By Jay Neale 
The awards industry is broken: fake competitions dilute trust, pay-to-play schemes waste budgets, and genuine achievements get lost in the noise.
Here's the thing: awards fuel agency growth when they're done right. What sets you apart isn't just winning shiny trophies, but winning strategically, and without draining your resources.
Jay speaks to Donna O’Toole, founder of August Recognition, a leading global Awards Agency, and AwardsApp, a revolutionary AI SaaS platform she has cofounded with Daniel Priestley. Recognised as a Top 25 CX Influencer and bestselling author of WIN!, Donna's transforming the broken awards industry from the inside - as both an international judge and someone who's helped countless agencies become category leaders.
They discuss how to identify awards worth winning, why a relentless focus on impact is your secret awards weapon, and the systematic approach that turns awards from expensive gambles into predictable growth drivers.
Your 'too-long-didn't-watch' takeaway (TLDW):
"When there's a human impact and a transformation story together, that's really good. But any level of growth or saving really is what you're looking for, because you can then evidence the change. That's what you're looking for, how do I evidence the change in an award?"
About Donna
Founder
Donna is an experienced awards expert on a mission to help businesses and individuals win awards and achieve high-profile recognition. Recognised as a Top 25 CX Influencer and for her contribution to industry awards judging, she is the Founder of August Recognition, now part of the Dent Global group of companies.
She is also building AwardsApp with co-founder Daniel Priestley to change the global awards industry, while supporting entries and strategies for leading business awards and helping organisations achieve industry recognition.
Connect with Donna.
