Are you trying to recognize achievement? Or promote friendly competition? The answer to this question will help narrow down your options.
For example, suppose you’re trying to promote friendly competition. In that case, a medal might be a better option than a trophy because medals allow every participant to feel like a winner.
If you already know who will be the winner before picking the trophy, choose something the intended recipient will appreciate and display proudly.
There may also be expectations from the audience if the event has happened before; they may expect the same format of awards. Sporting events frequently have such formats, and parents may expect their children to be able to collect similar types of awards as they once did.
Is your event formal or casual? This will help you decide what kind of trophy or award to choose. A formal event might warrant a more traditional medal, while a business award could allow for something creative and stylish.
The design of the trophy really should reflect the significance of the event. An enormous trophy for a small achievement may seem silly and pompous in an awards cabinet.
Trophies and awards come in different price ranges, so you must set a budget before you start shopping. This will help ensure that you don’t overspend on something that’s not necessary.
Decide how you want to spend the money, quality and type of materials, engraving, size, multiple colours, unique design etc.
Do you need one trophy for the winner of the event? Or do you need multiple awards for different categories? This will help you determine how many you need to purchase.
Popular options included 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, but some just for fun events may give a prize for last place or even 2nd to last place.
Specific events such as golfing may use lingo such as the longest drive to determine who gets an award.
Another point is teams. Are you giving one large trophy to a group or smaller individual trophies per person?
When choosing a trophy or award, it’s essential to consider the future. Will this be something that can be used again – where the current winner passes it on to the next? Or is it something that will be put away and forgotten about? If you’re not sure, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and choose something that can be used again.