CEDIA Awards 2013: What you need to know to win

A busy Custom Installer usually has very little time to do anything other than install stuff, and consequently can overlook the important task of promoting their company. But good PR is key if you want to take your business to the next level and one great way to get noticed is to win an award for all your hard work. The CEDIA Awards were established back in 2006 and are now recognized as an event not to miss in the CI calendar (last year's presenter Pollyanna Woodward, above). These accolades recognize and promote high quality system design, installation and integration within the home automation industry - and they can be a powerful selling tool for your business.

So where do you start if you want to be an awards contender? Well, solid promotional photography is a brilliant first step: high quality, high resolution images are a great investment; they can be used not only as part of any awards submission, but also in your advertisements, trade publication PR and even consumer articles. You must also work on gathering together all the information for the installation in question; drawings and a step by step description will help the judges become involved in the journey from the initial sale through to the completion of your project. There are always complications when installing these high-end systems, so describe how you overcame them and what ultimately makes your project special.

Another thing you must do is to take some time to think about your entry, tell a story, give some background; perhaps approach it like you are going for a job interview. You need to impress the judges, it's not just about nice photos - you need some meat on the bone to prove you are a worthy award winning company. Download the relevant form from the CEDIA website, and start to fill it in. One tip is to do some research on previous winners, these can be found on the CEDIA web site.

If you are lucky enough to be chosen as a category winner, the whole PR bandwagon begins to roll, and all the agencies get involved. CEDIA produces a really sleek brochure that goes out to members, the national press get approached and all the trade magazines devote space. Leading consumer magazine Home Cinema Choice ran a full four-page article on last year's winners, so don't under estimate the power of these gongs. This all comes to you free of charge if you are a CEDIA member; sounds great value for money to me!

Watch now:
The 2013 CEDIA Awards show - all the winners, exclusive backstage interviews

For more on CEDIA visit our partner page.
Also read:
Tower of London confirmed as 2013 CEDIA Awards venue
CEDIA appints Matt Dodd as Education Director
CEDIA Awards reign over Hampton Court Palace