Winning is a serious business: how to write a persuasive award pitch

Agencyland awards increase credibility and profile, boost talent attraction and retention, and even give new biz teams shiny new accolades to eulogize about.
Whatever the reason for entering (for us creatives it usually tops the job description), crafting winning entries is as challenging as creating the work in the first place. Submissions cost time and money, so how can the chances of success be tipped in the direction of making the effort worthwhile? All it takes is committing to a few hard-l