This week it was announced that BAFTA has bent its own eligibility rules in allowing the BBC TV series ‘Killing Eve’ to be nominated for a number of their awards this year. This has come as quite a surprise to some as in past years the academy has stuck rigidly to the rule that TV series must have been broadcast in the UK first and ‘Killing Eve’ actually premiered in the US five months previous to being seen here in Britain.
“What”, we hear you ask, “have the BAFTAS got to do with business awards?”
The honest answer is very little. As you may have guessed at The Awards People we’re interested in everything awards-related and when we read this little snippet, we thought it gave us the perfect opportunity to raise the subject of awards eligibility.
This is a subject often ignored – and ignored at peril in our opinion. Those who think that eligibility criteria are there simply as a ‘loose guidance’ and pay them little more than lip-service do so at the risk of wasting a whole lot of time, and potentially wasting money too. The rules set down for any specific award are there for a very good reason; there needs to be some way of ensuring that applicants are being compared and judged on a like-for-like basis. It is, therefore, very important to be operating within the boundaries associated with the specific award and category.
‘Bending’ of the truth or pleading ignorance of the requirements will not wash with the judges!
They have been appointed to ensure that the assessment process is fair to all, and they will seldom be anything other than 100% diligent when it comes to carrying out their duties.
On the very few occasions where we’ve spoken to entrants who have felt that a little bit of embellishment is justified, we have heard comparisons to the process of writing a CV.
“But doesn’t everyone exaggerate a little on their CV??”
Well, we haven’t. But that aside it’s still not quite the same thing. A good CV will get you over the door to an interview but when it comes to actually being appointed, the decision is based more on the personality, suitability and aptitude presented by that individual on the day. A large proportion of the decision-making process when judging award applicants and nominees is done prior to any interview or panel event and for the information supplied to have been anything other than truthful is simply not acceptable.
Is ‘goody-two-shoes’ still even a thing??
We protest! It’s not that we’re getting all ‘goody-two-shoes’ here at TAP HQ. We simply believe that, when it comes to awards at least, rules are good. They make sure that everyone competes on a level playing field and that, in turn, ensures that the final award is genuine and worth winning. We’ve spoken at length before on how important it is that the content of your entry reflects exactly what you do and, in our opinion, it is of equal importance to ensure that your activities fall comfortably within the eligibility criteria. After all there are plenty of awards out there and if the category doesn’t offer a good match to your business then it’s perhaps not the right one for you to enter.
Above all else, when our clients go up to the podium to collect their glittering prize, we want to make sure that everyone involved feels proud, honoured and worthy – and quite rightly so!
