Award Winning Events - An Interview with Andrea Michaels

What comes first, the chicken or the egg? A perplexing question as old as time, isn’t it? Well, when I’m asked to tell people how and why EE wins so many awards, it’s that same question as it applies to events. So let me share my thinking.

Whenever we receive a request for proposal and I start digging to find out what our client wants, I start asking myself if this is the type of an event that could win an award, and if not, what could I add to it to make it award worthy? I visualize the event (or meeting) through the eyes of an industry judge and ask myself if it was very well executed, if it was creative and innovative, if it was original and unique and more. Like what specific elements could I write to in an awards entry that would literally jump off the page verbally and photograph beautifully, image wise. Is it worthy of a magazine cover story? So that’s where I start.

Then from all phases of the proposal through production I continue that thinking and when I can add elements to make the event award worthy, I always do. Writing an award entry after that is easy because if the proposal contains all the elements I’ve described above, then writing the awards entry follows the proposal format because if it won the award (awarding EE the business) then it could also be worthy of industry recognition.

For more information on this topic and others, check out the link

http://www.eventleadershipinstitute.com/course-details-Interview-Andrea-Michaels.aspx for an interview I did earlier this year with Howard Givner from the Event Leadership Institute (http://www.eventleadershipinstitute.com/) which was recently featured in Biz Bash.

Speaking of awards, EE is very proud to announce that in conjunction with German agency Avantgarde we received the Grand GALAXY Award - Best of Show for the MINI Countryman Wanderlust campaign we told you about months ago. The GALAXY Awards honor professionals who contribute to the process of building image, creating profit and making a difference in the market place and the MINI campaign was entered in the category of Special Events - Product Awareness. To be one of only two U.S. agencies so honored is a very proud moment for EE. These events, spearheaded by Beth Stephenson who worked closely with the Avantgarde team, is a new way of thinking for events and event marketing and speaks to what the future holds in store for all of us. This was a giant step for EE so to be so acknowledged is very exciting for our entire team. Below is the article regarding our win:

"NEW YORK, NY – November 1, 2011 - The winners of the 2011 International GALAXY Awards honoring excellence in product and service marketing were announced today.

Over 600 entries were received from 22 countries including Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, the Netherlands, People's Republic of China, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Extraordinary Events (USA) teamed with Avantgarde (GERMANY) took the top honor on behalf of their client, the car brand, MINI (Munich, GERMANY) for their MINI Countryman Wanderlust Campaign. The events took place over six weeks in five U.S. cities to introduce the new MINI Countryman vehicle. 

This campaign increased awareness and positioned the MINI Countryman as part of an adventuresome lifestyle. It created high-traffic buzz via social media and a call to action to visit the campaign Web site. By inspiring MINI followers to create their own Wanderlust event ideas and post them on the MINIspace Web site, we created a strong viral impact that garnered MINI high-quality prospective buyer leads in the U.S.

The judges praised the marketing campaign as "Well done!!!" and "Fun! A very creative idea well executed." With near perfect 10 scores, the project best embodied the spirit of excellence shining in the GALAXY Awards."

We are also excited to announce that EE is a finalist in the Mobile Excellence Awards for Best Brand Marketing Campaign. The Mobile Excellence Awards represent all walks of the mobile ecosystem from start-ups, studios, content providers, entertainment, apps and handsets, to brands and more. Just to be in the company of leaders like AT&T is an honor, but wish us luck as we’ll find out who wins next month!