#1 Angle, Innovation, Impact

Angle: What’s the story? Keep in mind that juries read numerous entries so a defined story will stand out, set interest in motion and capture the bigger picture, thus delivering the message clearly and increasing your chances to be shortlisted.
Innovation: Is this story unique? Using words/phrases like “we are the first”, “we are the leading” or “we are the only” can definitely help you get your point across.
Impact: Evidence! You need it in everything to back up your claims and therefore your achievements. You can provide results in any form, whether figures, graphs or even anecdotes,

#2 Proofread once, Twice And Even Three Times!

Proofreading is a very important stage when submitting an entry to an awards competition; have your most over-scrupulous colleague proofread the entry for any errors or typos. Also, ask someone external to read or check the entry. Ask them questions like: is it easy to understand? What are the takeaways from the entry? Why did you think of it this way and why not that way? Before final submissions, doing a thorough checkup will help you understand if your content is optimized or not

#3 Pump It Up And Leave Excuses Behind.

One of the biggest obstacles to being shortlisted or even winning a NU Award is ourselves:
“Our brand won’t beat the other brands.” “The campaign that we’re submitting is boring.”
Those are all just unjustified excuses for why the work isn’t “better”, when in reality a lot of companies that work with low budgets can easily create excellent entries and win NU awards. Be confident and proud of your work, you never know what can come of it!

#4 Evoke Emotions

Emotion-based content is something we are all familiar with, leaving an impact by default on any human, even if for a few minutes. The same notion applies to having an emotional aspect incorporated in the content that you’re submitting for an awards. This is no to say that your concept needs to benefit the greater good but it should evoke some kind of emotions because in today’s world, an emotional plays is a safe way. Keep in mind that the jurors are human, and if you can make them relate to your concept or make them feel something, you might make an impression that lasts.

#5 Positive Attitude

We can’t stress about how important this one is! “It doesn’t make sense”, “No one will care” “they won’t get it”. Again, these are all things people say when a groundbreaking idea is in its infancy stage, which is exactly what should be avoided in order to win! We’re looking for new disruptive ideas that wow us, for people that create their own rules, we want to see creativity applied in new, unique ways! Give it all you got and reflect the best version of yourself in your submissions.

#6 Be As Creative As You Possibly Can

John Cleese said that “Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.” and we believe him. Yes, there is natural talent and overly creative tendencies in individuals, but anyone can nurture and feed that ambition over time; the creative individual is in each and every one of us. Being creative requires thinking above, beyond and around the ‘norms’ in order to exceed expectations and excite the senses. Use your imagination to bring something new to the table, Wow us! Break the rules, explore the unknown and take uncharted risks. Embrace creativity and convert it into a powerful resource.