Product of the Year follows three easy steps:
Step 1: Enter Your Product
Entries for the 2012 Awards will close on November 30th at midnight. Eligible products must be launched since January of 2010 and demonstrate innovation.
Remember, innovation does not mean it has to be revolutionary – just as long as the product demonstrates a feature that somehow makes consumers’ lives better or easier. We accept entries from products that demonstrate innovation in their function, design or packaging. This could be a completely new type of product or a useful innovation to an existing product or brand, such a new ingredient, redesigned shape or size, new formula (eg. less sugar) or new packaging (eg., user-friendly or “green”).
Please contact us directly if you have questions about your product: 416-764-3902.
Step 2: Jury Preview
Once all products have been submitted, a Jury of distinguished industry professionals is invited to review the submitted products to ensure that the innovation criteria are met before they go on the consumer research.
Should your product advance to the next step, there is a finalist fee of $3,000 which pays for the costs of conducting the research. This fee pays for itself in the form of a detailed consumer research report by Rogers Connect Market Research received by all finalists, win or lose.
Step 3: Consumers Vote
In this step, Canadian consumers representing the country’s population, decide which products are the best in their category.
We partner with Rogers Connect Market Research to conduct the broadest category consumer study on innovation in Canada. Rogers Connect Market Research group administers the study and puts together a detailed research report highlighting your category and general information on shopping trends and innovation. As a finalist, win or lose, you receive this report in exchange for participation.
The Winners
Those brands whose products are voted Product of the Year, receive the rights to use the Product of the Year name, logo and reference the survey in all marketing communications for a one-time license fee of $10,000. This covers logo use in any media and Product of the Year works with winners to ensure all marketing claims pass legal requirements. This also covers inclusion in all POY-organized PR efforts.
Around the world, Product of the Year winners have typically seen their sales increase by an average of 10%-15%.
The Awards
Winners of the 2012 Product of the Year awards will be announced in January 2012. An award celebration will bring together all of our winners at an industry party.
