WATCH: What makes a winning Channel Awards entry?

Watch this webinar with CRN’s Nima Green and Sara Yirrell, plus three seasoned judges, to find out more about the judging process, what the judges look for, and what to avoid when compiling your 2026 entry

How does the Channel Awards judging process work? Who has to present and why? What is the one thing I should avoid when submitting an entry?

These and many more questions were answered by some of our actual judges in the recent Channel Awards webinar, which was aimed at helping firms get the best chance of submitting a winning entry.

Taking part alongside EMEA editorial director Nima Green and consulting editor Sara Yirrell were Sandrijn Stead, CEO and co-founder of CapametriX, Bruce Hockin, channel director at Alkira and Angela Whitty, non-exec director at Cameo.

Questions included why the judges willingly spend so many hours reading through the entries and what they look for in an entry.

Stead said: “We don’t do this because we are paid, we do it because we enjoy it.

“But we are looking at hundreds of these entries and we have to go through everything in minute detail.

“There are certain points that will jump out and make you original, but there are other things that may detract from your entry.

“You have to be honest, accurate and specific. You need to differentiate. Being unique doesn’t have to be outrageous, it has to be on point.”

Other points covered included what the judges think of video entries and what their biggest bugbears were.

Answering both questions, Whitty says: “I do like the wacky videos because when you have a unique story to tell, having a unique way of telling it can be really powerful, as long as they tell the story and include all of the key facts.”

But she warned people to try and be succinct when compiling their entries and to really enter what categories matter to you the most.

“What I really can’t stand is pages of filler text that you have to really go through and find the salient points around performance and achievement,” said Whitty.

“If all you see are pages of words, it can be quite difficult to digest.

“Also, companies putting in multiple submissions for different categories and using the same submission.

“Do one and do it really well rather than trying to do half a dozen.”

Weighing in on the same questions, Hockin says: “If you are going to do a video, make it unique, make it relevant and make it different.

“AI started to come in – if we see a long dash that is a precursor to us switching off and saying you haven’t put the effort in.”

Other key advice included reading the criteria, really sticking to word counts and video time limits, and also making sure entries are both UK, and channel relevant.

Hear more of the judges specific advice in the webinar:  Channel Awards 2026: What makes a winning entry?

The deadline for the channel awards is 26 June 2026. Good luck to you all. Start your entries here.