CATEGORY: EventPublic Sector

"That don't impress me much": The ‘so what?’ factor in Awards entries

It's UnAwards season again. That most wonderful time of year when communications teams across the country reflect on the brilliant work they've delivered and try to convince a panel of judges that their work deserves recognition. 

And rightly so. There's some fantastic work happening across public sector communications, often delivered with limited budgets, stretched teams and no shortage of competing priorities. 

I've been lucky enough to experience awards from a few different perspectives. I've won an award during my time working in public sector comms, judged and presented awards in previous roles and even delivered a comms2point0 winners masterclass. 

This year, I'm delighted that e-shot is involved in judging the comms2point0 UnAwards again. 

So, drawing on my previous judging experience, here's a little advice for anyone putting together an entry. 

It's not just a numbers game 

You might have generated 100,000 impressions on Facebook. You might have sent 50,000 emails. You might even have your new poster campaign plastered across every bus stop in the borough. 

But, to borrow a line from the great Shania Twain… 

"That don't impress me much." 

Don't get me wrong. Those numbers might be impressive. But on their own, they don't tell me whether your campaign was actually successful. 

Which brings me to my favourite question when judging an awards entry: So what? 

You've got loads of likes. So what? 

Your campaign has generated 1,000 likes on Instagram, hundreds of shares on Facebook and a TikTok video that's gone viral. 

Brilliant. But what happened next? 

Did more people attend your event? Did residents access a service they previously didn't know existed? Did your campaign change attitudes or behaviours? Did it make significant cost savings? 

What is the ‘So What’ factor? 

Likes, shares and impressions are useful metrics. But they're not necessarily measures of success. 

You've put posters on every bus stop. So what?  

Let's say you've delivered a fantastic campaign to recruit new foster carers. 

You've designed beautiful artwork, secured advertising across the borough, produced videos and generated loads of social media engagement. 

Great work. 

But did more people enquire about fostering? How many attended information sessions? How many started the application process? And ultimately, how many new foster carers did the campaign help recruit? 

Now we're talking. 

Of course, recruiting foster carers takes time. You might not have the final numbers yet. That's fine. Show me the progress you've made and how you're measuring it. 

You've launched a shiny new bin reminder service. So what? 

Thousands of residents have signed up to receive reminders about when to put their bins out. 

Fantastic. 

But are fewer people forgetting their collection days? Have calls to the contact centre reduced? Has the service saved staff time or money? Are residents happier? 

That's where things get interesting. 

Because launching something isn't necessarily the achievement. The difference it makes is. 

Outputs aren't outcomes.  

We communications people are very good at talking about what we've done: the campaigns we've launched, the videos we've produced, the events we've organised and the posts we've published. 

Those are outputs. They're important, but they're only part of the story. 

The outcomes are what really matter. 

What changed? What improved? What problem did you help solve? 

And don't forget context. If 500 people signed up to something, was that good? Was your target 100? Were you starting from zero? 

You don't need enormous budgets or millions of impressions to impress me. Sometimes a small, clever campaign that solves a specific problem is far more compelling. 

And if something didn't work, tell me what you learnt. Honesty and evidence beat a beautifully polished collection of vanity metrics every time. 

One last thing before you press submit 

Read your entry back and imagine a slightly annoying judge sitting opposite you (think Simon Cowell, hand hovering over a big red buzzer), repeatedly asking: "So what?" 

For every impressive statistic, every creative campaign and every claim of success, ask yourself what difference it actually made. 

If you can answer that clearly, with evidence and a compelling story, you're well on your way to a stronger entry. 

Because nobody deserves an award just for doing a thing. It's what happened because of that thing that really matters. 

And if your entry is just a list of impressive-looking numbers? 

Well… Shania said it best. 

Good luck to everyone entering this year's comms2point0 UnAwards! 

Entries close on 29 October 2026, with the awards taking place on 4 December – see you there! 

Find out more and enter the UnAwards and get in touch for your email data to support your entry.