We run eighteen Awards across three of our flagship brands; Campaign, PR Week and Third Sector. Recognising and rewarding CSR had been a small but highly respected category within our category offering for these brands.

By 2017 we had noticed the interest around CSR was gaining momentum and through conversations with entrants, judges and editorial teams we were aware that CSR had become more important for our brands and their audiences.

So we launched Campaigns for Good, which focused purely on CSR campaigns and was supported by the three brands.

Campaigns for Good was a success, but we didn’t feel our proposition was quite right. The market had moved on, and being CSR focused the categories were somewhat restricted and the product did not feel dynamic enough.

We refreshed and expanded out our categories and relaunched as the Purpose Awards in 2020 – a product that felt more relevant for the sectors and audiences we wanted to engage with.

Since then, the Awards have gone from strength to strength – and we believe the spirit of the Awards is relevant now more than ever.

Incisive Media | Chartered Institute of Credit Management – CICM British Credit Awards 2023

The annual CICM British Credit Awards is the industry standard in the credit and collections sector and recognise the stand out achievements of the most deserving individuals, teams and organisations.

The awards were launched in 2013 by Incisive Media and since then we have worked collaboratively with the team at CICM to deliver all stages of the awards process from planning through to awards execution and debrief. We have overseen the awards grow from 300 to over 500 attendees and have implemented new innovations each year to improve the overall awards experience for guests and partners which has contributed to the ‘sell-out’ awards ceremony which it now is.

When we started, our core objective was to create an awards ceremony that was different from the competitors – entertaining and fun but also reflects the professionalism of credit. Despite substantial awards growth, our original objective remains, however we now take pride in the scale of the awards and their ability to deliver more guests and an innovative award ceremony experience each year

Investors in People – The Investors in People Awards 2022

Our purpose at Investors in People is to Make Work Better. We take huge pride in celebrating organisations and individuals from all over the world through The Investors in People Awards. Every year we receive entries from every single continent (except Antartica, obviously!) which means that winning one of our coveted trophies isn’t easy, but if you are one of the lucky few… you know you’re the best on a global scale! We’re excited to return in 2023 for our 10th Anniversary, which is sure to be our biggest and best yet!

AWARDS EVENT OF THE YEAR – over 600 Attendees

emap Publishing – Construction News Awards 2022

Construction News (CN) is the UK’s leading publication for contractors/clients in the sector. Its annual awards have run for 27 years recognising the best in the industry. In 2022 the event broke its own records with regards to attendee engagement in entries, table sales, and the live-event. Thanks to innovations in format, sustainability, marketing and the overall event experience the Awards was financially successful beating optimistic targets and completed its effective bounce-back from the pandemic in style, attracting over 1250 attendees and a 44% increase in revenue year-on-year. Featuring a light show, LED blackout dancers, celebrity voiceover, rock-themed afterparty and celebrity host/comedian, the event’s attendee experience was improved and trended on Twitter. Improvement in marketing strategy reached 2.3m impressions with over 50% of web visits coming from direct and organic search. Successful entries were used as case studies in editorial and event content post-event, and attendees given the opportunity to find out more about each winner via our dedicated mobile app. A partnership with industry charity CRASH raised over £17k. NPS score was +33 from 72 responses and the event’s success in 2022 is already resulting in impressive 2023 sustained growth

Empowered Events – The Lloyds Bank British Excellence Awards

Within two years of its creation and launch, the British Business Excellence Awards already boasts being the UK’s largest national business awards programme as well as one of the most highly respected in what is a highly competitive landscape.

2022, and just year 2 of the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence saw increased performance across all aspects of the business, despite numerous business challenges including train strikes falling on key dates and death of her Majesty the Queen which occurred during our judging period.

Overall revenue growth saw an increase of 35% YOY and attracted a stella line up of prestigious sponsors including Lloyds Bank, alongside LDC, Virgin Atlantic, Delta AirLines, the Department for International Trade, Gateley PLC, ORESA, Kings Business School, Home Grown, BITC & City of London corporation.

Our attendance at each event was increased and the number of attendees was just shy of 1000 people at the Grosvenor House (despite the efforts of the train strikes which were called off 1 working day before) and raised £20,000 for mental health UK. All achieved in just year 2 of business trading and in what is arguably one of the toughest economic times in recent history.

