Industry Awards, Edmonton & Calgary, Alberta
What Makes a Good Award Category for an Industry Event?
A good award category is specific enough to produce meaningful competition and broad enough to generate at least three credible nominations. Categories should reflect what the industry actually values, and the criteria for winning should be publishable and defensible.
Categories that fail: 'Best Company of the Year' (too broad, impossible to judge objectively), 'Best Use of Technology in a Niche Sub-Sector' (too narrow, produces one or two nominations), and 'Innovation Award' without defined criteria (produces nominations that cannot be compared).
Categories that work: 'Project of the Year Under $5 Million', 'Emerging Leader in Construction Under 35', 'Environmental Achievement Award' with published scoring rubric. Specific criteria make nominations comparable, judging defensible, and winners meaningful to their peers.
Common questions
Optional — and only if the voting process is genuinely open to industry members rather than internal to the organizing association. A People's Choice award decided by a closed vote looks like a popularity contest. One decided by open industry-wide voting adds a democratic credibility element that members value.
Plan your what makes a good award category for an industry event?
Tell us the date, the headcount, and what you are trying to accomplish. We will come back with an honest assessment.