This post is based on a fireside chat with Clare Derrick, Principal of The Events Academy, in which she invited me to share my experience and perspective on the power of pairing awards with conferences. What follows is a summary of the key themes we explored.
Running a successful conference takes enormous effort, but if you’re not pairing it with an awards programme, you may be leaving significant value on the table. Having spent years building communities through events, I’ve seen first-hand what a well-designed awards programme can do, not just commercially, but for your reputation, your reach, and your relationship with your sector.
The commercial and community case is compelling
The most obvious benefit is commercial. Entry fees, ceremony tickets and sponsorship can generate meaningful revenue alongside your conference. But the financial upside is just the beginning.
Awards create a powerful reason for suppliers, clients, partners, industry experts and potential ambassadors to engage with your event in a different way. Furthermore, People who might never attend a conference session may well be willing to enter awards programme, sit on a judging panel, or sponsor a category. That’s a significant expansion of your community reach.
Awards make you the industry voice
One of the most underrated benefits is the role awards play in establishing sector authority. When organisations submit entries, they’re handing you best practice case studies and insights , emerging trends, innovative approaches and even sector challenges.
That content can feed directly into awards showcase events, reports, white papers and panel discussions that position your conference as the go-to thought leader in your field. Industry press will pick up on shortlists and winners; judges bring their own networks and credibility; and the whole programme reinforces your conference brand as the definitive pulse-check on your sector.
Entry itself is valuable — not just winning
For teams deciding whether to enter, I always say: the process alone is worth it. Crafting an entry forces a team to articulate the impact of their work, often producing a piece of content that becomes genuinely useful internally, suitable for stakeholder presentations or even an annual report. Being shortlisted or winning then adds an independent endorsement that boosts morale, signals achievement to senior leadership, and creates strong external PR. For in-house teams particularly, that kind of visible recognition can be career-defining.
Format matters less than you think
My advice on the ceremony itself is to not overthink it. Whether you weave awards into your conference programme, host an informal drinks reception, or go all-in on a formal sit-down dinner, what matters most is working to your budget and being honest about your audience’s expectations. If in doubt, start small. A well-run intimate ceremony will serve you far better than an over-ambitious one that strains your resources.
Building trust is non-negotiable
Perhaps the most important point is the need to establish credibility early, especially for a new programme. The Awards Trust Mark, accredited by the Independent Awards Standards Council, is a valuable signal to potential entrants that your scheme operates to an ethical standard. People enter awards they trust. Without that foundation, even the best-designed programme will struggle to gain traction.
Before you launch: the questions worth asking
One final thing I’d leave you with is to do the strategic groundwork before committing.
- Is there a genuine gap in the market?
- Do you have the reach to attract a meaningful volume of entries?
- Have you identified the right partners, ones where the relationship is genuinely mutual and built for the long term?
- Can you create a participation process that’s clear and simple enough that people won’t drop out halfway through?
Get those answers right, and an awards programme won’t just complement your conference. It’ll amplify everything it stands for.