Enter and win: judges explain what makes a competitive entry in the ABA Financial Marketing Awards.

What do judges look for in the annual Financial Marketing Awards competition? Marketing Edge spoke to two judges from previous contests and developed a few guidelines on how to identify a competitive entry.

Two previous-year judges were Donna Kimes, CFMP, vice president/ marketing, Farmers & Merchants Bank, Stuttgart, Ark.; and Don Martin, CFMP, marketing director, Charlotte State Bank, Port Charlotte, Fla.

Based on their comments, Marketing Edge drafted the following six guidelines.

1. Make sure you have selected the most appropriate category for your entry. "I would ... recommend reading the explanations of the categories carefully," says Donna Kimes. "I saw entries that I thought might have been better suited to a different category."

2. Select entries that are distinctive, appeal to consumers and attract attention. Obviously, attractive layout and design is appealing, but entrants should also look at a piece through the eyes of a consumer and determine whether the entry has the ability to attract attention in the marketplace, says Kimes. "Anything unique is a plus." Don Martin says that he first looked for an entry that captured his attention. "If it didn't do that, than it wasn't doing its job."

3. Look for entries that contain a call for action. After seeing whether an entry attracted his attention, Martin says he next looked to see if the headline motivated him to read more or to take some kind of action. "Some things were very creative, but didn't move me to do anything; others were quite simple and made me want to take action."

4. Seek...