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Guidelines for submission

The B2B Marketing Elevation Awards USA 2020 © B2B Marketing2 Contents

Section 1 An introduction to the B2B Marketing Elevation Awards USA 2020

Section 2 The entry process: What you need to know

Section 3 How to compile your entries

Section 4 The categories

Section 5 The B2B Marketing Elevation Awards USA 2020 judging process

Section 6 What are the judges looking for?

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Contents

The B2B Marketing Elevation Awards USA 2020 © B2B Marketing3 Section 1

Section 1

An introduction to the B2B Marketing Elevation Awards USA 2020

In this guide, we demystify the Awards process, reveal how the judging works, what goes on in the debating chamber and how you can impress the judges.

Stand by to see what it takes to secure victory as the best in B2B marketing.

Five irrefutable reasons for entering the Elevation Awards

1. High profile, prestigious exposure, whether you’re a tech vendor, agency or client-side marketer

2. An outstanding success story to share with your audience

3. An invaluable boost to your brand credentials

4. Recognition and motivation for your staff

5. Influential personal brand building.

The B2B Marketing Elevation Awards is open to anyone working in B2B marketing in the USA, but in particular client-side marketers, agencies, PR agencies and vendors.


Your quick guide to enteringThe B2B Marketing Elevation Awards USA 2020

Complete your entry online using the online platform. You can save and resume as you want to.

Prepare your entry3

Decide which categories you will enter (using the guidelines to help you).

Choose your categories

2

Good luck!5

Read the guidelines pack

Download your pack

1

Pay for the categories you have entered. (Early deadline 8 November; Late deadline 13 December)

Submit and pay online4

$ $

Section 2

The entry process: What you need to know

Go to b2b.awardsplatform.com to get started.

Already have an Award Force account? Simply login on the link above. If you experience any issues then please contact [email protected] for anything further.

2.4 Qualifying period

The qualifying period for campaigns entered into the B2B Marketing Elevation Awards USA 2020 is 1 Jan 2019 to 1 Jan 2020. At least one aspect of an initiative must have taken place within this timeframe to be eligible.

2.3 Create your account on our submission platform

2.1 Key dates

› Early deadline: 8 November 2019› Late deadline: 13 December 2019› Shortlist released: 28 April 2020› Awards ceremony: 27 May 2020

2.2 Entry fees

The cost of each entry is $250+VAT if submitted by 8 November. Premium member cost is $215+VAT. Late entry deadline $300+VAT per entry. To sign up as a member visit b2bmarketing.net/join

If you expect to make a late entry or have any other problem with your submission, please email [email protected]

Payment

Payment for all submissions will be made on completion of the submission process. Payments need to be cleared by the entry deadlines in order for entries to be considered. Failure to do so will mean your entries will not be considered by the judging panel. Payment can be made online by credit card or via invoice.

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http://b2bmarketing.net/join

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http://b2b.awardsplatform.com


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Section 3

How to compile your entries

› Make a note of the deadline. We need your awards entries by 8 November 2019. A late fee will be payable on entries received after this date (see payment section). The late deadline is 13 December 2019.

› Decide which category or categories are right for you, and which best fit the stories you want to tell. There’s a full list and description on pages 8-12.

The qualifying period for campaigns entered into the awards is 1 Jan 2019 to 1 Jan 2020. At least one aspect of an initiative must have taken place within this timeframe to be eligible. Please compile your entry/entries in the following way:

3.1 Use our online submission portal The online platform guides you in completing your entries with its inbuilt templates. You can save your work and return to it allowing you to manage all your submission online in one place. Then submit when ready to do so.

3.2 Title page The first page of each submission should provide some basic information about the entry, the category it’s being entered into, and the company making the submission. These will vary from category to category, by necessity.

3.3 Summary All entries must begin with a 200-word summary, précising the main points and explaining succinctly why it should win in this category. This summary should not be considered as part of the main body copy of the submission; therefore, the 200 words should not be subtracted from the 1000 words allocated to the main body copy (see 3.4).

This section includes comprehensive information on how to compile your entries. The following points must be considered and completed for each entry and in all categories:


3.4 Structure

The main body of your submission

The body of each written submission must be no more than 1000 words in length when complete and must be separate from the 200-word summary. Pictures, captions and headlines need not form part of the overall word count. Supplementary material that explains some of the more complex elements of the campaign may be included as an appendix, but this should be used sparingly. Wherever possible, applicants should ensure that all relevant information is included in the main submissions section and the 1000-word allocation.

