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Three Reasons Automotive Suppliers Should Pursue the Automotive News PACE Award

Mobility-focused PR practitioners are constantly seeking quality opportunities to highlight their clients’ product, tech and people. As you consider editorial, social and event opportunities, don’t forget awards!

Awards are a great way to promote key products, technology, projects and people. An award recognition honors employees’ hard work and inspires others within your organization to step up to new challenges.

For automotive and mobility suppliers, especially those involved in new technologies for the electric vehicle, connected vehicle, ADAS and autonomous driving, and shared mobility sectors, an Automotive News PACE Award win can help set your company apart from the pack.

As an automotive supplier-focused PR firm, we have a few key award opportunities that we recommend to clients each year. One award that’s at the top of our list is the Automotive News PACE Award, informally known globally as the “Oscars of Innovation.”

Why?

Because the PACE Award is recognized across the global automotive industry for identifying and celebrating the latest game-changing innovations – from the plant floor to the product to the dealer showroom floor. It has more than a quarter century of history of honoring innovations driven by automotive suppliers to advance the auto industry.

If that’s not compelling enough, here are our three top reasons to add the Automotive News PACE Award competition to your 2023 PR planning:

1. It Offers Two Paths for Notable Innovations

The PACE Awards offers two programs for nominations, offering opportunities for innovations in various stages of production:

• The original PACE Award is for game-changing innovations that haven been commercialized and sold to an OEM. These awards consider products, processes and IT systems submissions that are changing the landscape of the mobility industry.
• The PACEpilot Award is for an early-stage innovation not yet sold to an OEM customer. The PACEpilot competition enters its fourth year in 2023. It is designed to recognize post-pilot, pre-commercial innovations in the automotive and future mobility space. These represent product, software/IT system or process and idea incubators that have the potential to revolutionize an automaker’s business and products.

The program also offers an Innovation Partnership Award that recognizes outstanding collaboration between OEM and suppliers. 

2. It Has a Long History as a Credible Recognition

It’s not globally considered as the “Oscars of Innovation” for nothing! Since 1995, the PACE program has honored superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance among automotive suppliers. Judged by an independent panel of industry professionals, automotive-related academics and manufacturing leaders, PACE is recognized around the world as the industry benchmark for innovation.

3. It Attracts Leading Global Suppliers

Because of its long-standing history as a top awards program, the PACE Program attracts leading automotive suppliers – of all sizes, traditional and start-up – from around the globe. A quick review of the recent winners provides solid proof that the award programs attract the right type of peer competition.

Bonus Reason: It Provides Credible, Validated PR Opportunities

Of course, for PR practitioners, the PACE Program offers fantastic PR opportunities. It provides third-party credibility for a company’s latest products and tech, as well as free publicity for finalists and winners. From a finalist news release to social media posts to networking at the impressive awards ceremony, the PACE Awards offer automotive supplier a number of PR opportunities.

For more information on how to get started visit the PACE Awards website (https://www.autonews.com/awards/pace-program) and mark your calendars for early April when the nominations open!

So, how do you get there? Check back for our next post discussing PACE nomination best practices.

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