The ‘Young Marketer of the Year’ award (YMOTY) is a prestigious marketing award for young marketers or older but less experienced marketing professionals in the animal health industry. It gives marketers under 34, or those that have worked in a marketing role for less than 5 years, a chance to showcase their skills, talents and understanding of their field while demonstrating the significant impact that they, as individuals, have made.
The award is sponsored by British Dairying magazine and the Veterinary Marketing Association (VMA), with the winner each year announced at the well renowned VMA Annual Awards event. As well as receiving £2,000 towards CPD education for marketing, along with a £500 cash personal award, the winner is also invited to join the VMA Committee. The runners up finalists each receive a £100 personal award.
The Written Submission
The YMOTY winner is selected following a written submission followed by meeting the judges in London on 26th February 2019. All applications are thoroughly assessed by the judges and scored against pre-set criteria. Any candidates the judges would like to put forward as finalists are debated until a final three are agreed.
Top tip: Be creative with your application! Don’t hold back, give the judges a reason to choose you, include imagery, tables, graphs and recommendations to show off the marketing skills you have used and the difference you have made.
Ensure you are available on the judging date (Tuesday 26th February, 2019) and keep this date free, as, in fairness to the diaries of all candidates, all finalists MUST attend this session.
The Case Study
The second part of the process is a case study, carefully selected by the judges. The finalists are invited to London to answer a business question on the case study provided in the format of a verbal presentation.
This stage is vital to confirm who has good marketing skills of their own, away from their day job and the support network around them. It ensures a level playing field, so marketers with access to smaller budgets are not discriminated against.
Top Tip: You are not measured on how ‘beautiful’ the presentation looks, but on your approach and your findings. When you come to present though, the judges do take your notes away, so ensure your slides are clear and easy to understand.
The Presentation
The third part of the process involves presenting the case study. There is only a short time to present so it is important to speak in a clear and concise manner, covering all key findings and recommendations, as well as briefly explaining the approach taken and rationale.
Top Tip:
The last stage of the process is the interview. This is designed to encourage candidates to showcase themselves and their individual flair. Candidates are asked a number of competency-based questions and given the opportunity to engage and demonstrate their genuine passion for marketing.
The Interview
The last stage of the process is the interview. This is designed to encourage candidates to showcase themselves and their individual flair. Candidates are asked a number of competency-based questions and given the opportunity to engage and demonstrate their genuine passion for marketing.
Top Tip: Listen to the questions carefully and ask the judges to repeat or ask in a different way any you don’t fully understand. Pause and think about what you are going to say before saying it.
Once this process is complete, candidates are invited to attend the VMA Annual Awards ceremony where the winner is announced – a very exciting time!
Anna concludes by saying “This is the best thing I have ever done in my marketing career and has given me new-found confidence in my marketing skills.”
So could you or someone you know be the next YMOTY? Start to plan your submission now or encourage your colleagues to do so.