3.5 Style

It’s suggested that the submission explains the facts associated with the campaign in simple and straightforward terms, rather than overly relying on creative copywriting in an attempt to enhance appeal.

3.6 Attachments and supporting material

Judges always respond well to imagery, therefore, it’s recommended (but not essential) that submissions include at least some pictures, charts, graphics etc wherever relevant.

You can submit up to 10 attachments to your submission. You can do this on the Attachments section of the online submission portal. Caption all your images and reference them to your main text to make it easy for the judges to see what goes together.

URL links and Video support material

You can add URL to website and videos that support your submission. Videos should be no more than more than five minutes in length. Please note any passwords or access requirements in the box provided.

Visual Snapshot of your submission

As part of your submission, please create a visual representation showing off the main points and images of your entry. Examples of these can be seen below:


3.7 Confidentiality

We’ll sing your success from the rooftops by publishing award-winning case studies in full, both online and in print. Not only is this a great way to shout about your efforts, it means you can learn what’s putting your peers at the cutting edge of B2B marketing.

That said, we know that in order to win an award, you may have to share information you would not want to disclose publicly. Don’t want the world to know your budget or ROI? Don’t forget to mark this information as confidential. Please take the following steps to ensure your submission is marked correctly as confidential:

1. Details tab: Add ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ to the start of your submission title

2. Criteria tab: Add ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ to the start of the relevant section so it is easily identified.

3. Email a public facing copy: Email a public facing copy of your submission that omits the confidential parts. Please email this to [email protected].

Please note: Anything that is not marked in this way will be published. Please note that we cannot omit the full case study from publication and will still need to demonstrate the results. If this cannot be expressed in terms of revenue figures, please include percentage increases and strong, relevant engagement results.



Section 4

The categories

You can enter into any of the 15 award categories. If you’re entering multiple categories, make sure you tailor your entries to the category you’re entering. Judges hate to see entries that look as though they’ve been written for something else. It comes off as lazy or as if you’re playing a numbers game.

4.1 The award categories at a glance

Below is the full list of categories available for the B2B Marketing Awards USA 2020 – in the following pages, you can find a detailed description of each category, providing more info on what they are seeking to recognise and reward.

Category 1: Best multichannel campaign

Category 2: Best use of live-event and experiential marketing

Category 3: Best use of creative

Category 4: Best use of digital

Category 5: Best use of content marketing

Category 6: Best use of thought leadership

Category 7: Best corporate decision-maker-targeted campaign

Category 8: Best use of account-based marketing

Category 9: Best brand initiative

Category 10: Best lead generation or nurturing campaign

Category 11: Best customer engagement initiative

Category 12: B2B marketing team of the year

Category 13: B2B marketer of the year

Category 14: B2B marketing communications agency of the year

Category 15: Martech vendor of the year


4.2 The award categories in detail

The following categories apply to the B2B Marketing Elevation Awards 2020. Once you’ve chosen which categories you’re interested in, go to page 6 for detailed information on how to compile your entries.

Note: The qualifying period for these awards is from Jan 1st 2019 - Jan 1st 2020 – at least part of the campaign-related activities must have taken place within this period.

1. Best multi-channel campaign

This category is designed to reflect campaigns using a variety of different channels or media, in a multichannel or integrated framework. Submissions must explain the mix of channels utilized for the campaign, and how the brand and/or agency ensured the various techniques complemented one another and worked together.

2. Best use of live-event marketing

The use of live events to achieve specific marketing objectives is the focus of this category. This encompasses ‘real-world’ events of any reasonable type, including exhibitions, conferences, launch parties/events, seminars, roundtables, awards ceremonies, etc. These events could be created bespoke for the specific purpose, or the brand could be leveraging an existing event, including one organized by a third party (e.g. an exhibition or conference). Submissions could focus on a single event or a series of events incorporated into a single strategy and aimed at achieving a common objective. Submissions must explain how communications at any relevant stage contributed to the overall objectives, including pre-event, during the event and post-event, using any relevant channel (e.g. offline or online).

Note: The use of digital events, such as webcasts or virtual events, must not be entered into this category but instead be entered into category 6: Best use of digital techniques or technologies.

