ADDY Insider Tips Part II – Open Before 2014 Edition

When you’re running an event you say to yourself and the committee a million times, “we have to remember this for next year.” Most of the time you forget anyway. Hence, your wonderful committee. So while we covered some of these ADDY tips just a short time ago, the judging trip made us remember a few more nuggets for you to store away. And of course, a few tips we just can’t tell you enough. Good luck in 2014, and remember that it’s never too early to start thinking ADDY, even if 2013’s awards haven’t even happened yet (see you on the 14th!).

1. Read the submission guidelines

2. You spent hours, days, weeks, months on your work and campaigns. Now spend some more time preparing your entry properly and make it easy to view. Your work and your passion deserve it.

3. Even if your work is interactive or a physical piece, consider mounting some screen shots or stills to help educate the judges.

4. Mount just the entry number on your boards, not the entire entry sheet or your work will look like this at the judging.

5. Read the submission guidelines again.

6. Remember to enter your company information and titles correctly in the entry system software. It’s the same text and info we use to promote and print your work if you win an award. We don’t know that your company name is misspelled unless you do first.

7. We can’t say anything about your work unless a judge asks a question. So don’t leave anything to chance in case they don’t ask us a question. Prep every element of your entry as if the judges know nothing about you and your work, because, well, they won’t.

8. You might be on the fence about it. The judges might love it. Take a chance. Enter.

9. Students! We were students once too, we get it. Professionals still have deadlines and homework too. Ask questions. Submit everything on time. In addition to your talent, a well planned entry is a good way to signify you’re ready for post-grad awesomeness.

10. If your work was live and then taken offline, it never hurts to tell us the dates it ran. Nothing lowers a score, or worse, says “DQ,” better than an entry we can’t find online or elsewhere if the judges need details.

11. Another one for the students. In your entry credits, make sure your professor is included. They too have a stake in the game of seeing you succeed and have earned a line with their name. That kind of respect goes a long way.

12. READ. THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. One last time.