Frequently Asked Questions
About The Stevie® Awards
What are the Stevie Awards?
How many different Stevie Awards competitions are there?
What are The American Business Awards?
Who are the sponsors?
Who judges the Awards?
How long have The American Business Awards been in existence?
What are the categories?
What will winners receive?
Where can I find a list of past winners in The American Business Awards?
Benefits of Participation
What are the benefits of submitting entries?
What sort of publicity can honorees expect to receive?
Submitting Entries
Who can be nominated?
Who can submit entries for consideration?
Does a company have to be publicly held to be able to submit entries?
Can government agencies and non-profit organizations submit entries?
When is the entry deadline?
Are there entry fees?
Can entry fees be waived or reduced for non-profits and government organizations?
Where can I see examples of entries that other companies have submitted?
Are entry forms kept confidential?
Why are the submission requirements for most categories so loosely defined?
What is the difference between an "department" category and a "team" category?
Judging
Who are the judges?
How can I apply to be a judge?
Awards Ceremony
Will the awards ceremony be broadcast?
When will the awards ceremony take place?
What will it cost to attend the awards ceremony?
Awards
How many Finalists and Stevie winners will there be?
Will Stevie winners receive an award?
Will Stevie winners and Finalists be able to purchase additional awards?
Q: What are the Stevie Awards?
A: The Stevie Awards are the world's premier business awards. The mission of the Stevie Awards is to recognize and generate public awareness of excellence in the workplace worldwide.
Q: How many different Stevie Awards competitions are there?
A: There are currently eight Stevie Awards competitions: The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards the German Stevie Awards, and the Middle East Stevie Awards.
The American Business Awards are open to all organizations with operations in the U.S.A.
The International Business Awards are open to all organizations worldwide.
The Stevie Awards for Great Employers honor the world's best companies to work for and the human resources teams, professionals, suppliers, consultants, and products and services that help to create and drive great places to work.
The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are open to all women executives, business owners, and the organizations they run worldwide.
The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world's top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals.
The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards recognize innovation at organizations in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.
The German Stevie Awards are open to all organizations operating in Germany.
The Middle East Stevie Awards recognize innovation at organizations in 17 nations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Q: What are The American Business Awards?
A: The American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing business awards program in the United States.
Q: Who are the sponsors?
A: The sponsors include many of the leading business-to-business publishers and marketers in the U.S.
Q: Who judges the Awards?
A: The ABAs are judged each year by more than 200 executives across the U.S.A. Click here to see the list of recent judges.
Q: How long have The American Business Awards been in existence?
A: The American Business Awards were founded in 2002.
Q: What are the categories?
A: There are scores of categories, recognizing entire organizations, individuals, teams and departments, and all sorts of work-related media such as video, annual reports and other publications, web sites, apps, and live events. For a list of categories, click here.
Q: What do winners receive?
A: The top-scoring qualifying entry in a category is declared the Gold Stevie Award winner. Other qualifying entries are named as Silver or Bronze Stevie Award winners. (See this explanation of the judging and awards process.) Gold Stevie winners will receive a Gold Stevie Award trophy. Silver and Bronze Stevie winners will receive a Silver or Bronze Medal, and have the option to purchase their Silver or Bronze Stevie Award trophy. To learn more about Stevie, click here.
Q: Where can I find a list of past honorees in The American Business Awards?
A: Click here for the list of 2019 Stevie Award winners.
Q: What are the benefits of submitting entries?
A: There are benefits to preparing and submitting entries, and benefits to winning a Stevie Award.
The benefits of researching, writing, and supporting your entries themselves are significant. You'll develop succinct, compelling stories of achievement that can be used elsewhere to help tell your corporate story.
The employee-relations benefits can be significant. When you submit entries, you're telling your employees that you recognize and appreciate their accomplishments and believe that their achievements are worthy of national recognition.
The benefits of becoming a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award winner will also be significant. Winners can expect to receive a good amount of publicity. Plus we make tools available to honorees to help them leverage their awards.
Finally, you'll have access to all of the judges' comments about your entries and your business, which themselves may be invaluable testimonials to your success.
Q: What sort of publicity can Stevie Award winners expect to receive?
