With resources more stretched than ever and the never-ending pressure to deliver more with less, it would be reasonable to wonder why you’d spend time and resource on award entries. It’s even harder to commit that resource if you don’t have a clear framework for putting your entry together that gives you confidence you will be successful.  

But if you can requisition the resource and formalise your framework, winning awards can deliver big.  

In this guest blog, Louise Turner managing director of Awards Writers gives us a look under the bonnet of what it takes to win an award – and the reasons you should want to.  

Over to Louise

I’ll make a start with what one of our clients had to say about the reason they made a long-term commitment to awards. Since 2020, digital agency Ascensor has won a clutch of awards for their work and for the agency itself.  Andrew Firth, the agency’s MD, has seen first-hand the benefit of winning awards. 

“Winning awards has resulted in enquiries and definitely helped us win more of the work we’re great at. We include our winner and finalist badges in all our pitches and packs as independent validation that we are as good as we say we are.  

“The team are proud to work for a multi-award-winning agency – something that’s important in the race for talent. Being consistent in our wins creates an award-winning mindset that helps keep our standards incredibly high.” 

At Awards Writers, we’ve been helping companies win awards since 2012. From international brands to small local agencies and everything in between, we’ve applied our winning formula to help them secure the glory they deserve – with all the benefits being a winner brings.  

The winning formula 

A winning award entry will seamlessly combine a strong narrative with excellent numbers. The evidence supporting the story will go beyond the easily measured volume numbers and into impact.  

So you ran a great online campaign and delivered millions of views. Great! What did that turn into for the client? What’s the value of the sales they made or the business they won as a result? 

You created a shiny new website on time and on budget. So far so good. But how did conversions increase and what did that mean the client’s return on their investment was?  

It can be tricky for agencies to get this kind of golden data, because it’s often held by the client. Good benchmarking at the start of projects can really help your award entries by giving you an idea of the data before you worked your magic. If the client can give you the numbers before you start, they can most likely give you the same metrics now so you can do the comparison.  

Strong stories 

We talk about films to help clients understand the narratives we’re trying to weave in award entries.  

Think about James Bond films. They follow the same plot – there’s an existential threat to the world, a big bad villain, and Bond eventually overcomes both to save the day. Christopher Booker called this the overcoming the monster plot. The monster in your business could be a competitor, a crisis (the pandemic was everyone’s monster) or a tech issue that almost caused a calamity. If you’ve overcome a monster, it’s likely the judges will love your story.  

Most people are familiar with the Cinderella rags to riches story. It’s essentially an improvement story, with Cinders ending the film the same girl, but with a much better dress, a palace and a prince. If you’ve improved processes, products or tech and can evidence the change, you could have yourself an award-winning tale. 

The third film we use is The Grinch, which is a transformation story. He’s a materially different creature by the end of the film, going from hating Christmas to loving it. If you have overhauled anything for your clients or within your agency, this could be another great awards narrative.  

Should you use AI to write your award entry? 

AI has rapidly become a companion for many people and businesses looking to save time. But using it to write your award entry isn’t necessarily in your interest. (And yes, I would say that, but hear me out).  

Judges on Don’t Panic’s programmes aren’t keen when they see entries which are obviously all written by AI. And 2025 research by the Independent Awards Standards Council found 71% of  judges think they can spot it, with feedback suggesting AI-written entries “lack soul” and create “bland, generic-sounding copy”. 

The problem is, AI creates predictable text, so without a human making strong edits to a rough first draft, it writes something that sounds like everyone else, makes bold claims without backing them up, and can undermine what might otherwise be a brilliant story.  

We think of AI as being the thing that gives us answers. But the real talent when it comes to uncovering the perfect award narrative is more about asking questions, because they are what get you to the unique angle your story needs.  

I understand why people think using AI will speed up creating their award entries. If you’re determined to use it, I’d exercise caution, and always only use it to generate a very first draft to build on.  

Why bother with awards? 

Isn’t that the million-dollar question?  

It’s easier to let another of our clients tell you why they invested in entering awards. Here’s what Andrew Ash, MD at Enjoy Digital, winners of Best PPC Campaign at the UK Agency Awards 2025 had to say: 

 ”There’s no better endorsement of your work than winning an award that your peers and clients genuinely value. Our wins have given the team a real boost and often come up in conversations with clients and prospects. Putting together a strong entry takes time and effort, but the rewards are more than worth it when you bring home the trophy!” 

For help with your awards strategy or next entry, get in touch with the Awards Writers team. Check out Don’t Panic’s comprehensive range of awards programmes to find the perfect category for your next entry.  
 

Author Bio

Louise Turner has been telling stories professionally since 2000. She’s written about everything – from bubble bath to a brief for the prime minister. Since 2012 she’s run Awards Writers, a specialist agency supporting clients to win awards. They’ve helped international brands, boutique agencies, and everyone in between to win awards in the UK and Europe. In 2025, 92% of all their entries were on a shortlist and 56% took home a prize. 

Louise is also an experienced awards judge and has set up several awards programmes. During the pandemic she wrote a book, Glory, the Magic Formula for Winning More Business Awards,  and she has trained hundreds of people on how to use the Awards Writers framework for winning entries. 

Find Louise on LinkedIn.