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Three-peat!!! Three-peat!!! Three-peat!!!
You raised an interesting issue. There is always a good deal of cynicism about awards, and some of it is well-deserved.
I spent many, many years (too many, lol), in the computer industry, the last 10+ years as a National Sales Manager. It was well known that the easiest way to make the Top 10 lists, get good reviews, and win awards in the industry was to advertise heavily with the companies doing the reviews and bestowing the awards.
Buying ad space in exchange for postive reviews/awards was a part of the marketing strategy of many if not most companies large and small whom I worked with or knew about.
Sure, the reviewers/awarders would always toss in a few spoilers to lend some credibility to their program, but by and large you could add up the ad space and then make pretty spot on guesses as to who would win the most/highest accolades.
What gets lost in all of that, is that quite often the people who win have a good product/service anyway.
Keeping focused on your product/service and most of all your customers is the best way to achieve success. Playing the marketing game is also necessary, but keeping it in perspective is even more important.
ADG Webmaster
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