Awards for a job well done are the calling cards of excellence that communicate our worth to clients, prospective clients and competitors. They’re also motivators for employees to keep up the good work.

Entering to win awards is a tedious process that takes up valuable agency time, but awards can pay off with agency and brand visibility. When we win, it demonstrates the valuable partnerships we’ve developed with our clients. When we don’t, we learn what others are up to in our industry and why they’re excelling.

Most recently, Fitting Group won two awards on behalf of Butler Health System for the marketing plan behind the launch of their new Heart & Vascular Center — an IABC Award and a HealthLeaders Marketing Award. While we’re happy about winning, we’re happier that our client knows that our work is valuable and recognized by our peers in the industry.

These awards will encourage us to continue to think creatively and measure our campaigns effectively. Entering our work is a reflective process, from assessing goals to writing the campaign summary to the awards ceremonies themselves.

Awards are also valuable to our clients as tokens that they, as marketing and communications professionals, can use to convey to their colleagues how valuable marketing is to their company as a whole. Awards help our clients get internal support, because these honors not only show success but also prove that marketing, advertising and public relations are investments in the future of their company.

Now that we’ve recognized the value, pass the hammer and nails, because we’ve got some new awards to hang.