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How are the ABIA Awards Determined?

We understand that Industry Awards may not be for everyone, but it can be assured that ABIA can be differentiated from other awards.

Most awards around the world, across various industries choose not to reveal how their awards are determined in addition to not revealing the final scores associated to the rankings. 

At ABIA we value transparency and credibility, therefore are confident in explaining how its awards are determined, as well as releasing the final results out of 100%

In 1996, the ABIA Award Algorithm was custom-developed to help set standards for the free-for-all wedding marketplace. In 2019, we introduced an updated Award Algorithm where the Finalists and Winners of the ABIAs are determined by their quality in addition to the level of competition for the award in each relevant category.

No organisation, including ABIA can prevent a business from entering the wedding marketplace, however we can certainly promote those who have earned their credibility and successes via verified ABIA Awards, Ratings & Reviews.

The big question is, how are the ABIA Awards determined?

By reading the below, you will have a great understanding of the awards, how they are determined and the long term benefits to your brand’s value.

 

What is the ABIA Award Algorithm?

To build an award algorithm for any industry is much more than hiring a judging panel or creating a popularity contest. For this reason, ABIA custom-developed an unbiased algorithm, which was designed to evaluate the quality of a wedding vendor’s Product, Customer Service, Value for Money and Attitude of Staff (The Four Pillars of Perfection).

Every wedding couple that votes for your business will rate you out of 100 points in the Four Pillars of Perfection. They also have the option of nominating your business as the Best Vendor out of all their Vendors that serviced their wedding day, which ABIA call the Gold Star.

 

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​Quality over Quantity

The ABIA has always supported and will continue to support the notion of Quality over Quantity. The heaviest weight in the ABIA Award algorithm is the quality of your ratings as opposed to the quantity of nominations.

However, it can be appreciated the number of nominations must play a role in determining the award rankings. One vote does not make an award winner or finalist, never has and never will. 

In the past, the base number of nominations per category was fixed. From 2019, this base number will change to a variable value, calculated by the level of competition.

 

The Number of Nominations must play a role.

As mentioned above, the base number will no longer be fixed and will now vary as per the level of competition.

The number of nominated businesses versus the total number of nominations received by all vendors will determine the base value for the Number of Nominations.

Example (1): if 10 x Floral Designers have collectively received a total of 200 nominations from their past wedding customers: The base number will be 200/10 = Average of 20 Nominations.

If a business has received 20+ nominations they will receive 100 points, if they receive less nominations, they will receive a percentage relative to the value of 20. This ensures that all finalists will compete equally and their final rating will be determined on the ratings they received in the 4 Pillars of Perfection in addition to how many gold stars they have received.

Continue reading about “gold stars” below

 

How will Gold Stars play a role?

There are an average of 13.8 vendors servicing the average wedding client. For this reason the couple is asked to nominate their most outstanding vendor as the Star of The Day which will contribute to your final award rating.

Similar to the Number of Nominations, the Gold Star Standard will be determined by the collated average of Gold Stars received by all the finalists in the relevant Award Category.

Example (2): if 10 x Floral Designers have received a total of 50 Gold Stars from their past wedding customers: The base number will be 50/10 = 5 Gold Stars.

 

Using Example 1 & 2:

If a Wedding Floral Designer received 20 nominations, 5 gold stars, they will be on a level-playing field which focuses on the quality of ratings in the Four Pillars of Perfection.

 

What role does the ABIA play in the Wedding Market?

Engaged couples walk in to the wedding marketplace, not knowing the who's who of the wedding industry.

With the introduction of Social Media, fake news, fake reviews and fake ratings and the ease of 'starting a wedding business', couples will often feel overwhelmed as to which vendors to trust to deliver the dream of the perfect day.

The most important duty of ABIA’s role in the wedding marketplace is to ensure that wedding couples are provided with factual recommendations, based on the credibility, integrity and trustworthiness of potential wedding suppliers.


To achieve this outcome, ABIA must at all times ensure that the ratings, rankings, reviews and awards are based on the “real” opinions of past wedding couples. It is therefore vital that the voting platforms, software and security procedures employed by ABIA meet strict ACCC guidelines and inhibit scamming, cheating and devious activities by dubious wedding suppliers who would attempt to “play” a system which is designed to verify the credibility, integrity and trustworthiness as potential wedding suppliers.

 

What to do now?

We highly recommend registering all the wedding clients your business has serviced within the past 12 months. Why? No one including the ABIA will know the Base Number of Nominations & Gold Stars until the close of nominations.  There is the option to register your Past Weddings (serviced in the past 12 months) or an alternative which many businesses are adopting is Registering their Future Weddings. How To Receive Ratings & Reviews.

Login today to continue receiving authentic Ratings & Customer Reviews to assist in building and promoting your reputation within the wedding marketplace.

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To summarise in graphic form, please see examples of  moderately, highly & less competitive categories.

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For further questions regarding the above, please contact Natasha at the office on 07 5571 5550 or natasha@abia.com.au.