So your client has decided to submit their product (or many) to the annual Consumer Electronic Show (CES) Innovations Design and Engineering Awards. With the Call for Papers opening yesterday, here are a few helpful tips as you prepare your submission.
- Deadlines and Submission Criteria – There are two deadlines to submit for the CES Innovation Awards. The early-bird deadline is August 31, 2011; the final deadline is September 16, 2011. If you’re on the ball, and can get your award submission finalized, it is recommended to submit by the early-bird deadline, as it will save you $200 per entry. It is also important to remember that submissions are only considered if the product’s availability falls within a specific 1-year time frame. Products entered must be available for sale or accessible to the public in U.S. retail outlets or on the Internet between April 1, 2011 and April 1, 2012.
- Is Your Company a CEA Member or Exhibiting? – Submitting a single award entry is expensive — submitting multiple entries is even more expensive. So, don’t forget to check out the fee discounts that your company may be eligible for. Discounts are available if your company is a CES exhibitor on the show floor, or a member of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). If you meet both criteria, you can get double discounts. Therefore, it is a good idea to check in early with your events manager to see if your company qualifies.
- Don’t Forget the Photos! – Each submission must be accompanied by a minimum of two product photos in .jpg format. Your entry won’t be processed without at least two different photos of the product—which means the two photos should be of different angles of the product.
- Product Demo Availability – Keep in mind, if your company is an exhibitor and lucky enough to be selected as a Best of Innovations Honoree, you are required to provide a demo unit of your product to be displayed in the Innovations Showcase at CES.
- Give Yourself Plenty of Time – Finally, get started early. If this is your first time submitting for the CES Innovation Awards, you should be prepared for a very in-depth and technical submission form. There are many questions about product specifications, design, functionality, and unique differentiators. For PR folks, it is a good idea to answer as many of the questions as you can, and then send it to the product manager for accuracy of the more technical product descriptions.
Many companies decide to submit multiple products, which means a separate entry for each. For example, a couple years ago, we submitted 12 entries on behalf of NETGEAR. Don’t wait until a week before the deadline to start looking at the award because you never know how many products your company will decide to submit. Therefore, it is in your own best interest to give yourself plenty of time for the initial draft and technical input from the product manager or engineer.
Although a time-consuming submission process, the CES Innovations Awards are a great feather in your company’s cap if they’re selected as an Honoree or Best of Show. So, start looking now at the award categories, and get going on those submissions! Best of luck.
Kristi Cabot can be reached at kcabot@sterlingpr.com. Follow her on Twitter @KristiCabot.
This brings back nightmares -- uh, I mean, fond memories!
Posted by: Lisa Hawes | August 17, 2011 at 01:49 PM