Whether you’re considering a submission for the first time or you’re a seasoned veteran, the SAP team who manages the Innovation Awards each year wants you to have the best possible chance to win. In that spirit, the team pulled together a list of do’s and don’ts that we hope will make it easier for you to craft a story that takes the prize!
Explore the Innovation Awards home page
Tell me a story
One of the most important pieces of feedback we can share from what by now probably is nearing a thousand submissions, is that the most compelling pitch decks tell a story. Any story that makes it to the finals will have strong data – but strong data given context, in the form of a story, will give you the best chance of differentiating your submission and winning over the judges.
Case in point: In 2023, we received a submission from an Australia-based home health services company, HomeMade. The title of the submission was simple: “SAP BTP digital innovation to enable self-managed aged care”.
That title is perfectly descriptive of what the project was – there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it! But when we put our storytelling hat on, we submitted the story as a finalist for consideration with the description, “Helping seniors access customized health services from their own homes at a lower cost”.
The second version shifts the focus to the customers’ customers, and though it doesn’t mention technology or products it makes an emotional connection. At the highest level, we’re talking about presenting information vs. storytelling. Think of your story like a magazine article – would it grab your attention if you saw it in a magazine? Would it make you curious to hear more?
The takeaway: other submissions may have strong ROI – but no one else can tell your story!
For more tips on crafting Innovation Award submissions, download the Innovation Awards Tip Sheet.
For more information on how to submit your innovation story, visit sap.com/InnovationAwards.
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