Overview  |  Guidelines  |  Application  |  Previous Winners

Marketing Excellence Awards

The 2008 winners have been announced! (See the press release here.)
We awarded the winners during our Annual Marketing Conference in Boston on November 4th, 2008. Please check back in early 2009 for details on our next awards program.

Submission Guidelines

ITSMA's Marketing Excellence Awards are designed to honor special achievement in marketing technology services and solutions. Use these guidelines to structure your submission.

2008 Award Categories:
ITSMA will accept submissions in six categories.

Sharpening Brand and Competitive Differentiation

To support growth and profitability in a crowded, competitive marketplace, companies must avoid the trap of “me, too” marketing and positioning. Demonstrating differentiation—at both the brand and offering level, as well as in specific target markets—typically involves the creation of unique value propositions, innovative thought leadership campaigns, success with industry influencers, and/or new approaches to services delivery and managing the customer experience. Key judging criteria include analyzing position and differentiation vis-à-vis major competitors; developing differentiated offerings and messaging for specific markets; implementing integrated campaigns; improving the customer experience; and measuring results.

Leveraging Digital Marketing

For years, marketers have relied on broadcast and direct marketing, but today's customers want conversation and real-time interaction—with their peers, with influencers, and with technology providers. Digital tools and channels such as blogs, RSS, online communities, and podcasts are making online conversations easier than ever before, and yet raising substantial new challenges for marketers at risk of losing control of messages and customer dialogues. The new channels and techniques offer important new opportunities for gaining insight into customer and market issues, but also undercut many of the more traditional approaches to connecting with customers and other constituencies. Key judging criteria include using the new digital channels to obtain customer and market insight and disseminate company thought leadership; engaging with customers and market influencers; generating demand; and tracking and measuring business impact.

Strengthening Customer Relationships

Amid greater customer choice and declining loyalty, the ability to create lasting, mutually beneficial relationships is more important than ever. As a result, marketing organizations are playing a greater role in creating and managing relationship-building programs for existing customers. Specific activities may include advisory councils, executive event programs, user groups, online communities, reference programs, rewards programs, research collaboration, and co-creation of new offerings and solutions, among others. Key judging criteria include developing innovative relationship-building programs; integrating customer-facing activities across the organization; building customer communities; and demonstrating measurable results.

Launching New Solutions

As buyers continue to press for greater business value from their investments in services and solutions, companies are developing and bringing integrated solutions to market quickly and efficiently. Key judging criteria include identifying customers’ business needs; working across the organization and/or with partners to develop innovative new offerings; getting to market quickly; and delivering measurable business value to customers. Submissions should highlight the strength of the solutions development process as well as a specific example of at least one successful new solution.

Enabling Sales

Dramatic shifts in the nature of customers, competitors, offerings, and market influencers means that marketing and sales must collaborate to address important questions such as: Which market segments provide the greatest opportunities? Which offering areas deserve priority investment? Which partners can best contribute to near- and long-term growth? How can we best strengthen relationships with key clients and executives? Then, armed with the answers to these questions, marketing needs to not only enable sales throughout the sales cycle but to actively develop programs and campaigns that engage customers, deepen conversations, and enhance relationships every step of the way. Key judging criteria include improving collaboration between marketing and sales; developing integrated sales and marketing programs that generate increased results; and providing new tools and new approaches that improve sales productivity and results. Submissions that include sales engagement initiatives with alliance or channel partners are also encouraged.

Generating Demand

More and more companies are discovering that targeted marketing and sales programs can be extremely effective in generating demand for new and existing services and solutions. Successful demand generation campaigns are typically designed, launched, and managed around offerings and messaging that will speak to audiences in specific segments, vertical markets, and even individual accounts. Key judging criteria include identifying new opportunities; designing innovative and focused marketing campaigns (often for 1s or 10s of new and existing accounts rather than 100s or 1,000s); using multiple demand generation tactics in an integrated fashion; and achieving substantial results.

2008 Award Winners

ITSMA will honor two winners in each category.

Diamond Awards: Best in class for the industry, as measured by innovation, execution, and results.

Gold Awards: Standout performance in improving marketing performance, as measured by innovation, execution, and results.

Submission Format

All submissions must include an Application Form and follow the guidelines listed below to present a compelling story of what was done, how it was done, and the business results. Include detail for each of the required sections. Judges will look especially for initiatives that represent true innovation for the industry, highly effective execution, and dramatic business results.

Submission Outline

1. Initiative Summary

Provide a brief overview of the marketing initiative and the results realized. What is the essence of the story? (Limit: ½ page)

2. Situation Overview

Describe the business problem and/or opportunity that inspired the initiative. What challenges was the business facing? What changes had occurred that called for a new initiative? What was the competitive situation? What constraints limited the firm's freedom of action?

3. Understanding of Customer/Market Need

Define the customer or market need that the initiative addressed. How rigorous was the approach taken to understand the need? To what extent did you quantify the need or opportunity (e.g., costs, potential savings, benefits, and/or market size)? Was the initiative based on a new insight into customer or market needs? Was this an effort to define a new customer segment? How would the target customers define the business issue that you were trying to solve?

4. Innovation

Describe the innovation involved in addressing the customer/market need. To what extent did this initiative represent a new way of doing business within your organization? To what extent did you break new ground within your segment or the larger industry in marketing services or solutions? Have you seen a competitive response to your initiative?

5. Execution

Detail the full scope of the initiative and the specific steps taken to bring it to fruition. What were the key elements of the initiative? What resources were required to execute the plan? How was the initiative managed? To what extent did the initiative require new types of collaboration across the organization? Were partners involved? What were the most difficult challenges you faced in executing the plan successfully? What changes were made along the way as new challenges emerged? What were the most important factors contributing to the initiative's success?

This section should provide a clear and detailed understanding of what was involved in the initiative, how efficiently and effectively it was carried out, and what elements of the program contributed most to its success. (Limit: 3 pages)

6. Business Results

Describe the "scorecard" that was/is being used to measure results and what results have been accomplished to date. What measures of success are included in the scorecard? What quantifiable results have you been able to document? What results do you expect to accomplish with this initiative over the next year? How important are these results to the firm as a whole?

7. Closing Statement

Summarize the most important reasons why your initiative deserves special recognition by ITSMA. (Limit: ½ page)

Submission Fee

ITSMA must receive payment of $375 for each submission to cover expenses associated with the administration of the program. Payment in US dollars via authorized purchase order, check, or credit card must be received by June 13, 2008 (see application form for details).

Non-Disclosure

ITSMA will keep all information included in award submissions strictly confidential, and will not disclose any information from the submissions without formal authorization from the applicant.

Submission Deadline

ITSMA must receive all submissions by email by June 13, 2008. Send the submission to pr@itsma.com.

Applicants may also submit additional materials to support the submission by email or in hard copy, although the judges will look primarily at the main submission.

ITSMA
420 Bedford Street, Suite 110
Lexington, MA 02420 USA

Please note: ITSMA will not return any of the submission materials.

About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. As a membership organization, we provide research, consulting, and training to the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.