What makes a successful awards pitch?
It’s the time of year when entry deadlines for several globally recognised industry awards are approaching. But what does it take to cut through the competition and secure the votes of esteemed judging committees? Our editor-in-chief and chair of The Spirits Business Awards judging, Melita Kiely, shares some crucial advice.
Creating a compelling submission for a spirits industry award is a time-consuming endeavour. It takes a great deal of self-reflection, consultation and creativity to do it well.
When you’re confident your company, brand, business or bar is doing and saying all the right things – and more – yet not making the shortlist for an award you covet, it can be frustrating.
Having judged awards both in-house at The Spirits Business, and for external competitions, there are several patterns that emerge across pitches that could be holding you back.
So, how do you give your pitch the best chance of standing out to judges and getting one step closer to reaching your awards goals?
Below are five key points to keep in mind when formulating an awards pitch.
Be specific
This might seem obvious, but a common oversight in many awards pitches is they are too vague. Tailor your entry specifically to the category you are looking to for recognition. An overarching introduction to a brand, company or bar is great – but then dig deeper in relation to the category. If your goal is to win in sustainability, for example, what are you doing that is above and beyond ordinary expectations? How are you solving environmental problems? And what results can you share to demonstrate your effectiveness?
Don’t rely on industry reputation
Many applications rest on their laurels when it comes to showcasing their accomplishments in awards pitches. Your brand, bar or business may be renowned for its expertise across the trade, but that needs to be comprehensively presented in awards pitches. The judges will assess the quality of the entry in front of them to ensure a fair playing field for all entrants – they only know of your success if you tell them. And vice versa; for judges who may not be familiar with company, a thorough explanation is vital.
Share statistics
Data and statistics may not seem like the most exciting talking points to include in an awards pitch, but they carry a huge amount of weight. Data demonstrably shows success. Judges want specific, tangible information to back up entrants’ claims. Sales growth, audience reach, market penetration – make sure the judges understand explicitly what success looks like in numbers.
Get creative
Are you pitching to be crowned the top PR company, best event, or greatest consumer distillery experience? If your category involves an additional layer of creativity, bring this into your application. You’re the best PR firm? Prove it – pitch your success like you would a brand or campaign. Immerse the judges in what you authentically deliver for your clients. Events, marketing, distillery experiences – use nods to social media and video evidence to bring judges closer to your offerings and stand out.
Adhere to word counts and file-upload limits
The more succinct you can make your application, the easier it is for judges to gain a cohesive understanding of you and your brand. Don’t upload every image file possible – be thoughtful, deliberate and share files that truly add value to your entry.
The same goes for the written portion of your pitch – the most valuable part of what you’ll share. Try not to get bogged down in adding flourishes to your writing. Clear, concise and informative pitches tell the judges far more than flamboyant, adjective-heavy descriptions.
And lastly, don’t use ChatGPT. Just don’t. This isn’t a grammar test. An authentic, human-written entry with the odd typo or grammatical error will always be preferred over anything AI-generated. At the end of the day, it is the people behind every endeavour that make the spirits industry great. They are precisely who awards want to hear from.
Entries are open for The Spirits Business Awards 2026 and will close on 26 June.
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