6 mistakes when applying for the Gromche!

For the third year in a row, the organizers of the PR award Gromche! Review over 500 applications and make difficult choices to determine the shortlist and then select just over ten winners. And often participants are left out not because their case is not sufficiently interesting and rich but because of technical errors in their application. Valeria Mingova, PR consultant, founder and head of the PR DOCTOR agency, founder of the first PR award for small and medium-sized businesses Gromche! told us why your application might be ignored even though you had every chance to be shortlisted and even to win.

There are a lot of options here: the participant did not include the recommended information about the company, did not describe the promotion efforts or did it rather sparingly. Initially, presentations, tables, graphs, analytical data, photos, videos and other accompanying documents are an optional part of an application, but they greatly increase the chances that the application will be reviewed and approved. We recommend providing as much information about yourself as possible — the probability that this will work in your favor is higher than you think.

More often than not, a presentation that is incomplete or non-existent is a fatal mistake. Entrepreneurs answer the questions specified in the category description, limiting themselves to hard data. Technically this is not a problem — the mere presence of the presentation is enough. However, the organizers advise not to neglect the content of the presentation because this is one of the most obvious ways to quickly and efficiently assess how effective your approach to the task was and how worthy you are of winning in the chosen category. Presenting your results on seven or ten slides will not take a lot of time, but will greatly increase your chances of getting into the shortlist. Important note: when submitting an application do not forget to attach the presentation in .pdf as well.

A successful application should contain the results of your work and clear answers to the questions “Why is your case noteworthy?”, “Why should we choose you?” It is better to avoid unsubstantiated answers like “Because we are great.” We advise you to use only clear facts that will correctly describe the company . As stated in the Rules, the award organizers do not evaluate the company’s growth. Other factors play a role, and without specifics, all this becomes unfounded statements that are hard to evaluate.

Please do not overlook this requirement. It can greatly increase your chances of winning.

The Gromche! award has 16 categories, and each of them is described in detail on the official website: what the nominations such as “Social Media Interactivity” or “integrated Communications” involve. Try to study the description carefully and choose the option that best characterizes you as a leader. You can submit applications in several categories, but each one must be as targeted as possible.

The idea to organize the Gromche! award arose during the pandemic, a difficult time for small and medium-sized business owners. It was 2020 that demonstrated the wonders of flexibility, dexterity and skill of entrepreneurs working in diverse sectors.

Therefore, participation in the award and the subsequent possible award is the logical conclusion of a certain stage in the life of a business, which, according to its original idea, is associated with the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Russian Federation.

Participation of representatives of large businesses goes beyond the scope of the concept of the award.

To participate in the Gromche! PR award it is not necessary to be a legal entity — self-employed professionals and individual entrepreneurs can also apply. It is a different matter when an applicant is an individual without status. This should be taken into account when applying. Keep in mind the original idea of ​​​​the project.

To summarize: read carefully the recommendations and requirements provided in the Rules. The criteria for projects and participants are very detailed and clear. Try to make your application as detailed and informative as possible, show the achievements of your company using facts, not words, and make sure that you have chosen the right category. Then the risk of your application being rejected will be minimal.

The award ceremony will take place on August 24, 2023. Applications for the next award will open early next year. All information is available on the official website of the award — gromche.pro. Good luck!