Awards Process
Awards Process
2026 Awards Submission Deadline
148
Days
14
Hours
49
Minutes
18
Seconds
Have you ever wondered how ADMEI's award process works? Below is a handy step-by-step guide to exactly what happens in the ADMEI Awards Program.
Step 1
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ADMEI company members are invited to submit their best programs to compete for a coveted ADMEI Award via the awards website. Each entry must be completed and paid for by the final registration deadline to qualify for judging. ADMEI uses an awards entry platform website that is managed and maintained by a third party. The site is customized by the ADMEI staff for the type of entry – Achievement or Recognition. The individual at the DMC who creates the entry is responsible for ensuring that company names and entry names are correct.
Step 2
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After the final deadline, ADMEI staff does a quick review of all paid entries and disqualifies any for the reasons listed in the awards entry instructions document. This document can be found on the ADMEI website under the ADMEI Awards section.
Step 3
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Judges from around the world and familiar with DMCs (association and corporate planners, hoteliers, venues, photographers, production companies, agencies, etc.) are then divided into teams and assigned a category to judge. Judges are not permitted to judge an entry that is within their same city, state in the US, or country outside the US. Each judge logs on to the awards website, signs a confidentiality agreement, has 2 weeks to review the materials presented, and scores each answered question a value from 1 - 10. Those scores are then weighted based on the values set in the year's Instructions and Overview document.
Step 4
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The awards website then generates a list of finalists based on the points earned in each category. Baring any ties, the top 3 in each category is generated automatically by the awards platform (potentially top 5 for Best Overall Program). The ADMEI office then notifies the finalists for each category.
Step 5
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When judging is complete, all entrants are notified if they are a finalist or not. Finalists are announced via ADMEI Newsletter and the list is posted on the website. Press releases are sent to industry trade publications.
Step 6
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The ADMEI Awards Gala night arrives, finalists are celebrated, and winners are announced and recognized!