The 2024 Ontario Made Awards application portal opened on June 3rd and are ready to receive your nominations! If you or your friends’ businesses want to be nominated, be sure to get your nominations in before August 6th. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to share your Ontario Made pride.
The Ontario Made Awards celebrates and recognizes both outstanding manufacturers and retailers that are working towards helping consumers make informed decisions. This goes hand-in-hand with increasing sales and awareness of Ontario Made products, what a way to show we’re proud of our local products!
Benefits of an Ontario Made Award
Whether you have a business/product that’s proudly from Ontario, promote how local your brand is, or emphasize the importance of supporting local businesses – all these can help set your products apart. There are so many benefits to proudly being Ontario Made!
75% of Ontarians prefer locally manufactured products, why?
- They love that you’re proudly supporting Ontario’s economy.
- They can help contribute to reduce transportation emissions by supporting locally.
- You’re contributing to the growing and friendly business communities they can enjoy locally.
- In stores, your product can end up in the ‘Ontario’ or ‘local’ section of stores, making it easier for locals to find.
Award, or no award, if you have the Ontario Made mark, your product can be listed on the Ontario Made website. This means that your product is found with ease for those who want to shop locally.
What are the Award Categories?
There are 3 award categories – Consumer Awareness, Manufacturer Spotlight, and Retailer Spotlight.
Ontario Made Consumer Awareness Award
Awarded to an Ontario Made manufacturer that’s integrated the Ontario Made logo into their business, furthering the increase of sales and awareness of locally made products among consumers (sample form).
Requirements:
- Uses the logo on consumer packaging and other major company assets (website, product displays, marketing materials, social media, etc.).
- Sells products with the logo on the consumer packaging to a considerable number and/or variety of retail outlets (online, brick-and-mortar, etc.).
- Leverages their networks to refer consumers, manufacturers, retailers, etc. to Ontario Made so they can engage. Register, and partner with the program to use the logo.
- Must display the logo on their product labels and/or consumer packaging.
Ontario Made Manufacturer Spotlight Award
Awarded to an outstanding Ontario Made manufacturer that’s taken initiative to spotlight the Ontario Made brand while highlighting the importance of making things in Ontario (sample form).
Requirements:
- Communicates the Ontario Made brand through clear and engaging “support local” branding, messaging, and initiatives.
- Utilizes their company’s profile, platforms, etc. to highlight the collective of the Ontario Made community through original materials or approaches (events, marketing, social media, etc.).
- Raises public awareness of other Ontario Made manufacturers, retailers or partners through means to further amplify the collective voice of the Ontario Made brand.
Ontario Made Retailer Spotlight Award
Awarded to an Ontario Made retailer that spotlights Ontario Made, highlighting the importance of making things in Ontario (sample form).
Requirements:
- Communicates the Ontario Made brand through clear and engaging “support local” messaging.
- Uses the company’s profile, platforms, etc. to highlight the collective voices of the Ontario Made community through original materials or approaches (events, marketing, social media, etc.).
- Raises public awareness of participating Ontario Made manufacturers, retailers or partners through any means to further amplify the collective voice of the Ontario Made brand.
FAQs
Do nominees need to be registered with Ontario Made?
Yes, if your business wants to be able to submit a nomination, both manufacturers and retailers are required to register with Ontario Made.
How do I submit a nomination?
You’re going to need to create a nominator user account. Once that’s been created, you’ll be able to start an entry and nominate away!
Note: It’s free to submit a nomination (and companies can submit a maximum of 6 in total for all award categories).
Can I apply to all the categories?
If you use the Ontario Made logo on your products, you should apply for the Consumer Awareness Award.
If you don’t use the logo, the Manufacturer Spotlight Award would be a better fit.
If you fit all the categories, you’re encouraged to enter all of them! But be sure to tailor each entry to the specific category.
What does ‘public voting’ mean?
It means that your local Ontarians can vote for their favourite company in each of the categories. This is beneficial to you and your business because you can expand your network while showing support for local products. It’s also a great opportunity for your company to reach new customers that may not have heard of your brand before.
Who is eligible for Ontario Made?
If you’re a retailer,
You must sell Ontario-made products in-store, online or on any other channel.
If you’re a manufacturer,
You must have undergone your last substantial transformation in Ontario.