Incisive Media – Women in Insurance Awards

The Women in Insurance awards, honour the inspiring achievements of women across all sectors of the market, all levels and all disciplines. They also offer a platform for companies shaping the discussion around how we can improve diversity within the sector. Our aim is for the Women in Insurance Awards to help move the diversity agenda forward, as everyone knows there are still many issues to be addressed and challenges overcome.

The awards have experienced consistent growth year-on-year and have become a hugely important initiative within the General Insurance industry annual calendar. The Women in Insurance Awards is the premier awards for showcasing the achievements of women in the general insurance market and we’re proud to be helping help move the diversity agenda forward

Media Business Insight – Broadcast Sport Awards

The Broadcast Sport Awards has seen incredible growth in entries and attendees since the event first took place in 2021 and the awards have quickly become a staple annual event in the UK’s sports broadcasting calendar. Attended by some of the top names in sports broadcasting including Steve Jones, Dermot O’Leary, and Alex Scott, with the winners including Gabby Logan, Ian Wright, The FA (Lionesses), Whisper (F1), Sky (Premier League) and Winter Olympics. The awards are now in their 2nd year and saw just over 650 industry colleagues come together in November 2022 to recognise and reward those bringing sports content to our screens. Along with the celeb guest line-up, the awards have also had national media coverage on The One Show, featured in Yorkshire Evening Post and seen the likes of David Beckham and Gary Neville post on social media. The awards are judged by a high-level industry panel comprised of key industry leaders, including organisations like TikTok, LaLiga, BBC Sport and IMG, who get the difficult task of deciding the final winners. A dedicated industry awards event targeted at celebrating the best in sports content purely focused and designed for broadcasters, production companies and rights holders

Procurement Leaders – World Procurement Awards 2022

2022 saw the return of our 15th year of The World Procurement Awards (WPA) coming off the back of a turbulent year.

With the relaunch of the WPA, we saw the appetite for involvement grow exponentially as the role of procurement became more critical than ever. As companies were tasked with mitigating risk, navigating disruption and leveraging the right technology, we offered a platform that allowed companies to share their achievements in the hope of gaining recognition across the function.

We enticed our audience with a variety of new things including placing sustainability at the forefront of planning and execution. For example supporting a local business who produced fully sustainable centrepieces which either went home with attendees or got rehoused at a local sustainable green grocers in Greenwich, used biodegradable plantable menus, offset attendee travel, food and beverage, power and venue usage through partnering with World Land Trust’s carbon balanced programme. Also incorporated diverse entertainment throughout and used pyrotechnics to deliver wow moments.

It is with great pride we can confirm we superseded all our outlined targets such as 197 unique company submissions (30% increase).

Sounds Commercial – Bodyshop Awards 2022

For the first time in 30 years – the infamous Bodyshop Awards faced the potential of cancellation due to the changing landscape in the wake of the global pandemic.

With restrictions still in place, Sounds Commercial were tasked with finding solutions to ensure the chosen 1000 strong attendees would be able to come together once again after years of lockdown.

After months of Covid Compliance planning – we successfully delivered a hybrid event that went down as one of the best Bodyshop Awards since the institution began.

We created inclusive and interactive content that made the attending audience and the virtual audience feel connected throughout the entire process and on the night.

AWARDS EVENT OF THE YEAR – up to 600 Attendees

DataIQ Awards – No events manager? No problem!

In 2012 the DataIQ team delivered our first awards ceremony created to recognise excellence in the data industry. 2022 marked the Award’s 10th anniversary and we wanted to make this the best one yet, however, we didn’t have an events manager – so how did we deliver this momentous event? Collaboration across the whole company was required, especially from our account managers, marketing and finance teams. These three teams worked tirelessly together to ensure everything was organised to the highest standard possible, from reviewing the categories, the judging process, the table plan, dietary requirements, presentations, branding, AV and entertainment and more.

