Choosing a trophy

Links to our main product sections are below or read on for some more information.

“Recognition is the greatest motivator.”
Gerard C. Eakedale

“What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man and women, in fact) craves most is praise – although the philosophers generally call it ‘recognition’!”
William James

A pat on the back and a thank-you are often enough to reward a valued effort or achievement. It's the recognition of one's efforts that counts. But if you want to create a lasting memory of this or say thank you with a gift; a trophy, award or plaque is the next best thing.

There is a forest of trophy designs to choose from, important factors to help you choose are

- A design that reflects the achievement being rewarded and the recipient of the award

- For companies, the culture and branding that drives the company

- What material to use?

- Budget restraints, aesthetics, personal preference

Matching the award to the achievement and recipient:

Using a design that suits the achievement helps to enforce the award. For example peaked tops are symbolic of growth and diamond shapes are symbols of prestige and excellence. Something like a diamond dealer, or star performer have obvious designs to suit. For more gift or thank you orientated awards we have a lot of artistic trophies and one's with softer lines. If you have a think about what the award is about it will make it easier in narrowing down your options.

The recipient themselves can also play a large part in the decision. For long service awards recipients might appreciate a more traditional award such as a wood plaque, whereas a rookie of the year might appreciate a more unique design or something with colour.

We have chosen a range to hopefully suit any need, if you have any questions don't hesitate to get in touch.

Company branding and culture:

The majority of trophies we produce are bring presented by a company. A lot of thought and time goes into developing the company brand and culture, so using this to determine an appropriate trophy will make the decision easier.

Things such as the shape or any design elements in your logo will naturally work better with different trophy shapes. The trophy does not necessarily have to be the same shape, certain lines will work better when set against a logo. If you want to add colour this can be achieved with a lot of our designs, especially in acrylic.

What your company does can also play a part. A more natural design would work better for a fashion business than say a building supplies company. Similarly the materials used can also be a cue for what design to use. Metal would work better for industrial companies and wood for certain manufacturing and building applications. Glass and crystal are a good wild card seeing as they are neutral and transparent.

We also have number of New Zealand made designs, which ties in well if you are a local company.

We offer free mockups, so if you are unsure about how something will look just visit the free mockups page.

Materials:

Acrylic

The most hard wearing material. Great for perpetual awards that need to stand the test of time. Acrylic is also the most customisable material, so is more likely to be able to be married to a branding or theme. We can achieve different colours and shapes with acrylic, as well as sizes and thickness to adjust weight.

It is seen as a less expensive material, but is actually similar to glass (which is made from sand remember) and requires a lot of time in cutting and polishing to achieve a clear finish. By using unique shapes and colour the less expensive stigma can go unnoticed when these positive factors create an award that has great visual appeal, or matches well with the event or branding. Showing a little thought behind the design can result in a more appreciated award.

Glass

Has a smooth finish and reflects light well. Feels great in the hand and engraves well with a white frosted finish. Combined with the white engraving, glass has a modern feel to it and works well in contemporary office spaces. Often it is not used solely for these, being a neutral colour it also fits in most other settings.

Crystal

Generally the premium when it comes to trophies. Crystal has real weight to it that you will appreciate when picking them up and presenting them. It reflects light extremely well, and this property is enhanced with most designs featuring facets cut at different angles. Under lights these really shine.

Metal:

Mostly refering to our plaques here. The major advantage is we can print full colour to our metal plaques. Colour logos, design elements, even photographs are possible with these. Their large area means lots of text can fit, or we can make the design larger to really stand out; great for award ceremonies where lots of photos and press shots are taken.

Wood

It's natural beauty is what sets wood apart. The feel in the hand and it's unique grains will appeal to people who appreciate these kind of properties. We also use New Zealand timbers in our designs so our wood trophies have a little piece of New Zealand in them. We have combined our wood trophies with acrylic to create a combination of both natural and modern materials. This makes them suitable for use across a wide range of applications and means they will look great in all settings.

Cost:

We have a range of designs that cover the price spectrum. How much you want to invest in your recognition program will affect what can be achieved.

Generally the perceived value of trophies goes from acrylic, wood, glass to crystal. Although it comes down to personal preference. Acrylic comes in many shapes, so might look better with a certain emblem or logo than a glass shape. The 'value' to the recipient changes in that the aesthetics are better versus the material used. Similarly wood is a less expensive material than crystal, although some people will value the natural beauty over a more expensive crystal award.

With this in mind how much you spend is really up to which design will work best for you, your company or the recipient. These points are covered in the earlier comments. If you are under budget restraints, look at going with a smaller size. For example going with a small size for most of the trophies, and using a larger size for more important or top categories. Most of our trophies can also be made into perpetual style awards which can be used year after year. Our honours boards are a perfect example, but other designs can be made to fit engraving for future years.

Recognition is the greatest motivator, and thus trophies serve as an investment in future performance. Just imagine Olympic rock, paper and cardboard instead of gold, silver and bronze. The achievement loses a bit of shine without a great award. Rewarding people is an investment in the future, to motivate people to improve and achieve their best. As such trophies will pay off themselves, especially in corporate settings. If you need to stretch the budget it will pay off in the long run.

Hopefully this has helped in your choice of trophy. If you need any help please send a brief through to us and we can recommend some trophies that will work well with who and what you are recognisiing.

LINKS:

Mkiwi website directory