How to get on industry award shortlists without entering

Oh industry awards, doncha just love ‘em… well, it seems not quite as much as those who are running them. Just this week alone I have had emails urging me to submit my entries for the Baking Industry Awards (three days until deadline), the Future Digital Awards for Smart Cities & IoT Innovation (seven days to go), and the Forecourt Trader Awards 2025 (less than 2 weeks left).

Meanwhile, the Marketing Week Awards are looming large, as are the Data IQ Awards, the Kantar Creative Effectiveness Awards, the WARC Awards, the M&M Global Awards, and the B2B Marketing Awards…

I haven’t even mentioned The Drum Awards Festival yet, which is apparently “the annual lighthouse event for the global marketing community celebrating every key marketing discipline from design, media, advertising, B2B, experiential, PR, digital experience, and much more. It’s one of the world’s largest competitions and award shows” – so there!

So, what’s my point? Well, I’m quite proud to say I have never won a single industry award, not that I have ever entered or been entered for one but, hey, there’s no back-slapping journalism on this site.

Well, that is what I thought until I got an email from someone at Bluestripe Group (sister company to New Digital Age), informing me I have been shortlisted for the Best Use of Data – Consumer Goods category for Wella at the Campaign Tech Awards.

Having been told “it’s fantastic”, apparently I can now purchase tickets/tables, and early bird prices are available until Friday, May 9. The Awards lunch and ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 5, at The Biltmore Mayfair.

They have even attached a shortlisted badge for me to share on social media, along with a PDF of the results list, as the shortlist is stuck behind a paywall.

So, who knows, I might just be an award-winner after all.

Now come on Baking Industry Awards, Future Digital Awards for Smart Cities & IoT Innovation, Forecourt Trader Awards, Marketing Week Awards, Data IQ Awards, Kantar Creative Effectiveness Awards, WARC Awards, M&M Global Awards, and the B2B Marketing Awards – not forgetting The Drum Awards Festival – any chance I can sneak onto your shortlists that easily?

Follow Foxy on X and Instagram if you must, but don’t get too excited as I’m never there