3. Best use of creative

Submissions must focus on the creative work used to deliver a message or messages, regardless of media or channel. You must explain how the creative solution to the campaign was developed and how it was applied to different media and potentially developed to encompass different sub-

messages or elements of the campaign. This could include on- and offline media and both image and non-image based executions. An explanation of the creative process employed by the agency to develop the campaign would be helpful for the judges.

4. Best use of digital techniques or technologies

This category focuses specifically on the use of digital techniques to achieve campaign objectives. It’s designed to reflect the extent to which B2B brands are embracing the rapidly evolving world of digital media, and consequently, submissions should focus on the innovative use of channels and new technologies. The full range of digital techniques is applicable to this category, including email, online advertising, search marketing, webinars, microsites, social media and mobile, although preferably, a mix of different digital channels will be used to achieve a single objective.

5. Best use of content marketing

This category encompasses the entire range of content activities employed by brands, including (but not exclusively) email newsletters, whitepapers, video, social media and blogs, either separately or as part of an integrated approach. Submissions must explain how a content strategy was developed and delivered, how it was tailored to the specific audience, and how ROI and effectiveness was calculated.

“The B2B Marketing Awards is widely regarded as the most competitive and prestigious in the B2B marketing industry, attracting 500 submissions from 13 countries across Europe. To have won three awards is a phenomenal triumph and a testament to the quality of work we deliver for our clients. It’s a proud moment for everyone here at William Murray.”

Anita Murray, CEO, William Murray Communications


6. Best use of thought leadership

This category reflects use of thought leadership positioning to achieve a specified objective – either in terms of brand positioning, or as a means of more directly driving revenue, potentially featuring as part of a content marketing strategy. Submissions must explain why thought leadership was selected as the best or most appropriate means to achieve that particular objective, which may require a description of the environment the brand or product/service is operating in (or seeking to operate in). Communication techniques and channels utilized must be specified clearly, together (where relevant) with individuals or spokespeople utilized and media or intermediaries leveraged.

“The very best industry awards can elevate the spirit to places otherwise unattainable in a business environment. They have a sharp, edgy theme. They have guests that want to be there. And they have prestigious trophies that are really hard to win. The B2B Marketing Awards is all of that. That’s why attending is really worth it. And it’s why winning an award on the night is simply a shining beacon of glory for you and your team.”

Dan Roche, head of marketing, KPMG

7. Best corporate decision-maker-targeted campaign

Marketing activity targeted at decision-makers in large or enterprise-level organizations (500-plus individuals) is the focus of this category. This could include campaigns targeted at individual decision makers or account groups comprising various individuals. In either instance, the submission must outline any use of insight tools or services to enable targeting and/or personalization of marketing messages and

communications. In terms of the communications materials themselves, the submission should explain how the campaign was designed to be reached by these time-poor and hard-to-reach individuals, who are often protected by a gate-keeper.

8. Best use of account-based marketing

This category reflects excellence in account-based marketing of any variety or scale – i.e. strategic, lite or programmatic. Submissions must explain the nature of the business challenge or opportunity, the dynamics or nature of the audience, and why ABM was determined as the most appropriate approach. As well as explaining how campaign creative was developed and deployed, together with any use of customer insight and any marketing technology used, it is critical that the submission explains how sales were involved, engaged and aligned to ensure success of the initiative.

9. Best brand initiative

This category could be appropriate for brand relaunch/refresh activity, repositioning or general brand awareness work. If the campaign was designed to communicate a change in the branding or positioning, the submission must explain why this change was undertaken and what the activity was designed to achieve. If the campaign was focused around general brand awareness, the submission must explain why it was felt necessary. Measurement techniques must be explained in detail, together with an explanation of pre- and post-campaign brand awareness/strength.

10. Best lead generation or nurturing campaign

Activity designed to generate or identify new business prospects, or to nurture existing prospects towards conversion, is the focus of this category. Submissions must detail the processes (either manual or automated) or techniques that were used to create and quantify the leads, and (where appropriate) how technology was used to enable the process. The role of content marketing and third-party data providers or media organizations must be outlined, and the nature of collaboration with sales must also be specified, particularly for campaigns/programmes focused on lead nurturing.


11. Best customer engagement initiative

This category reflects activities designed to create and/or nurture emotional connections with prospects and customers, with a view of ultimately driving conversion, loyalty, advocacy or repeat purchase, but not necessarily directly as a result of this campaign or in immediate terms. Submissions must explain the objectives that engagement was designed to deliver, and how the communication strategy worked toward achieving that objective, plus metrics and KPIs.

