Yesterday we hosted a webinar about the 2013 CODiE Awards specifically for the Content categories. The purpose of the webinar was to make sure you know about the important changes we made to the content categories and process, including the addition/revision of several categories for a total of 28 content related categories.

During the webinar we covered:

• How to nominate
• What happens during the first-round judging process
• The complete CODiE Awards timeline
• Content categories
• Our all-new Buyer Review program

We were especially pleased to have two guests join us for the webinar: Michael Bird, President of NetProspex, a 2012 SIIA CODiE Award winner, as well as longtime CODiE Awards judge Angus Robertson, Media Consultant for Robinson Advisors.
Michael provided invaluable information on how NetProspex has been able to leverage their CODiE Award win (very interesting stuff, so more on that in a future blog post!). But what I want to focus on here is the great advice and tips both Michael and Angus provided to help you prepare for your first-round review, including:

• As soon as you receive judge assignments, reach out to them immediately to select a date that best suits their schedules for your product demo.
• Do your best to arrange for a live demo versus a pre-recorded version.
• Remember, your demo is not a sales pitch, but a product demo.
• Have your most knowledgeable person conduct the demo i.e. someone from the product team.
• Use the SIIA judging criteria to help structure your demo.

Watch the webinar to hear everything that Michael and Angus had to say, in addition to the information we provided. And remember, nominations for the Content categories must be submitted by Friday, September 28.

I spoke with Craig McGuire, Product Marketing Manager for LexisNexis® Web Visibility Solutions (Websites/SEO/Social Media Products). Last year was Craig’s first time managing the submission process for his group of products, and it resulted in a win. LexisNexis® Client Center won the 2012 CODiE Award in Best Legal Solution.

What was the best part about winning?

To compete effectively as a product marketing manager, I need to identify our competitive differentiators. With the LexisNexis Client Center, our competitive advantage is inherent in the product itself, but we also need independent third-party validation to promote that value. That is what we achieved with our CODiE Award win. It’s not only the award itself–it’s the substance of the organization that backs the CODiE Awards that made it so attractive.

Keep in mind that participating requires a level of investment. It’s not only the fee, it’s actually the time and effort preparing the nomination and presentation, and then performing the demonstration. There is a lot of internal coordination. For a solution as complex as LexisNexis® Client Center, a number of different product managers are involved.

The value that we get is really the independent third-party validation from an organization of the caliber of SIIA. This is very important for us. SIIA has strong brand recognition. You folks also differentiate yourself with the way you structure and organize the competition, from the caliber of the judges, to the very fact that the judging is done on site or over web conference. It’s actually a live judging and demonstration. As someone who is participating, it gives you a reassurance that it is a sound judging process. If you are going to take the time to participate in a competition, it’s important to know that it is a fair and sound judging process. I can’t say enough about the quality of the judges. We had two judges who understood the unique challenges of the legal vertical, as well as the knowledge of the technology. They had a good base of knowledge to effectively and fairly judge the solution.

How did you announce and promote your company’s CODiE Award win?

I map out a whole project plan, just like I would for a product launch or a feature launch. It’s a major project if our award wins, so we create a basic project plan, and map out how we are going to promote and communicate it internally and externally. Internally, it’s a big morale booster. It’s a competitive industry, and everyone has their heads down, working very hard toward the same goal, so this recognition is rewarding. Externally, we issued a press release through a wire service and we posted a blog about it. Because this specific solution is a feature in multiple products, we revised all of our product brochures and sales presentations. We made it available through the iPad and PowerPoint versions of sales presentation and featured it on our website. We made sure we got that extra marketing cache that comes along with the SIIA brand and the CODiE Awards brand.

What advice would you give to a company nominating for a CODiE Award for the first time?

Listen to Wendy! (laughs) I remember that there was a best practices webinar. I enter several competitions for various products and features, and I don’t see organizers taking the time to provide the webinar like you guys did. It provided a forum where we could ask questions, and getting that first person instruction was very helpful. It answered a lot of questions I might have had, and made the nominations much easier.

Also, make sure you have a presenter who is charismatic and also understands the vertical and the benefits that the solution provides, not just the features. The presenter should understand the solution’s place in the market, and its reason for being. We take time to research our market and develop products that solve problems, and you need someone who is familiar with that whole product development cycle, someone who can articulate why your solution is great and what needs it serves. If you want to make a connection with the judges, it’s more than just the features–you really have to understand the benefits.

Lastly, I would say invest in your demo. This is something you can use for marketing in the future. With LexisNexis Client Center, we have a nice demo that we put on our YouTube channel and our website for sales enablement. Invest in a demonstration that you can send as a video to the judges, and that you can repurpose in your marketing.

Why do you think your product won?

One of the big reasons why I think it won (and it seems really obvious) is the legal-vertical specificity. We have been developing website solutions for more than a decade now, and the company as a whole has been in the legal industry for more than 100 years. We really understand the legal vertical. There are many cloud solutions out there for document sharing and data storage, but the legal vertical has higher standards when it comes to securely sharing documents. We understand the needs of the legal vertical, which is why we created an online document sharing solution, an extranet that is built into every LexisNexis Web Visibility website we offer. It’s created for the changing needs of legal professionals to provide a secure, real-time online portal that is built in. It puts everything you need to manage clients, cases, and matter in one place. It’s a simple tool that helps attorneys access the most pertinent information on their website and share it securely with their clients. We focus on the small law firms and solo practitioners, and it’s something that gives them a competitive edge.

Wendy Tanner is CODiE Awards Coordinator. Follow the CODiE Awards on Twitter @CODiEAwards