SMA deep dive case study: HPE and The Channel Reality Show

What makes a winning entry? CRN speaks to a past winner about their entry and why it won

With just under two weeks left to submit entries for the 20 February, what better inspiration to get that entry finished than hearing from a previous winner?

GDPR may mean that we can never share what a winning entry looks like exactly. But speaking in depth to one of last year’s winners will hopefully give a good insight into why that particular entry won.

HPE scooped the trophy for Best Vendor Marketing Campaign in 2025, with its informative and entertaining entry based on its Channel Reality Show.

Now on its third series, the show is a documented competition aimed at early career sales staff within HPE’s partner community, with the aim of building skills and enhancing product knowledge through a series of real-life customer scenarios and sales pitches.

Contestants are really put through their paces and are judged by a panel of HPE experts. Season One – which the winning entry was based on - started off around storage. Season Two was expanded to include hybrid cloud, and the upcoming Season Three will include the HPE Networking portfolio.

The concept itself helped the entry stand out to the judges, because it was something that hadn’t been done before. But it was also the clever way the entry had been put together that helped HPE seal the win.

HPE included both a video: allowing the SMA judges to see the show in action and also a short written entry to back it up. As set out in the criteria, the entry was personal, fun, and included an impressive number of both stats and testimonials from the people taking part.

To find out more, CRN spoke to Kathryn Couldwell, UK IMEA storage marketing manager at HPE, and Stuart Nixon, ‘To Channel’ marketing and communications at HPE, to find out about what spurred them on to enter the awards.

Couldwell said: “We got so much positive feedback, and I think that came through in our entry video from the testimonials – not only from the individuals who took part, but also some of their colleagues and the management at our partners. People hadn’t seen anything like this before and it was good to see something new and different.

“I think all vendors can run enablement programmes, but this was all-encompassing and different from the usual sales enablement programmes. We knew we had something really special that we wanted to showcase,” she added.

When asked what winning meant, Nixon said: “It is nice to have that validation and external recognition from such a well-respected organisation like CRN. It showed that our programme was something different and gives us that extra bit of credibility.”

“To say we have a CRN award winning campaign makes a huge difference,” added Couldwell. “It has been really respected by our colleagues and partners. So, it has meant a lot to win.”

The team behind the series work on it for most of the year alongside their day jobs, making it a real labour of love from so many different areas of the business, Couldwell explained, adding that Season Three promises even more excitement and variety.

When asked why firms should enter the SMAs, their response was a definite ‘Go for it’.

Nixon said: “My advice would be to put yourself forward and because it is sales & marketing, try and do things differently with your entry. It is about doing something that stands out and gives the judges a feel for it. We did a video application, but trying something different in the application process is something I’d advise.”

Couldwell added: “Sometimes you need to take a risk. It is an opportunity that isn’t going to come up often, so it is a risk worth taking.”

The judges also had positive comments about the winning entry. “Love this. Really novel idea and love how it champions the channel,” said one judge. Another said: “A fun creative idea which was well executed and delivered. The objectives were clearly articulated and met with impressive results.”

“I really liked the reality show as a concept. The ROI was really strong in the entry, and it had testimonials,” said another judge.

The SME entry deadline is FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY – Full categories and criteria can be found on the official SMA site here.

Go on, what do you have to lose? Good luck!