Your Awards Have an Engagement Problem—Not a Marketing Problem
The same names show up on the winners list every year.
Nominations trickle in from the same few categories every year. The same well-known members get recognized, while most others never see a path to being nominated at all. One nomination window opens each year — miss it, and there's nothing until next cycle. Committees market the program every way they know how — emails, newsletters, social posts — and participation barely moves.
The result? Low participation, recognition that reaches the same small group of members, and a program that feels more like an annual formality than something members actually care about.
What you'll learn:
- Categories That Reflect How Members Actually Contribute: Most award programs reward the same things — usually tenure or visible leadership — and little else. Build categories across career stage, expertise, leadership, service, mentorship, innovation, and more, and pair each one with recognition that's actually worth having: visibility, development opportunities, conference benefits, or other rewards members value. When more members see a category built for what they actually do, more members nominate — and get nominated.
- Recognition That Doesn't Wait for One Day a Year: A single annual nomination window means most members only think about the award program once — right before it closes, or after they've already missed it. Create opportunities for recognition throughout the year, and keep it visible in the places members already are: communications, events, and social channels. Recognition that shows up regularly feels like part of membership, not an annual formality.
- Data That Shows You What's Actually Working: You can't fix a category nobody's nominating for if you don't know it's happening. Use participation data to see which categories are attracting nominations, which are falling flat, and where engagement is growing or declining — then use those insights to refine categories, questions, and recognition strategy before the next cycle opens.
Webinar Details: Date: Thursday, August 27, 2026 Time: 12:30 PM CT
