Every year around this time the insanity begins.

The first emails arrive proclaiming, “Call for entries.” The account and creative teams heatedly debate over which campaigns might impress the judges. The agency president frets over winning more trophies than her competitors. And the low-key accountant starts ranting when he sees the escalating cost of the entry fees.

Yes, it’s marketing awards time again. This whole pageant might seem silly to outsiders, but the marketing world cherishes its awards more than ever. In fact, a recent Google search for “marketing awards” produced 1,110,000,000 results.

This season you can enter competitions for global marketing, regional marketing, digital marketing, content marketing, broadcast marketing, event marketing, influencer marketing, experiential marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, in-house marketing, affiliate marketing, SEO marketing and even unproduced marketing. There are also entire awards shows devoted to B2C, B2B and B2B2C. And the madness is spreading. Marketing awards season now stretches from October through mid-summer.

At first, the endless list of awards shows seemed a little overwhelming. But as I scrolled through them, a wild idea hit me.

“Why not come up with our own marketing awards competition?”

Ambitious? Yes. Crazy? Definitely. Nevertheless, I am officially proposing the Boommy Awards: The one show which honors accomplishments that genuinely matter, especially to all of you underappreciated B2B marketers.

To see why the Boommy Awards are so different, let’s consider the categories.

 

The Mental Meltdown Award

Have you ever worked on a project that tested the limits of your brain cells? 
We’re talking about the most complicated, multi-faceted, difficult-to-grasp quandaries in the industrial world. These types of programs usually come with a binder of acronyms you need to memorize and stringent legal requirements that cannot budge. And don’t look for sympathy, because you can’t explain this type of project to your family, friends, or even your cousin, the aerospace engineer.

Can you translate this potential portfolio killer into a simple, memorable and understandable marketing campaign? If you can, now there’s an award for you.

“This Boommy celebrates the brave B2B marketers who make sense of the impossible. Congratulations, you’ve earned the Mental Meltdown Award.”

 

The Invisible Budget Award

If you ever get invited to judge an awards show, by all means do it.

Judging is an inspiring experience and a sobering economics lesson. You’ll see amazing work from legendary brands that spent ample fortunes on their campaigns. You might even find yourself daydreaming about working with a budget that would impress Bill Gates’ bookkeeper.

Now, let’s turn the tables. Imagine struggling with a marketing budget so small that you risk using it up during the project download meeting. That’s not all: The client still wants big money results.

What can you do? Broadcast is definitely out, there’s no revenue for any type of a media buy and don’t even think about a shoot.

Can you generate major impact on pocket change? If you can, now there’s an award for you.

“This Boommy celebrates the ingenious B2B marketers who think big with small resources. Congratulations, you’ve earned the Invisible Budget Award.”

 

The Escape from Alcatraz Award

You are locked in with no chance of escape. The client has predetermined imagery, content, positioning, offers and strategy. None of it can be tweaked in any way. You simply must make it work better together.

Can you find a way out of this ironclad marketing prison? If you can, now there’s an award for you.

“This Boommy celebrates the inspired B2B marketers who have breakout ideas despite being boxed in. Congratulations, you’ve earned the Escape from Alcatraz Award.”

 

Well, that’s the Boommy Awards for this year. Thanks for coming. And best of luck to everyone during this year’s marketing awards season.