Despite not having an events manager, this was the most successful awards event we have put on in our ten years! This was evidenced by increasing entries by 47%, selling out all the tables and achieving 142% of our revenue target for the event. This resounding success has provided us with the confidence to scale up the event for next year. We have booked our venue with a 46% increase in capacity and had enquiries for our 2023 awards straight after the event, with tables and awards entries already sold and exclusively included in some memberships!

Dods Events – NHS Parliamentary Awards

The NHS Parliamentary Awards were launched in 2018 to celebrate the NHS’s 70th birthday and recognise the outstanding contribution of staff, volunteers and others working in the health and care sector. The awards have been an overwhelming success and last year alone, more than 700 nominations were submitted by over half of all MPs representing constituencies I England.

The Awards have raised the profile of NHS staff from every corner of the organisation amongst MPs and the wider public. They have also had a monumental impact on raising NHS staff morale, with nominees and winners taking to social media to promote their achievements. Previous winners of awards have also used them when bidding for research grants to further improve patient care across the NHS.

emap Publishing – AJ Architecture Awards

The Architects’ Journal’s Architecture Awards (AJAAs), now in their sixth year, celebrate and reward design excellence in UK architecture. The awards stand out for their rigour, in-depth site visits and expert appraisal.

Unlike other rival architecture awards, the AJAAs were created with the main purpose of every shortlisted project being visited by our expert judges, who meet both the architects and clients involved at each project’s site and assess a range of design, technical and sustainability criteria, making the awards among the most prestigious in the built environment industry.

In 2022 we had 19 categories, 144 shortlisted projects, 157 visits and 57 judges. This year had its biggest challenge in the form of navigating the train strikes, while making sure the visits took place, with as much ease for the shortlist and judges as possible.

Even after all the challenges, the visits went ahead, with very positive feedback from the judges, and with many asking to return to the panel in 2023. The awards night was fantastic, with three new sponsors coming on board, and a rise of 51% of unique companies joining us compared to 2022.

Foundry – CIO 100 UK

Running for over 10 years, the CIO 100 recognises the most transformational and disruptive CIOs in and from the UK. The CIO 100 celebrates technology and business leaders driving change at their organisations and is a showcase of the achievements of those 100 executives and their teams. The award is established as the most prestigious CIO Award in the UK and sees CIOs apply year-on-year for the recognition of their teams.

The CIO 100 is ranked from 1-30 and then alphabetised thereafter. James Oliver, CTO at the University of Sussex, and part of CIO 2022 shared: ‘You can’t be a one-dimensional CIO anymore, you must be able to interact, and you have to be able to listen. CIO 100 to me has been massive, where I learn, grow, and develop. Massive thanks to the CIO UK & Foundry for that.’

Haymarket Media Group – Purpose Awards

We run eighteen Awards across three of our flagship brands; Campaign, PR Week and Third Sector. Recognising and rewarding CSR had been a small but highly respected category within our category offering for these brands.

By 2017 we had noticed the interest around CSR was gaining momentum and through conversations with entrants, judges and editorial teams we were aware that CSR had become more important for our brands and their audiences.

So we launched Campaigns for Good, which focused purely on CSR campaigns and was supported by the three brands.

Campaigns for Good was a success, but we didn’t feel our proposition was quite right. The market had moved on, and being CSR focused the categories were somewhat restricted and the product did not feel dynamic enough.

We refreshed and expanded out our categories and relaunched as the Purpose Awards in 2020 – a product that felt more relevant for the sectors and audiences we wanted to engage with.

Since then, the Awards have gone from strength to strength – and we believe the spirit of the Awards is relevant now more than ever

Hennik Research (part of Nineteen Group) – The Manufacturer MX Awards

Delivered by The Manufacturer in partnership with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, The Manufacturer MX Awards has a combined heritage of over fifty years. The programme seeks to recognise the very best of UK manufacturing across a range of categories. Our aim is to encourage, benchmark, and celebrate manufacturing excellence, with every stage of the programme providing value for participants, whatever their excellence maturity.

With The Manufacturer MX Awards categories ranging from recognition in innovation and sustainability, through to digitalisation, leadership and staff engagement, there are plenty of opportunities for UK businesses of all sizes and sectors to be recognised. We use our experience and knowledge of the industry to build a set of categories that allow our entrants to showcase how their businesses are striving to grow and improve both commercially, but also the industry itself.

