The Makings of a Finalist

The annual Offshore Achievement Awards is regarded as the most prestigious in the oil and gas calendar, and entering the awards is an effective way to highlight company success, innovations in technology, the achievements of individuals and more.

Being shortlisted is a fantastic opportunity to gain media exposure and an unprecedented opportunity to raise your profile in front of a targeted audience. Nominating your company for the Offshore Achievement Awards is also a great way to boost staff morale whilst recognising their efforts and achievements.

That said, filling out a blank award entry form can be a daunting task, and knowing what to include is essential to increasing your chances of being shortlisted, and ultimately winning. That’s why we have provided some award entry guidance to give you the best chance of securing well-deserved recognition at the Offshore Achievement Awards.

• Don’t leave entering the awards to the last minute - you may need to go through an approvals process or find that you require extra information.
• Break down each question before you begin - ensure you are providing exactly the information that the judges are looking for and you are answering the question in full. Most questions have multiple elements, and all elements must be answered.
• Client testimonials and case studies can help strengthen award entries, so make sure to contact clients early on in the process to give them time to provide this for you. Remember, client names and specific details can be marked as confidential, and kept that way.
• If more than one person is contributing to the content, ensure your facts and figures do not contradict themselves, if mentioned in more than one answer.
• Avoid acronyms and spell everything out fully. Treat the judges as if they’ve never heard of your company/technology before.
• Always check the word count before you start, and make sure it is no more than 10% under or above the stipulated figure.
• The executive summary helps build a script if you are a finalist, so your summary should reflect your award submission. If, for example, you are entering a technology category a brief introduction to your company is encouraged, but the focus should be on the technology and why it should win the award.
• Do not supply supporting information (other than financial information or letters of recommendation depending on the individual category requirements). The judges will score each nomination based on the answers given to the questions and nothing else.
• Always relate back to the main criteria shown on the front of the nomination form – make sure all of these areas are covered in your award submission.
• Try to limit sales or marketing speak – the best entries show passion and enthusiasm and often, given the condensed nature of content used in promotional material, this does not always adequately answer the question.
• Providing evidence is key to the credibility of your entry, so make sure to back up statements with facts and figures wherever possible. Particularly for technology related entries, the judges are looking for clear business cases of how the technology is going to be deployed/developed, not just an explanation of how it works and the benefits.

Remember that an award win can act as a ‘seal of approval’ for any potential investors or new customers considering working with your company, as well as attracting the talent you need to drive your business forward in the future.

Winning an Offshore Achievement Award has proven to be a sales tool for past winners and often results in new business opportunities.

Best of luck!