awarded you the prize. And yes, internally as well, employee pride in the organization will go up, and this will have a positive spill-over in client relationships.