The AMA Houston’s 30th Annual Crystal Awards honors the best in the field of marketing. With 100 marketing categories, you have an opportunity to showcase to the world how your work delivers results and join an elite group of top marketers from the past 30 years. Consider a Crystal Award an Oscar in the world of marketing.
Michelle Le Blanc, AMA Houston president says, “A Crystal Award is the most sought after award in our marketing community. This year’s Crystal Awards gala will honor the vision, strategic direction and work that represent risk, reward and results.”
At last year’s event, more than 500 attendees celebrated the record-breaking 81 winners and 258 finalists. “With this year’s eagerly anticipated 30th anniversary, we will continue to honor marketing brilliance in a big way,” says Summer Austin, 2016 Crystal Awards co-chair. “We are thrilled to host the city’s marketing gala at the Hilton Americas-Houston on May 12, 2016. The evening will feature a cocktail reception, seated dinner, a gallery of finalist entries, and an incredible opportunity to network with savvy, results-driven leaders in our field.”
Branding, online marketing, events, public relations, and research are a few of the main Crystal Awards categories. The complete list can be found at www.crystalawards.org. “Marketers from all industries and fields have a chance to showcase their work with the Crystal Awards,” says Stephen Brent May, 2016 AMA Crystal Awards co-chair.
Skyline Houston is The 2016 Crystal Awards Presenting Sponsor, and this year’s competition features 24 new categories — many of them focusing on the digital marketing landscape:
- Landing Pages
- Microsites
- Digital A-B Testing
- Paid Social Media Advertising
- Mobile App and many more
There’s also a special, new members-only category called LESSONS LEARNED.
As marketers, we’re encouraged to take risks, and while sometimes these risks pay off in big ways, there are other times great ideas just don’t pan out. That doesn’t mean the idea wasn’t great and worthy of recognition. We want to know about a great idea or risk you learned from. Tell us why it was great, why it didn’t work, and what lesson you learned from taking this risk.
How do you apply?
Go to www.crystalawards.org for instructions on how to prepare and enter your work. Any project that was completed and launched during the 2015 calendar year is eligible. With the online entry process, you save time and money from creating and delivering multiple physical submissions. Entry deadline is March 11, 2016, with a late deadline option of March 25 (at a higher fee).
All entries are judged blindly by a select group of judges from across the country who represent diverse backgrounds and disciplines within the field of marketing.
When will you find out the results?
The top finalists from each category will be announced approximately three weeks before the event, and winners will be announced live from the stage on Thursday, May 12.
Excellence always stands out.
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives — choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” ~Aristotle
Aristotle’s definition of excellence aptly describes the work of a Crystal Award recipient. A Crystal Award is the distinction that sets your work apart from the crowd. To get started on your entry, visit crystalawards.org.
A past winner’s perspective
Heather Sasser, owner of VideoEnvy and a Crystal Awards winner, says, “Entering the Crystals helps us judge how we’re doing as a company. We want to be at the top of the game. Being named as a finalist provides validation to our work. Being selected as a Crystal Awards winner is icing on the cake. When we’re not in the running, we look back at our work and determine what we can do to make it better.”
Contributed by Jennifer Woeste, AMA Houston Chair of Content and Copywriting, and owner of JW Communications Group, specializing in consulting, writing, and digital marketing.