Top 10 Tips on creating memorable Awards and Trophies

Coventry Silvercraft Co. Ltd., established in 1945, has expanded progressively to meet the needs of an ever-changing market to become a specialist manufacturer, supplier and engraver of corporate jewellery, giftware, awards, trophies, medals and badges. The company has built up an enviable reputation, with an impressive worldwide clientele.

Managing Director, Marie Oakley, gives her Top 10 Tips for creating memorable awards and trophies:

1. BUDGET– Think about budget, what you can realistically afford to spend? This decision will help to determine whether you have a totally bespoke, custom made product, or a more standard stock item personalised to suit your event.

2. DESIGN – Before spending lots of money on design talk to a manufacturer first. We can chat through your ideas and make suggestions to ensure that your requirements can be achieved at the right price and on time for your presentation. A designer may not appreciate the constraints and abilities of the various materials available and may design something that looks arty, but is hugely expensive to create. Whereas by talking to a manufacturer, we can advise on the most appropriate material to use (wood, metal, acrylic, crystal, silver, enamel) and then create a design that best suits it.

3. CORPORATE IDENTITY – Think about your brand and how you are going to promote your company image. Working with a corporate logo can be a good starting point for the design of the award itself, or it can be worked into the design. With so many manufacturing techniques available today, we can offer many ways of depicting a logo using the wide range of materials available. Alternatively you can have the logo engraved onto the award itself or its base.

4. COLOURS – With all the modern materials available the colours in your brand logo can be incorporated into the design. For example green enamels, stones or acrylics could be combined with gold or nickel-plated metals to striking effect.

5. SIZE AND QUANTITY – Do you want a perpetual award that would require the addition of winner’s details each year? This would necessitate a suitable base to take the engraving. Consider also whether you need matching replicas for the finalists to keep.

6. DELIVERY – Will you be presenting the awards as a special event or would you need to send them to the recipients by post or courier? All these factors can influence the choice of suitable awards.

7. DISPLAY – Where will the receiving organisation or person display the awards? It is no use presenting a 30" tall combination of marble and gold plated metal if the recipient has nowhere to display it. Consider where the recipient will display the item and if your choice is suitable.

8. PRACTICALITY – Is it going to be easy to keep it looking good? A large silver figurine will need constant cleaning unless it is to be kept in a glass cabinet. Alternatively bright nickel plating will not tarnish, gives a silver look and stays looking good with the occasional flick of a duster.

9. PERSONALISATION – Do make the effort to have the awards personalised with the recipients name and details of their achievement. Everyone likes to have his or her achievements recognised and it is great to be able to display something with pride.

10. TIME – Plan ahead. It is a shame when through lack of planning an organisation that has the ideas and the budget has to settle for perhaps a more ordinary item because they have only thought about it 2 weeks before the event, instead of a more practical 6 weeks or more.

Marie Oakley, MD
Coventry Silvercrarft

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