Companies dream of becoming a global brand, but for small and mid-sized firms, that dream may be more difficult to fulfill.

One shortcut for building a globally recognized brand is to win world-renowned business awards.

“(Winning) international awards can be used as a great tool to build a strong brand,” said Michael Gallagher, the founder and president of the Stevie Awards, during a press conference in Seoul on Thursday. “A business award win or participation can have a greater impact on the growth of a smaller company.”

He also noted that smaller companies often do not have the chance to show how successful they are. By participating in international competitions and catching the eyes of the judges, companies may get the opportunity to build brand awareness.

Gallagher was in Seoul this week as part of a tour to Asia to promote the newly launched Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

There are currently five Stevie Awards competitions: the International Business Awards, the American Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is the first new Stevie Awards program to be created in seven years.

This particular award program consists of 18 categories. They include Technology Company of the Year, Service Company of the Year, and Government or NGO of the year. The competition is open to all organizations located in 22 nations in the Asia-Pacific region, including Korea.

The deadline for entries to the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is March 12. The results and honorees are announced on April 1.

In May, the awards ceremony for the inaugural Asia-Pacific Stevie Award will be held in Seoul.

“We’ve been organizing the Stevie Awards for now 12 years, and other than the United States, companies in Korea have won the most awards,” Gallagher said.

One of the reasons is because the country has many world-class companies with great international recognition.

“We expect to see many more Korean companies and organizations, especially growing mid-sized companies, to win our awards,” he said.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)