NATIONAL MARKETING AWARDS
The Boy Scouts of America National Marketing Awards Program is designed to recognize outstanding efforts by councils in marketing, communicating, implementing and promoting the Scouting program. Through the awards, the BSA will gather and share best practices submitted by councils across the country.
Get Ready for the 2024 National Marketing Awards
Submission
Entries may be submitted in the following categories (only one category per item). Each entry must be submitted individually. The categories are:
- Membership – campaigns that are focused on generating new members, retaining current members or engaging the community (including volunteerism)
- Fundraising/Development – efforts to increase, retain or steward donors and prospects
- Social Media/Digital – campaigns exclusively designed for the digital space (Facebook, TikTok, etc.) for any type of promotion, communication, or engagement.
- Program Implementation – marketing/communication efforts related to program delivery, such as camp promotion, religious awards, etc.
Submissions must be made electronically. No physical entries will be accepted. Submissions must have been in-market during some portion of calendar year 2023.
Submission Window
September 15, 2023 – February 15, 2024
Evaluation
Judging will be conducted by a panel of experienced marketing and communications volunteers. The criteria and scoring will be based on a 25 point scale allocated as follows:
- Planning & Measurement – 5 points Including research, clear definition of the problem being solved, timetable, goals, measurement strategies, and expected outcomes.
- Execution – 5 points What were the resources required? Were changes to the plan required while executing the campaign? Were adaptations identified that would improve the implementation the next time or in another council?
- Impact – 5 points Did the campaign meet the measurement goals outlined under Planning & Measurement? How did your council benefit from the campaign? Did the campaign have any unexpected outcomes, either positive or negative?
- Creativity/Replicability – 5 points Consideration will be given to pieces that are unique. The ability to scale the concept to adapt to differing council sizes is a plus.
- Look & Feel – 5 points Does the piece or campaign effectively represent the Scouting brand or visually tell the Scouting story? Does the campaign or piece follow BSA’s brand standards?
Timing
Entries may be submitted between September 15, 2023 and February 15, 2024. Entries must have been in-market during some portion of the calendar year January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. While entries may include partially implemented programs, they will be judged on the above evaluation criteria. Award honorees will be notified at the National Annual Meeting in 2024.
Recognition
Entries will be divided into council size levels and judged alongside similar councils as follows: 100 – 200 level councils; 300 – 400 level councils; and 500+ level councils. Honorees will be selected by council size level for each category. All submissions must meet the judges’ minimum professionalism standards before being eligible for an award. If no submission reaches those standards, the judges have the option to not select a winner. At their discretion, the Judges may also award one or more Judges’ Choice Awards in each category. Awards will be presented at the BSA National Annual Meeting. Winners will be provided with an appropriate digital award (e.g. digital seal; page frame) for their web/digital platform use, as well as a printed certificate and commemorative patches.
