Last week, Donald Trump was given—given (donated), not awarded, which is a whole other rant I’ve already semi gone off on—the Nobel Peace Prize, which reminded me of something Asheville-related that I’ve been wanting to write about for some time: I feel comfortable asserting that 90% of the awards you see people being granted as adults (most sports-based awards nonwithstandng) aren’t merit based. They are based on politicking, PR, ambition, and often…money. These aren’t necessarily bad things (the ambition, specifically…not always, anyway), but I’m always surprised how many folks who don’t work in the same field I do (my day job is in marketing, which overlaps with PR and communications—I’ve actually done aspects of both of those at some jobs—while my freelance writing career means I know the ins and outs of publications) don’t realize how most awards work.
I remember getting an education in this (pun, unintended, but working here), years ago, during my first professional iteration as a teacher. There was a person at the middle school (or maybe elementary school, I don’t remember at this point) who was nominated for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. I remember remarking to a colleague how impressive that was. They rolled their eyes. “You know you nominate yourself, right?” she said. I hadn’t known that. She then explained how that person nominates themselves every year, and campaigns essentially, with colleagues, to write in and support them, and how their YouTube channel (they were ahead of the curve then, back in the early aughts), wasn’t something they did to get the kids “excited to learn” as they claimed, but rather, something they did to promote themselves.
As mentioned, I work in marketing. At three of my four last jobs, part of my duties were to find awards that would extend the company’s reach and impress potential customers. All of these awards had application processes that came with very hefty fees. You typically had to have a decent product to win, but my job was also to design and write applications that told a story judges would like (if possible, this meant researching the judges and tailoring the story to align with their interests or pet projects). It wasn’t a small task. I put a lot of strategy and work into the awards we won. Which again, not a bad thing (and we felt as a marketing team, they were worth the price of admission), but I remember telling a friend that I had to write a press release for an award we won, and their reaction was something like, “oh wow, that’s so impressive that your company has such a good reputation.” Now, the company they were talking about did have a good reputation and was one of my favorite places I’ve worked. Like I’d been years ago though, my friend was surprised when I let them know the money and work that went into winning this award (it should also be noted that these awards are also money-making schemes for the publications or organizations that put them on; you typically have to pay extra fees for trophies, or to use the award logo on your website or social media channels).
How does this have to do with Asheville? Well, Asheville restaurants, breweries, and bars are always winning awards.
Last year, for example, The Crucible was put on Esquire’s list of The Best Bars in America. Is the Crucible a great bar? Yes. It’s one of my favorite places to go. And I don’t know the actual process for getting on that list (and Google has not been particularly helpful the day of this writing), but as much as I like The Crucible, I just don’t think it, a very niche bar in Asheville that I think even a lot of locals don’t know about (but that does have a very good reputation in the service industry, one that would be very cognizant of the machinations and PR necessary to land say, James Beard Awards and “best of” lists that help drive customers and business, which is necessary for eating and drinking establishments, even those that want to “fly under the radar”) found itself on this list simply because an editor found their way there and had a fantastic time. There would’ve been some recommending (whether it be by the bar itself, or by someone who understood how the bar would benefit) and probably some lobbying, and maybe even some wining or dining (or ego stroking) of those who make the final decision (whether they be editors, jdugest, etc.). You don’t just find yourself on these lists because of merit alone; that’s what I’m trying to say. Again, not a bad thing (businesses need to survive in this economy), but just something interesting I thought worth sharing.
AshevilleExplorer 