“The B2B Awards is a great way to showcase all of the hard work you and your clients have put in to your best campaigns. It provides a great opportunity for brand exposure. And the awards night itself is always a top quality bash!”

Simon Moreish, MD, Moreish Marketing

12. B2B marketing team of the year

This category is only open to client-side marketing teams. The focus of this category is to recognize the group of B2B marketers that has pulled together to meet its objectives and challenges for the year, and which truly demonstrates that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Marketing teams of any size or configuration are eligible, from a minimum of three individuals working within a marketing function, all the way up to the blue-chip corporates with large inhouse teams. Virtual teams, including freelancers and agency staffers may be included, although the submission will have to demonstrate how individuals genuinely acted as a cohesive unit. Submissions must include details of the following: list individual team members (including roles, key skills and responsibilities); key objectives faced for the year and how these were achieved; other challenges faced along the way; examples of co-operation and team work; testimonials from team leaders or marketing directors.

13. B2B marketer of the year

This category recognizes excellent delivery or management of marketing activity or programs by inhouse marketers, and how one individual has gone over and above expectations in ensuring their campaign(s) was/were effective for their brand and resonant for their audience. Submissions should demonstrate the individual’s excellence at all stages of campaign planning, delivery and management, and how they both fought and embraced unexpected opportunities.

14. B2B marketing communications agency of the year

This category recognizes the marketing agency that demonstrated a consistently excellent approach to all aspects of business specifically during the qualifying period. Submissions must include information on client wins, achieving client objectives, client satisfaction/loyalty, staff satisfaction/loyalty and profitability. Other achievements, such as expansion and development of new areas of expertise, will also be considered. At least three client testimonials must be included.

15. Martech vendor of the year

This category reflects martech vendors with solutions which enable B2B marketing activity. The submission should demonstrate what the organisation has done within the last year that is exceptional and differentiates it from competitors and other vendors. This could include reference factors such as [but not exclusively]: recent marketing activity, new product launches, product enhancements, events and conferences (both proprietary or third party ones), corporate social responsibility programmes, thought leadership activities, customer engagement activities, channel programmes, etc. Wherever possible or relevant, the vendor should demonstrate how it has worked towards a specific plan for the year, in order to achieve specific objectives. Submissions should include at least three customer testimonials to demonstrate the value of the relationship that the vendor has with the individual and/or company, and the impact of some of the activities listed above.


Section 5

The B2B Elevation Awards 2020 judging process

› 15 categories › Live online judging › 20 judges

The judging process is entirely independent from the management of the awards, conference and B2B Marketing as a business, ensuring the highest standards of integrity are maintained. An independent chair – marketing consultant Peter Young – oversees the judging process, approves the judges and validates the verdicts.

Judging is conducted through a series of live online judging by senior inhouse and client-side marketers. The panels are refreshed each year to maintain the integrity and vitality of the judging process. Our judging panel is selected from industry experts from across the B2B marketing field.

Judges are chosen by invitation only and selected in a manner that removes bias or conflict of interest.

“If your entry is impenetrably complex, badly-written or doesn’t follow the guidelines, it’s very hard for the judges to give it proper credibility. Part of an entrant’s job is to be clear, clean, concise, and comprehensible in an easily digestible way. If you do that, you’re halfway through the battle.”

Peter Young, head judge of the International B2B Marketing Awards

Send your submissionSubmit online by Early deadline (or late deadline).

Check you’re shortlistedThe shortlist is announced on 28 April 2020

JudgingYour submission will be judged by a panel of senior client-side and inhouse marketers.

Confirm your place Confirm your place at the Ceremony in Chicago

Enjoy the Award ceremony

27 May 2020 Renaissance Chicago

Downtown Hotel


Section 6

What are the judges looking for?

6.1 Judging criteria

Specific judging criteria will apply to certain categories or groups of categories, with judges scoring and then comparing submissions. This list of criteria relates directly to the structure proposed in the category templates, but here, it in a consolidated form:

Best use of campaigns (1–11) will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. Understanding of objectives: How well was activity tailored to an identified business need, target audience and business environment? Did the agency or marketing team demonstrate understanding of specific campaign objectives and the brand’s long-term business objectives?

2. Strategic thinking: Did the agency or marketing team add value through intelligent, innovative and relevant strategic thinking?

3. Creativity: Did this campaign demonstrate original thinking in creative idea generation and execution?

4. Effectiveness and results: Was success measured? Was ROI evaluated? Did the campaign meet set objectives and add value to the client’s business?

