WHY ENTER THE COTY AWARDS?

Publicity

Winning a local, regional or national CotY Award gives you a great reason to reach out to your local media and remind them of your superiority in the marketplace. NARI assists by providing a press release template and a media list.

Raise awareness among your current and prospective clients

Remind your current and past clients how good you are at your profession by notifying them of your award. Include award information in your sales calls to increase credibility with prospective clients, and feature photos of your winning project at local home shows, on your website or through social media channels.

Boost morale in your company

Winning a CotY Award gives everyone in your company a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Earn certification scholarships

All CotY winners in the Regional and National competition will be awarded partial scholarships applicable toward new certification fees. All Regional and National CotY-winning companies (team members included) will be able to help offset staff members' new certification costs. Regional winners will receive a $100 scholarship. National winners will receive an additional $50 scholarship.

ARE YOU NEW TO COTY?

With a membership consisting of the Miami Valley remodeling industry's finest, it's no wonder that each year we have many first- time entrants who go home with local awards. If you are considering participating in the CotY program for the first time, or even if you are a seasoned participant, take a look at these easy steps in the process.

In the Process

Start taking pictures: Before and after photos are required for each entry. Make it a point to take before photos at the start of every project. Take your after photos from the same angle, if possible, to show the judges the same perspective. Take lots of good quality pictures of your work.

Review the program

All the details are found on the Electronic Submission site. Simply follow the link at the bottom of this page for the Miami Valley 2016 CotY Electronic Submission Site. Find the tab regarding the Contest Rules for more information. The use the Register button above to establish your online login information. Once you have entered our local Miami Valley contest, you can easily reenter all the same information by selecting the Submit Direct to National link at the top of the home page for those projects that you wish to also have compete for Regional awards.

Plan your entry

Winner's entries are always well thought out. Arrange your photos, drawings, project descriptions, etc., in a way that's easy to follow, from the beginning to the end of the project.

Follow the rules

Choose your category carefully, fill out the forms completely, and submit your entry by the deadline.

2017 NARI Awards Program Entry Form (Word Doc)
2017 NARI Awards Program Photo Release Form (Word Doc)

The Miami Valley NARI CotY entry deadline is December 5, 2023 5:00 PM Eastern Time

Plan for the recognition ceremonies

Miami Valley NARI will have a recognition ceremony in January, 2016. The recognition ceremony for regional and national awards will take place at NARI's Evening of Excellence in the spring of 2016.

Tips for marketing winning entries

Hire a professional photographer for before/after photos for trade and consumer publications, your own future brochures and for your website, and anywhere else you want to show off your beautiful project.
Remember when taking photos that both vertical and horizontal photographs are essential to have on hand. Sometimes magazines or newspaper space requires vertical photos (especially for magazine covers) and you give your project a better shot at getting chosen having both vertical and horizontal formats available.
Third-party endorsements are important! Awards have a lot of marketing mileage; they can generate publicity, and help in recruiting and retaining employees. They add credibility to your sales materials and can make getting through a new customer's door a bit easier.

Here are a few ways to publicize your award:

Write a tip sheet that ties into the problem you solved. Example: "10 Ways to Find More Space in Your Kitchen," and offer the tip sheet to both your local media and to prospective customers. Post the tip sheet on your website as well, with before and after photos of the project.

If one of your employees wins an achievement award, explain why they won it and suggest a profile story to your local media. Post the profile on your website for all to see.

View a short training video on how to use the Electronic Submission Site