The rigour of the judging process and glitz and glamour of the ceremony make The Manufacturer MX Awards widely regarded as the gold standard in industry awards (and have even been described by one former winner as the ‘Oscars of Manufacturing’).

AWARDS EVENT OF THE YEAR

Crain Communications – Plastics Industry Awards

Established in 2001, the Plastics Industry Awards are firmly established as the forum for recognising and rewarding excellence in the plastics industry. Held annually, the event rewards innovation and exceptional performance from the best companies and the best people in plastics design and manufacturing in the UK and Ireland.

With 17 awards covering companies and individuals and all aspects of plastic product design, manufacture and recycling, the Plastic Industry Awards cover all sectors of the industry and give companies, large and small, the opportunity to enter and succeed in the competition.

Unparalleled in the plastics industry, the awards are highly acclaimed by guests, winners, industry event supporters and commercial sponsors alike. Combining business networking, entertainment and pure fun, the event has become the highlight of the plastics industry calendar.

The event has evolved with the industry, introducing new award categories, upping the entertainment factor and adapting to many challenges including finding a way to stage an event in a pandemic. Organisers have always listened and responded to all their stakeholders, which is why the Plastics Industry Awards have retained their loyal industry following over the past two decades.

Ideas Forums – The Great British Entrepreneur Awards

The Great British Entrepreneur Awards was launched in 2012 to recognise incredible entrepreneurial endeavors from businesses of all sizes within Great Britain.

The awards programme focuses on an entrepreneurs story rather than just their balance sheet and in its 10 year history has celebrated and recognised many entrepreneurs before they became household names.

What started as one event annually in London with around 300 applications a year has grown into a programme that receives close to 5,000 applications, visits 8 cities and was recently described by Steven Bartlett as “The Grammy’s of Entrepreneurship”.

Incisive Media – Women in Tech Excellence Awards 2021

The Women in Tech Excellence Awards launches every March on Internationals Women’s Day to mark this very important day. After 2 years of virtual awards, our main goal was to reconnect our audience and provide the perfect evening of networking, celebration, and entertainment. Call for nominations were promoted through a range of marketing channels and in the end we had a whooping 2,501 nominations compared to 811 in 2020 (308% growth). We also changed our sales strategy for 2021, giving finalists the opportunity to purchase both tables and marketing opportunities to showcase their achievements including artwork and interviews published on www.computing.co.uk. Our new strategy was a huge success with table/finalist packages finishing on £195,977 in 2021, vs 152,210 in 2018 and 163,594 vs 2019 (when they were live events).

Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management – IWFM Impact Awards 2021

The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM)’s Impact Awards recognise best-in-class workplace and facilities management, celebrating the sector’s impact on the economy, environment and society at large.

The sector represents those frontline personnel who work as cleaners, caterers, security guards, hospital assistants and others. Its practitioners also boost organisations’ productivity, reduce their carbon emissions and oversee major operational changes. Finalists and winners serve as a source of gold-standard practice in a constantly evolving sector.

In 2019 the IWFM made the bold decision to appoint the events management division of its existing membership publishing agency – Redactive – to run the awards process.

The IWFM Impact Awards went ahead by necessity online. So the in-person 2021 event – after the sector had been keeping offices and buildings operational during COVID-19 – would be a precious opportunity to celebrate together.

The event, at London’s Grosvenor House on 11 October 2021, didn’t disappoint.

Financial results far exceeded expectations; feedback from commercial partners and attendees was phenomenal; and the mood on the dance floor (especially for a Monday night) was exuberant.

Redactive – Recruiter Awards 2021

The Recruiter Awards marked a milestone 20th anniversary in 2021, and never had a night been so hotly anticipated by the audience it serves. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the live event had been postponed from May that year. And although a virtual alternative had been proposed and surveyed, it is testament to the popularity of the Recruiter Awards that the results were overwhelmingly not in favour.

Over the past two decades the event has earned a reputation as the place to be seen in the world of recruitment. Bringing together a spirited audience into the closest they can get to being a real community without having to swear allegiance to a professional institute. An audience that was prepared to wait for happier times when large gatherings could meet face to face.

And 23 September 2021 didn’t disappoint.

