10 tips for your DMA Award entry straight from the judges' mouths

Thinking of entering the DMA Awards this year? I was lucky enough to be at the DMA Awards unplugged event the other week and managed to scribble down some entry tips straight from the judges' mouths, including a behind-the-scene look at the challenges they face on judging day, which I wanted to share with you. I hope you find it useful.

1. The wow factor
How was your campaign innovative and what difference did it make? You'll need something special to make it stand out – remember there are sometimes as many as 30 shortlisted campaigns in a category. In the first judging stage, judges read the entries in silence under time pressure so you don't have much time to make an impact. The next stage is a ding-dong pitch where each judge picks their favourite entry and pitches it to the rest of the group. In the discussion that follows the judges take the entry apart down to the last typo or clumsy sentence in the entry form. So don't let a rushed entry form let your campaign down.

2. Appeal to both types of judges
There are basically two types of judges – the interrogators and the instinctive. How can your entry appeal to both? What will make them both want to pitch your entry to the jury? That’s what your entry should aim for.

3. One entry, one voice
Yes, the entry is a team effort but you can't have three different people writing in the various sections. One way to get round this is to ask relevant members from your team to submit information for the different sections of the entry, then pass it on to a copywriter to fine tune it and give it a flow. A sharp editor will add the final touches before it goes to the demon proof-reader in your company who will weed out stray apostrophes and typos.

4. Give the judges an authentic experience
Judges love to touch and feel and tear the envelopes and smell the ink and go through exactly what the customer experienced when they received your post as part of the campaign. If you are entering a campaign that involved print do send in a few examples. If the campaign has multiple touch points, make sure you showcase the whole customer journey online and offline.

5. Results – last but most definitely not least
With results being the last part of the entry, often agencies submit entries with carelessly put together sentences on how they got impressive results. Remember, the scoring criteria for most categories is equally divided between creativity, strategy and results (there are a few exceptions though). So make sure you give enough time and attention to each part of the entry. A good starting point is to make a list of campaign objectives and only include results that relate to these. No random results, however impressive they may be.

6. Keep it simple
Be clear and concise to compile your dream entry. Keep questioning yourself to check if you’ve missed anything out. Do a bingo check. Don’t use jargon. Don’t let the fluff get in way of the story you want to tell.

7. Enter the right categories
The basic rule of thumb is to first decide on which sector category the campaign falls under, then move on to the channels, then the craft awards categories and finally the special categories. It increases your chances of winning if you chose these carefully and enter in multiple categories.

8. Tailor the entry
Don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach if you are applying for more than one category. You can use the basic core of the application but rewrite you entries keeping in mind the category you are applying for.

9. Get buy-in from your clients early
Get your clients involved from day one as they need to sign off the entries you submit. Your clients, colleagues or other peers you might know in the industry can get involved by applying to be one of the judges too. There are a few spaces left, so let us know if you would like to nominate someone to be on the panel by emailing our director of communications and insights, Rachel Aldighieri.

10. Borrow ideas from past winners
We have a back catalogue of DMA Award winners in every category, so before you make a start on your entry form have a flick through last year's winners and see which campaigns caught the judges' imagination and why.

If you missed out on DMA Awards unplugged this time round, you're in luck. We have another one on Wednesday 13 August and there are still places on it. Well there were last time I looked. Maybe see you there. For those of you based in the North of England, there's a DMA Awards unplugged in Manchester on Monday 18 August.