A: The awards ceremonies will be livestreamed, so Stevie winners will receive national exposure just from the broadcasts. The Awards' public relations agency will also work to generate national, regional, and local exposure for Stevie winners.
Q: Who can be nominated?
A: Any organization or person in the United States can be nominated.
Q: Who can submit entries for consideration?
A: Any person, group, or organization may submit entries.
Q: Does a company have to be publicly held to be able to submit entries?
A: No, any for-profit or non-profit organization or individual can submit entries.
Q: Can government agencies and non-profit organizations submit entries?
A. Yes, any organization may participate.
Q: When is the entry deadline?
A: There are four entry deadlines, including two early-bird deadlines by which the entry fees are substantially discounted:
- November 20 2019: entry fees are discounted by $70
- December 18 2019: entry fees are discounted by $35
- February 12 2020: final entry deadline
- March 11 2020: last day to submit entries with payment of $55/entry late fee
Q: Are there entry fees?
A: Most categories have entry fees, but several do not, including all of the Startup of the Year categories and the non-executive individual categories, such as Marketer of the Year, Communications Professional of the Year, and Product Developer of the Year, among others. For a list of the entry fees, click here.
Because the Stevie Awards is an independent organization, we are funded almost exclusively by entry fees and sponsorships.
Q: Can entry fees be waived or reduced for non-profits and government organizations?
A: Non-profit and government organizations may request that their entry fees be reduced or waived. Organizers will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to waive or reduce entrants' fees.
Q: Where can I see examples of entries that other companies have submitted?
A: Most 2019 Gold Stevie-winning entries have been published and are accessible through the listings of winners.
Q: Are entry forms kept confidential?
A: Yes. The organizers ensure that only authorized judges will review entries, and that information about nominees is not released to anyone else without prior approval. Gold Stevie Award-winning entries will be published on the web site, but entrants will first have an opportunity to redact confidential information from them before publication.
Q. Why are the submission requirements for most categories so loosely defined?
A. The submission requirements are loosely defined in recognition that every organization is unique in its culture, its accomplishments, and in how and why it seeks recognition. The submission requirements are structured so that each organization may determine and cite its own achievements in its own way. More strictly defined requirements would narrow the focus of the awards, which the organizers did not want to do.
Q. What is the difference between a "department" category and a "team" category?
A. A department represents everyone who works in a particular discipline or function within an organization. For example, everyone who works in marketing in a company, regardless of their role or position, is part of the marketing department. A team, on the other hand, is a small group of people from one or more departments. For example, a customer service team that serves a particular client, or a marketing team that focuses on a specific industry.
Q: Who are the judges?
A: Each year the ABAs are judged by more than 200 professionals across the U.S.A. and from several other nations. See the list of recent judges here.
Q: How can I apply to become a judge?
A: To complete the application to be a judge, click here. If your application is accepted you will be able to participate at your convenience over the Internet in February - April.
Q: Will the awards ceremony be broadcast?
A: Yes, the awards ceremonies will be livestreamed. The presentations will also be recorded and published on the Stevie Awards' YouTube channel.
Q: When will the awards ceremony take place?
A: The 2020 awards will be presented during a gala banquet on Friday, June 12 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Q: What will it cost to attend the awards dinner?
A: Tickets will be $515 each, or $5,050 for a table for 10. Attendance of the event is optional - winners are not required to attend to win.
Q: How many Stevie Award winners will there be?
A: In the Stevie Awards' system of judging, all nominations that deserve to be honored (by their final average scores), regardless of category, are honored. Unlike other awards programs, we don't limit the number of winners per category. Historically 30-40% of all entries submitted are honored with some level of award.
Q: Will winners receive an award?
A: Yes. Gold Stevie Award winners will receive a Gold Stevie Award trophy. Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will receive a Silver or Bronze medal, and have the option to purchase their Silver or Bronze Stevie Award trophy in the Stevie Awards Store.
Q: Will Stevie Award winners be able to purchase duplicate awards?
A: Yes. Gold Stevie winners will automatically receive one Gold Stevie trophy, and will have the opportunity to purchase additional copies. Silver and Bronze Stevie winners will automatically receive a Silver or Bronze Medal, and will have the option to purchase their Silver or Bronze Stevie - and/or additional medals. All honorees will also have the option to purchase commemorate wall plaques, certificates, lapel pins, and more.