In what was still a pandemic year, the 2021 Recruiter Awards were the most successful yet. A sell-out with a record number of table bookings. Existing sponsors were retained despite the delay and – most crucially – new sponsors came on board.

Sarah Austin Events – The Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards

The Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards celebrates the resilience, innovation, entrepreneurship and diversity of Great British Business. Founded by Sarah Austin, the awards challenge business of all shapes and sizes to reflect on their incredible achievements over the past year. Supported by headline partner, Lloyds Bank and fellow sponsors – Octopus Energy, LDC, Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Business in the Community and executive education partner, Kings Business School – the awards give access to many experts and business advisors that wouldn’t normally be able to speak directly to business. The awards were born out of a story of resilience and determination and we very much hope to win this award to show that hard work and risk taking could be the best decision you ever make.

Taylist Media – kbbreview Retail and Design Awards 2021

The kbbreview Retail & Design Awards are our industry’s most sought-after accolades in the kitchen and bathroom sector, and celebrate the very best retailers, designers, and manufacturers.

We at kbbreview enjoy setting the pace and are leaders in our field: a global pandemic was never going to stop us delivering the best night ever in our industry! Our awards evening was held just two weeks after restrictions were eased and it was the first of its kind in the industry since our awards in March 2020.

The UK’s biggest cathedral in Liverpool provided a spectacular setting. It was a breathtaking entrance with an incredible, uplifting performance from gospel touch, who sang from a suspended walkway overlooking the drinks reception. During this, a zip camera flew over the heads of guests, relaying live images of proceedings to the sponsor branded projection screen. It provided grandeur of the highest level.

Our carbon-neutral event had 550 guests with Joel Dommett as host and Martin Kemp DJ’ing the afterparty. Local Liverpool bands performed while uber trendy laser violinists wowed our audience. Our guests enjoyed a free bar, DJ-Freight Train until 4am, arcade games, glowsticks and more. Best night ever? 100% Yes!

TTG Media – The Travel Industry Awards

March 2021, in the midst of lockdown, with large events banned and the travel industry in a state of paralysis, was an audacious time to launch a new awards programme, culminating in an event for 800 people at a stunning new venue in September. But the first Travel Industry Awards by TTG achieved this for TTG Media, uniting its industry for the first time following the pandemic, giving travel companies a new tool to help them rebuild trade and consumer trust, and exceeding all commercial targets during a devastating period.

Overcoming a series of challenges – and while operating in an industry truly in the eye of the storm of the Covid crisis – this fiercely independent media business built a new platform for future growth with the event, which was hosted by Strictly stars Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly at the new Magazine London venue at North Greenwich, and opened with a video address from Sir Richard Branson arranged by headline partner Virgin Atlantic.

BEST COVID-19 BOUNCEBACK – AWARDS

Autovia Limited – Historic Motoring Awards

The Historic Motoring Awards, presented by Octane Magazine had a record breaking year in 2019. More sponsors, more attendees and more awards than ever before. In 2020, the brand embraced the virtual format which was encouragingly supported by sponsors and viewers alike. However, a return to a live event in 2021, hosted at the iconic Rosewood Hotel, saw the highs of 2019 success replicated, providing the perfect springboard for 2022 and beyond.

Beyond Media Services and Revolution Events – Security & Fire Excellence Awards 2021

 For 2021, we needed to encourage the return of the larger companies that had supported the Awards over the years. So, we introduced a ‘Champion of Champions’ category open to all previous winning companies from the previous 20+ years, and a ‘Lockdown Hero’ category aiming to acknowledge and reward companies that had supported the industry and performed well during the pandemic.

We built on the success of the 2019 event, and the positive feedback from the 2020 Virtual Awards, delivering high quality, interactive entertainment.

To give added weight and profile to the new ‘Champion of Champions’ and ‘Lockdown Hero’ presentations, we introduced a high profile, surprise presenter. We decided that Sir Geoff Hurst was the perfect fit!

As Sir Geoff’s ‘they think it’s all over …’ intro montage played and his name was announced, the 1,000 or so guests were silenced, standing up as one to deliver an incredible ovation, fully re-engaged and with their full attention back on the final presentations.

