Communications and marketing awards

Awards for Communications Excellence

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Chambers of commerce are recognized each year for outstanding marketing and communications work through ACCE’s Awards for Communications Excellence (ACE) program.

ACE submissions are meticulously reviewed by volunteer judges—peers from the ACCE community—who select a limited number of entries to be named as award winners.

Entry Category & Type

Entries are to be based on work completed between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Each submission is organized and reviewed based on the submitting organization’s total annual revenue range and entry type.

Category

Category One: Organizations with a total annual revenue under $1 million (USD)
Category Two: Organizations with a total annual revenue of $1 million to $3 million (USD)
Category Three: Organizations with a total annual revenue of more than $3 million (USD)

Entry Type

An organization may submit multiple entries in a category (four categories listed below). For instance, a chamber can enter its website and a video as Digital Media entries. However, the submissions may only be entered once in the competition.

Campaigns
Includes: advocacy/public policy campaigns, economic development campaigns, branding/rebranding initiatives, membership drives/campaigns, industry recruitment, social media, crisis communication campaigns, special projects
Digital Media
Includes: websites, blog sites, apps, videos, podcasts
Event Marketing*
Includes: event invitations, event advertisements, event promotion
*Entries in this category may be submitted as a compilation of all marketing materials for a virtual/hybrid/in-person event
Print & Electronic Publications
Includes: annual reports, legislative agendas, community guides, community reports, directories, magazines, relocation guides, sponsorship guides, newsletters

Evaluation Criteria

Entries will be judged on creativity, design, writing quality and clarity. Is the submission clever and visually engaging? Is the piece free of spelling/grammatical errors? Is it appropriate for its intended audience?
Judges will look for clearly stated goals/objectives and whether the intended outcomes are measurable. Do the tactics support the strategy? Is the strategy aligned with organization’s mission?
Judges will consider whether the entry is one they would use as an inspiration piece for their own organizations. Does the entry reflect some of the freshest and most innovative marketing and communications work coming from a chamber of commerce?
Judges pay particular attention to the results that the piece generated. These may include media impressions, attendance numbers, monies raised, intended action taken (such as a policy win), etc. Be specific.

Judges reserve the right to not present an award within a category if none of the entries reflect award-winning work.

Awards Presented

New! Two tiers of Communications Excellence awards will be presented: Awards for Communications Excellence Winners and Best in Show.

Awards for Communications Excellence Winners
Up to twelve winners named; considered finalists for Best in Show awards

Category One: Campaigns
Category Two: Campaigns
Category Three: Campaigns
Category One: Digital Media
Category Two: Digital Media
Category Three: Digital Media
Category One: Event Marketing
Category Two: Event Marketing
Category Three: Event Marketing
Category One: Print & Electronic Publications
Category Two: Print & Electronic Publications
Category Three: Print & Electronic Publications

Awards for Communications Excellence winners will be announced in April and considered finalists for the Best in Show title within their respective entry category (based on total annual revenue range).

Best in Show
Three awards presented; selected from the Awards for Communications Excellence winners.

Top entry from Category One
Top entry from Category Two
Top entry from Category Three

Best in Show winners will be announced in April.

Deadlines, Timeline

Competition opens January 2021
Early Bird Entry Submission: Friday, February 5, 2021
Final Entry Deadline: Friday, February 19, 2021

Judging timeline

March: Judges review entries
April: Winners announced

Entry Submission Details & Pricing

All submissions may only be entered once. Your entry must be uploaded to your website or a file hosting service such as Dropbox or Google Docs. You'll share a link to your entry (hosted on your website or file sharing service site) on the entry form. Physical entries will not be accepted this year.

Each entry must be submitted separately using the online entry form
Entries are to be based on work completed between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020
Each application must be submitted with the entry fee:
- Early bird rate: $150/entry
- Standard rate: $200/entry*
  *The $200 fee is waived for the first entry submitted by Horizon Investors (Is my organization a Horizon Investor?) and All ACCEss Pass members. Horizon Investors and All ACCEss Pass members receive the early bird rate ($150) throughout entry period.
All entries become the property of ACCE and will not be returned. ACCE reserves the right to share entries (with due attribution) in whole or part, on its news, web and social media channels