Top 10+ tools for organizing an awards ceremony

The awards ceremony is the culmination of an awards program and its most anticipated moment, at least from the winners’ point of view. And while the Evalato awards management software has you covered with tools to showcase your results and winners, we are taking this a step further with a selection of free and paid tools that will help you plan a celebration to remember for your winners — be it live, virtual, or hybrid. 

1. Evalato 

Type: Awards management software 

Recommended for: Streamlining your awards program from beginning to end 

To have an awards ceremony, first, you need an awards program which is where Evalato comes in. It covers the entirety of your awards management process, enabling you to:

• Launch fast thanks to a string of pre-made customizable templates covering the most common awards use cases. 
• Enable convenient registration with an embeddable registration form or a ready-made awards program webpage, depending on your needs. 
• Collect and manage applications thanks to a customizable application process, a state-of-the-art applicant portal, and one-click entry approval and shortlisting
• Empower evaluation with a choice of 6 voting types, next-gen judging, and public voting portals, as well as real-time results. 
• Showcase winners for the perfect finish of an awards program — be it with an auto-generated webpage or embeddable winner lists.   

This last Evalato functionality means that your awards program winners will get the recognition they deserve, regardless of whether you end up organizing an awards ceremony or not. 

2. Shocklogic

Type: Event management software 

Recommended for: Live or hybrid award ceremonies, ticketing, seating plans, etc. 

While the Evalato awards software will easily take care of your program, organizing a ceremony, especially a hybrid or a live one, requires an event management software solution. Shocklogic is one such platform. Here’s a selection of features that will come in handy: 

• Ticketing with a variety of ticket types (such as VIP and general admission), secure online payments, and real-time reporting. 
• Scanning which takes care of your live awards ceremony’s access control and data capture for post-event analysis. 
• Seating plans with interactive seating charts that allow for real-time adjustments to accommodate last-minute changes in attendees. 

3. Planning Pod 

Type: Event management software 

Recommended for: Live ceremonies, venue layout, attendee management

Planning Pod is another event planning management platform that can help you along with your awards ceremony. Planning Pod further features a string of tools to keep you on top of things, including: 

• Productivity and project management to keep track of tasks, timelines, and budgets. 
• Event layout and design features to help you with venue diagrams and seating arrangements. 
• Attendee and registration management capabilities, including online RSVP, check-in tools, and attendee list management. 

4. Eventbrite

Type: Event management software 

Recommended for: Live or hybrid ceremonies, awards ceremony payments, online ticket sales, etc. 

If you and your team already employ other project management and productivity tools, you can use them to plan your overall award ceremony and only complement them with more targeted software. Eventbrite, for example, will easily take care of your awards ceremony ticketing thanks to the following capabilities: 

• Flexible event payouts, embedded checkouts, and promo codes. 
• A mobile app that lets you monitor on-site and online ticket sales and complete attendee check-ins. 
• Options to share on social media and email marketing tools to help you to effectively reach your community. 

5. Zoho Backstage 

Type: Event management and check-in software 

Recommended for: Live ceremonies, awards ceremony sponsorships, attendee check-in

Zoho Backstage is another event management platform that can land you a hand for your awards ceremony. It has a host of neat functionalities, with some of the most notable including: 

• Sponsorship management, which lets you sign up and promote sponsors for your awards ceremony, ultimately enabling you to collect funds. 
• Agenda builder to help you manage your ceremony timeline. 
• Attendee check-in that lets you validate and verify ticket passes to check in attendees at the awards ceremony venue.

6. vFairs 

Type: Event management and check-in software 

Recommended for: All ceremony types, badge scanning, self-check-in

vFairs is also an excellent end-to-end event management software choice, with some very neat functionalities to help you out, including: 

• Onsite check-in with customized scan, self-check-in, and instant badge printing for maximum efficiency. 
• Event app to help attendees stay informed and navigate the awards ceremony venue with an interactive floor map. 
• Lead capture with badge scanning, data collection, and CRM integration. 

7. Cvent Event Diagramming  

Type: Event design software 

Recommended for: Live ceremonies, venue 3D views, attendee seating 

Cvent Event Diagramming (formerly Social Tables) is just the thing to help you manage the event space and seating for your upcoming awards ceremony. This platform can help you with: 

• Automation tools to simplify planning and setup with accurately scaled, customizable floor plans. 
• Photo-realistic 3D views of your event space that ensure the event vision matches reality.
• Tools that manage attendee seating and meal preferences, including integration of attendee data across your event management process. 

8. Zoom 

Type: Video conferencing platform 

Recommended for: Online awards ceremony, branding, captions, etc.  

And if you’re looking to organize an online awards ceremony, then good old Zoom is your best friend. Chances are you are already familiar with this particular solution and probably employ it for remote working, so relying on it for this too is a no-brainer. Check out these Zoom functionalities that you can use for your online awards ceremony: 

• Visitor management that will let you check in and manage your ceremony attendees through a registration platform. 
• Virtual background and branding options to customize the look and feel of your ceremony. 
• Multi-language captions and language interpretations, enabling a truly global online ceremony. 

9. OBS Studio 

Type: Live streaming software 

Recommended for: Hybrid awards ceremony, video streaming  

A hybrid awards ceremony might as well be the best of both worlds which is why we have included a tool to help you with that specific case. OBS Studio is video recording and live streaming software that will enable you to bring the glamor and buzz of your live ceremony to those who are attending it online. OBS Studio helps you with: 

• High-performance real-time video/audio capturing and mixing to give you full control of your video content. 
• Intuitive audio mixer with per-source filters such as noise gate, noise suppression, and gain for better video quality. 
• A wide array of configuration options to tweak every aspect of your broadcast or recording.

10. Canva 

Type: Graphic design app

Recommended for: All ceremony types, award certificates, winner presentations

Another tool that you might already be using for your business, Canva is an excellent option for crafting unique certificates for your winners. As a bonus, Canva can also help you with multimedia for your awards ceremony. Think winner achievements or notable parts of their awards entries and projects — the options are endless. Canva has you covered with: 

• Printable certificate templates that you can customize to recognize your winners’ achievements. 
• Photo collages with customizable elements to help your winners celebrate the big moment. 
• Video editor to create an engaging video that looks professional on any platform.  

11. Google Forms 

Type: Online survey app

Recommended for: All ceremony types, post-ceremony surveys  

Another office staple, Google Forms is the go-to choice for surveys, meaning, you can easily use it to poll your awards ceremony attendees about their experience. This will show your awards ceremony attendees you care, help you improve your next awards ceremony, and last but not least, help with post-awards engagement between editions. Google Forms features: 

• Online forms with multiple question types and drag-and-drop functionality. 
• Customizable colors, images, and fonts to make sure your organization’s branding remains consistent. 
• Charts with response data to help you with your post-ceremony analysis. 

At the end of the day 

Whether you will choose an overall event planning solution for your awards ceremony, or complement what you already have with more segmented tools, is up to you. What is an absolute must, however, is an impeccable awards program that will wow your applicants long before the dolce finale of the awards ceremony. Evalato has all the tools to make that happen — if you want to see that for yourself, test it all you want for free, or book a live demo to have all your questions about the awards management software answered. 

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