Post the presentations, we did not expect Sir Geoff to be the first one up on stage, ‘singing’ ‘Sweet Caroline’ with our live karaoke band to a shocked but very appreciative crowd!

Crain Communications – Plastics Industry Awards

 The highlight of the plastics industry calendar, the Plastics Industry Awards combine business networking, entertainment and pure fun. However, with ongoing uncertainty over the future course of the pandemic, organisers adopted a new strategy for the 2021 Awards: a hybrid in person and virtual event, which received huge support from the industry.

For the first time a programme of sponsor seminars was live streamed on the Awards website the day before the ceremony.

A record number of 115 entries was received and a new category – COVID-19 Business Hero – attracted a substantial number of entries from businesses who had never previously entered the awards.

Table bookings for the 2021 event proved so popular that the event had to be expanded using additional space in the atrium which also sold out. It was the largest seated banqueting event The Waldorf has ever held. Meanwhile YouTube figures show there were over 100 viewers of the Livestream events.

The event generated a profit of £12,000 while a charity casino raised over £1,500 for Macmillan Cancer.

Shorty Awards – 13th Annual Shorty Awards

 The Shorty Awards have been in operation for the last 14 years and are known as the first competition with a focus on honoring social media. Around the 13th Annual Shorty Awards, the impact of social media on culture was never more significant. We were already a year into the pandemic, and people expected an awards show to be virtual. Sentiment around Zoom burn-out was real, and so we decided to head in a different direction. We took to social media, ourselves, and made all of our “Winner Drops” announcements via Instagram using Instagram stories, feed, and live. Other aspects of our social-media-based celebration included Clubhouse chats, AR filters, LinkedIn tags, and providing our winners with social assets to encourage them to share their win.

In giving the people what they wanted, we increased our interactions on social media and reached 1.9K new followers during activation (April to early May.) People mentioned the Shortys everywhere – LinkedIn, Instagram, Stories, Twitter and Facebook. We saw more than 9K engagements with our posts prior to the ceremony, and more than 2.2M impressions during our social-first show.

Taylist Media – kbbreview Retail and Design Awards 2021

The kbbreview Retail & Design Awards are our industry’s most sought-after accolades in the kitchen and bathroom sector, and celebrate the very best retailers, designers, and manufacturers.

Our awards evening was held just two weeks after the government gave the green light for indoor events to take place. Therefore, this event was the first of its kind within this industry since our awards in March 2020 – all eyes were on us.

For 2021 we held our carbon-neutral awards in Liverpool at the UK’s biggest cathedral. 550 guests were wowed with a breathtaking entrance with an incredible performance from gospel touch, who sang from a suspended walkway overlooking the drinks reception. During this, a zip camera flew over the heads of guests, relaying live images of proceedings to the sponsor branded projection screen. It provided grandeur of the highest level.

Joel Dommett hosted 2021’s event and Martin Kemp DJ’d our amazing afterparty.

We overcame numerous challenges due to the unprecedented circumstances with our dedication, expert planning and enthusiasm to ensure our guests could relax and enjoy themselves under the same roof for the first time in 18 months. It was our pleasure.

TTG Media – The Travel Industry Awards

 March 2021, in the midst of lockdown, with large events banned and the travel industry in a state of paralysis, was an audacious time to launch a new awards programme, culminating in an event for 800 people at a stunning new venue in September. But the first Travel Industry Awards by TTG achieved this for TTG Media, uniting its industry for the first time following the pandemic, giving travel companies a new tool to help them rebuild trade and consumer trust, and exceeding all commercial targets during a devastating period.

Overcoming a series of challenges – and while operating in an industry truly in the eye of the storm of the Covid crisis – this fiercely independent media business built a new platform for future growth with the event, which was hosted by Strictly stars Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly at the new Magazine London venue at North Greenwich, and opened with a video address from Sir Richard Branson arranged by headline partner Virgin Atlantic.

BEST VIRTUAL OR HYBRID AWARDS EVENT

EIT Community – EIT Jumpstarter

EIT Jumpstarter is the EU programme that trains early innovators to turn their revolutionary ideas into business.