Marketing team of the year – category 12 – will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. Commercial challenges: Which commercial challenges were faced, and how were they resolved?

2. Individual contributions: What are the strengths and contributions of individual team members, and how do these complement each other?

3. Team working and collaboration: Demonstration of how the team worked together to achieve objectives and prove that the whole is greater than the sum of individual parts.

4. Strategic alignment: How the team and marketing function is aligned with the rest of the organization.

5. Team development and retention.

Marketer of the year – category 13 – will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. Achievements in their career: What they have achieved to date at various levels of responsibility, with the same or different organization.

2. Achievements within the last 12 months: Specific achievements based around specified objectives, including measurement, results and testimonials.

3. Strategic vision and impact on the business: Demonstration of their understanding of overall corporate challenges and objectives, and their alignment with these.

4. Impact on other employees and departments: How they have collaborated with the rest of the organization, and promoted the benefits of marketing to a wider audience.


Marketing communications agency of the year – category 14

1. Contribution to clients’ business: An explanation of what the agency has delivered for its clients and an understanding of the impact that this has had on their success.

2. Creative thinking: How the agency and its personnel have demonstrated their creative resources to meet clients’ objectives, in terms of traditional campaign development, but also in terms of strategy and new techniques such as social media.

3. Financial performance and stability: How the agency has performed as a business, against expectations, and evidence of a robust business model.

4. Staff and commercial community engagement: Strategies for retaining and developing staff, and engaging with the wider business and marketing community – the softer aspects of running a business.

5. Key initiatives and achievements: What have you done this year to deserve this accolade? Any other developments or achievements of note or merit?

Category 15: Martech vendor of the year

1. Customer satisfaction and loyalty: How is the vendor performing in terms of customer sentiment? How does this relate to targets, and what is it doing to address/influence this?

2. Advocacy: How is the vendor engaging with the influencer community to promote itself, reactively or proactively? What kind of advocacy is it generating?

3. Tech enhancements: What developments have occurred in the qualification towards an overall tech roadmap? How have these been received? How innovative is the vendor? What customer needs have been met with these new solutions?

4. Market engagement: To what extent has the vendor been able to generate or enhance a market leadership position? How, and on what basis, is it engaging with the wider market?

5. Business performance: How is the vendor performing against its objectives? What did it set out to achieve during the qualification period, and how successful was it?


6.2 How to win over the judges

› Acknowledge the entry rules and requirements: Stick to the template, stick to the word count, and stick to the headings. Delivering what you’ve been asked for allows the judges to see your worth and make fair comparison with other entries. Judges will be looking for entries that cross-reference the category description and address those issues.

› Be clear: Will the judges be able to understand and interpret your entry? Is it open and honest? Judges are your senior peers, and experience will tell them if something doesn’t sound right. Nothing puts a judge off more than jargon and over-complicated language.

› Be accurate: Spelling and grammar mistakes are embarrassing, yet occur every year.

› Link your results to the objective: No matter the category, it’s vital that the objectives you set are clear and that your results match or exceed your goals.

› Absence of correlation is irritating for judges and creates uncertainty, which makes you less likely to win.

› Demonstrate originality and creativity: Don’t limit this to words and visuals, but expand to cover agility, adaptability and smart thinking. Judges aren’t expecting to be entertained, but entries do need to be engaging. The judges are just human beings too!

Protect your privacy

We’ll sing your success from the rooftops by publishing award-winning case studies in full, both online and in print. Not only is this a great way to shout about your efforts, it means you can learn what’s putting your peers at the cutting edge of B2B marketing.

That said, we know that in order to win an award you may have to share information you would not want to disclose publicly. Don’t want the world to know your budget or ROI? Don’t forget to mark this information as confidential. Simply add the word ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ next to any sensitive content. Anything that is not marked in this way will be published. Please note that we cannot omit the full case study from publication and will still need to demonstrate the results. If this cannot be expressed in terms of revenue figures, please include percentage increases and strong, relevant engagement results.

Remember the key dates

› Early deadline: 8 November 2019

› Late deadline: 13 December 2019

› Awards ceremony: 27 May 2020

Contact us

B2B Marketing USA233 N. Michigan Avenue. Suite 3050Chicago. IL 6060

B2B Marketing UKClover House147–149 Farringdon RoadLondonEC1R 3HN

Tel: +44 (0)20 7014 [email protected]

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