The entry system is now open for the 2020 CEDIA Awards program. The awards are considered by many to be the premier prize for projects crafted by residential technology integrators.

"The recognition winners and finalists receive from the process is priceless," said Senior Vice President of Industry Engagement Giles Sutton. CEDIA Award winners have been showcased in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Financial Times and The Sunday Times, among others.

This year, CEDIA is launching a new awards platform that streamlines the entry process. This new system walks entrants through each step of the submission, and project details can be entered in stages or all at once. 

"We are happy to adopt this new platform, which keeps the high quality and integrity of the CEDIA Awards criteria, but is just a lot more intuitive for users completing the entry,” Sutton said.

Project categories include: Integrated Home; Media Room; Home Cinema; Showroom; Auto, Marine or Aircraft; and Multiple Dwelling Unit Design. CEDIA members can submit projects in multiple categories, and judges will determine cost categories based on all completed entries. Entries will be categorized based on their region: Americas, EMEA or Asia Pacific.

New for 2020, CEDIA is also launching a new category for projects produced for less than $25,000. 

"Our new category highlighting projects under $25,000 has been developed through suggestions from our dedicated volunteers and we think it will boost inclusiveness and showcase the full scope of what CEDIA members can accomplish,” Sutton said.

Finalists and winners will receive:

• A CEDIA-created, individualized case study to use for their business marketing purposes
• Recognition in a globally-issued press release
• Projects will be highlighted on the new CEDIA Awards website (cediaawards.org), the flagship CEDIA website (cedia.net) and CEDIA social media channels
• Authorization to use CEDIA Awards Finalist and Winner logos
• CEDIA Finder Service Profile recognition

Winners will also receive:

• Winner trophy
• Feature in CEDIA E-Newsletter
• Projects actively pitched to major media outlets by the CEDIA public relations team
• Printed copies of their case study

Entries from the Americas and Asia Pacific regions are due by March 23, while EMEA submissions close April 20. Americas and Asia Pacific finalists will be announced June 8, while EMEA finalists will be announced the week of June 29. Awards celebrations are as follows:

• Americas winners will be announced at the CEDIA Awards and Leadership Conference on July 22 in Chicago.
• Asia Pacific winners will be announced at the CEDIA Awards event during the 2020 Integrate conference in Melbourne, which runs August 19-21.
• EMEA winners and winners of Global Awards will be announced at the CEDIA EMEA Awards event in London in the fall.

To qualify for the 2020 program, projects need to have been completed between March 2018 and March 2020. To apply for the 2020 CEDIA Awards, integrators should have documentation and project information on hand. More information on the program, the entry process and its benefits is available at cedia.net/awards.