The programme, supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, already trained 500+ passionate innovators yearly from Central, Eastern, and Southern European countries and helped them establish influential start-ups. This is one of the most important awards for the earliest-stage innovations in the CEE region.

Every year we organise the EIT Jumpstarter Grand Final, where the best 42 teams in a total of 7 categories compete for their share of the €159.000 prize pool and access to the most extensive pan-European network of innovators. In 2021, we held a digital-only event: https://fb.watch/aGrAvN9ejO/

Winners were chosen in seven categories: health, food, raw materials, energy, urban mobility, manufacturing and New European Bauhaus (focused on sustainable and inclusive living spaces). This is not only an awards-giving ceremony but the European celebration of innovations and the vibrant community of people who want to make a difference.

Emap Publishing – World Architecture Festival Awards

WAF 21 – Digital Edition was held on 1-3 December 21 using the Swapcard platform with 552 recorded judging presentations available, live-streamed Keynotes, networking, plus the announcement of the overall World Building of the Year Winner. Pivoting WAF 21 to digital meant that recorded finalist presentations provided valuable content which was made available for 3 months post-event. We sold access to this content to all finalists and ran a marketing campaign to drive sales. As a result, we delivered online delegate revenue, plus retained all entry revenue, and 50% of sponsorship revenue. Whilst lower revenue than the live event would have delivered, with lower costs for a virtual event we achieved the same gross profit and delegate volume as budgeted for the live event!

Institution for Engineering & Technology – E&T Innovation Awards

 The IET’s E&T Innovation Awards has run for over 17yrs but was rebranded in 2021
alongside our award-winning magazine, E&T, to unleash a new beginning for an old event.
Limited by Covid restrictions, we chose a hybrid strategy to reach our usual 350+ person
event and reach a new global audience.

The in-person event was a VIP intimate affair for our Awards speakers, winners and Advisory Board made up of the most famous Engineering ambassadors. However the main goal was to bring it alive online.

The virtual event was akin to a TV show produced by our own IET.tv production team and our in-house event managers all streamed using the EventsAir platform.  Online, 305 virtual guests tuned in from 21 countries including, Vietnam, China, Andorra and Mexico.
Using social media to allow people at home to vote for the Young Pioneer Award, we saw 5,000 votes in the build up to the live event. This idea gave everyone (virtually or in-person)
an opportunity to have a say on the night. The event overall was a huge success achieving a fantastic Net Promoter Score (NPS) score of +40!

Professional Beauty Group – British Hairdressing Awards

 The team involved in the British Hairdressing Awards are passionate and dedicated to it and the industry it serves – it’s an event that means so much to so many, culminating in a celebration of this incredible craft. If we had to go virtual, we had to ensure we brought the industry together to truly celebrate the craft and those working within it. We needed to ensure it was a party, a chance to network, and with the future looking bleak, a time to have some fun. Teams from across the globe joined, hosting their own online parties and watching together via Facebook Live.

The awards were simultaneously streamed to the Hopin platform where the team set up the session rooms as “tables”, allowing finalists to network prior to, and post the ceremony itself.

Our studio set-up perfectly mimicked the live event and gave excellent audience engagement, with live finalist interviews, and winner reactions.
27,000+ people watched live, with 2.5k positive comments being posted during the live event – a phenomenal achievement.

As the call from the studio floor came… “it’s a wrap”, there were tears of joy, relief and a huge sense of achievement

Smiley Movement CIC – 5th Charity Film Awards

In 2020, Smiley Movement acquired the Charity Film Awards, hoping to take the Awards to the next level through increasing the number of views to charity films tenfold, raising the profile of charity films, and celebrating the power of filmmaking as a tool for positive change. The aim was to give the charity sector the recognition it truly deserves. The 2022 campaign was a huge success, generating an additional 3.5 million views on films, 60,000 votes, and having more than 550 guests at the ceremony – the highest ever at the Charity Film Awards. We put the Awards on a world-class stage, hosting it at the ODEON Luxe, Leicester Square – giving it the “Oscars of the charity sector” feel. We committed advertising spend to help promote every single film entry, and provided unrestricted, free promotion to charities during the nine-month campaign. Charities sent in overwhelmingly positive feedback after the ceremony, over the moon with the exposure their films had received. It really was a unique event bringing together hundreds of people from the charity sector to work together to make our world a better place.

