CMA’s 18 th Awards for Excellence Competition now open for entry submissions

By David Beer on behalf of the Concrete Manufacturers Association

The Concrete Manufacturers Association’s 2024 Awards for Excellence competition was officially launched on 9 May 2023 and CMA members have until 28 May 2024 to submit their entries.

The competition will be staged to the same digital formula as the 2022 event, which was a resounding success.

“our rational for the extended submission period,” said CMa director, henry Cockcroft, “is that the competition is more about gaining exceptional visibility for the multiple applications of precast concrete than it is about winning an award. It’s about creating an informative resource for engineers, architects, property developers and other professionals, encouraging them to tap into the many advantages of precast concrete.

“as in 2022, videos will be made of all entry submissions and these will be posted on the CMa’s social media platforms which will provide outstanding levels of focussed exposure in the lead up to the judging in 2024. For example, 210 000 views on social media, equivalent to 575 hours of accumulated social media view time, were achieved in 2022. and for the 2024 competition, we will build on our 2022 knowledge to make improvements and gain even more exposure.” the event is one of the highlights in the construction industry’s calendar and presents an outstanding opportunity for CMa members, both large and small, to showcase their products digitally and to establish themselves as trendsetters in the use of precast concrete. there are two entry categories, aesthetic Excellence and Engineering Excellence, each split into seven and eight sub-categories, respectively. the winner of each category will receive an award certificate, and floating trophies which in the judges’ opinion best exemplify applied precast concrete, will be presented to four overall winners chosen from the category winners’ pool. besides the completed entry forms, each entry requires footage comprised of seven photographs and/or videos accompanied by a 450 word project description motivating the entry. they will be used as the voice-over text for the production of the entry videos and should be well written, preferably by a professional writer. anchored in the promotion of top-quality precast concrete, the awards showcase the ubiquitous use of precast concrete to built-environment professionals, but more importantly, they provide a mechanism which informs the consumer. n

“It goes without saying that the better the quality of visual footage, the greater the chances of winning an award. therefore photos taken by professional photographers will have the edge on snap shots taken on cell phones,” advises Cockcroft.

Motivations are mandatory for entry qualification and should highlight either aesthetic and/or engineering elements.

Company branding and product proper names are permitted and entrants are required to submit high-quality company logos for use in the entry videos.

Judging, by an independent panel of construction professionals, will take place in July 2024 and the award results will be announced as soon as the digital winners book is completed in the final quarter of 2024.