The holiday season is over and with it, the bonhomie that belies a fiercely competitive business community. The gloves are off, Lovey and the games are on! Regardless of your industry or target market, award acquisitions should be part of your marketing and PR strategy. Here's why:

• Credibility Indicators
• Industry and Market Recognition
• Community Involvement
• Corporate Morale
• Online Visibility

Like everything else marketing and PR, it's advisable to go into your awards acquisition initiative with a plan. A well thought out award acquisition plan ensures that your award submission resources (financial and human) are well spent and offer the best chance of success. Consider:

• A good mix of industry, geographic reach, web-based, and community
• The budget you want to allocate (Oh yes, you will pay-to-play for many awards)
• Gracious winner strategies that allow for continued benefits

Finally, decide who is going to take on your award acquisition challenge. As an extremely competitive award submission professional, I can tell you that the person submitting on your behalf must be:

• Extremely organized
• Hypervigilant
• A bit of a nag or charmingly persistent (the distinction is subjective)
• A research champ
• The very best storyteller you have ever met - bar none

Ok, that's all you get here. I can't tell you all my secrets - after all, you may be competing against one of my clients for whom I have submitted.

I frequently post award nomination openings on Twitter and my Facebook page but there are so many flooding in right now that I thought I would post some for you, right here, right now. Good luck and may the best business (and storyteller) win ; - )

BCIT Distinquished Alumni Awards: Deadline for nominations is April 29, 2011

Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards: Nominations March 1 - April 30, 2011

Women in Technology Leadership Awards: Deadline for nominations is February 25, 2011

The Tech Museum Tech Awards: Nomination deadline is March 31, 2011

Technology Innovation Awards (Wall St. Journal): Submit nominations by May 6, 2011

Technology Fast 50 Canada (Deloitte): Nominations open until May 13, 2011