The Academy of International Extended Reality – The 5th International VR Awards

The VR Awards is at the center of recognition and celebration of outstanding achievement in Virtual Reality (VR). The ceremony gathers the world’s most influential names in immersive technology, to celebrate the biggest projects that redefined the way we live.

The VR Awards celebrated its 5th anniversary in 2021. And like its ground-breaking predecessor the 5th International VR Awards ceremony was experienced through the Metaverse, created in AltspaceVR, and allowed millions of people to join the 5th International VR Awards ceremony from a browser, phone, and VR headsets.

Attendees gather in a gold-plated luxurious virtual lobby after entering their special access code in AltspaceVR’s dashboard, and as a group experience, each attendee is then transported into 5 different worlds representing each year of the VR Awards leading up to the fifth and final red carpet that leads to the ceremony where the VR Awards winners are announced much like a real-life award ceremony.

Wilmington Events, EMEA – HSJ Awards 2020

The HSJ Awards celebrate healthcare service excellence, sharing best practice, driving innovation, and helping improve patient outcomes in UK healthcare sector. The event has been delivered for 39 years in November as an in-person awards.

As our NHS audience were instrumental to the pandemic response, each successive wave of covid-19 impacted our awards strategy in delivering a programme befitting their achievements. By November 2020, after a postponement of the live event to March 2021, the team realised that the 40th anniversary would need to be pivoted to virtual. They delivered a TV quality production with celebrity guests and senior leaders taking the time to thank the NHS. A celebration of the teams and individuals’ projects, at a time when the health sector was experiencing their toughest year in recent history.

Over 2,500 people watched the virtual event live, which trended on Twitter and feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The HSJ Awards team were proud to have been able to deliver such a rewarding, meaningful and impactful virtual event and were able to pay tribute to their audience in an appropriate and tasteful way.

BEST LONGSTANDING AWARDS EVENT

Crain Communications – Plastics Industry Awards

Established in 2001, the Plastics Industry Awards are firmly established as the forum for recognising and rewarding excellence in the plastics industry. Held annually, the event rewards innovation and exceptional performance from the best companies and the best people in plastics design and manufacturing in the UK and Ireland.

With 17 awards covering companies and individuals and all aspects of plastic product design, manufacture and recycling, the Plastic Industry Awards cover all sectors of the industry and give companies, large and small, the opportunity to enter and succeed in the competition.

Unparalleled in the plastics industry, the awards are highly acclaimed by guests, winners, industry event supporters and commercial sponsors alike. Combining business networking, entertainment and pure fun, the event has become the highlight of the plastics industry calendar.

The event has evolved with the industry, introducing new award categories, upping the entertainment factor and adapting to many challenges including finding a way to stage an event in a pandemic. Organisers have always listened and responded to all their stakeholders, which is why the Plastics Industry Awards have retained their loyal industry following over the past two decades.

Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management – IWFM Impact Awards 2021

The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM)’s Impact Awards recognise best-in-class workplace and facilities management, celebrating the sector’s impact on the economy, environment and society at large.

The sector represents those frontline personnel who work as cleaners, caterers, security guards, hospital assistants and others. Its practitioners also boost organisations’ productivity, reduce their carbon emissions and oversee major operational changes. Finalists and winners serve as a source of gold-standard practice in a constantly evolving sector.

In 2019 the IWFM made the bold decision to appoint the events management division of its existing membership publishing agency – Redactive – to run the awards process.

The IWFM Impact Awards went ahead by necessity online. So the in-person 2021 event – after the sector had been keeping offices and buildings operational during COVID-19 – would be a precious opportunity to celebrate together.

The event, at London’s Grosvenor House on 11 October 2021, didn’t disappoint.

Financial results far exceeded expectations; feedback from commercial partners and attendees was phenomenal; and the mood on the dance floor (especially for a Monday night) was exuberant.

National House-Building Council – Pride in the Job Awards

NHBC’s Pride in the Job (PiJ) competition has run for over 40 years and is the most highly regarded in the house-building industry.

To win, site managers must demonstrate consistent good working practices, from their leadership and technical expertise, to how they motivate their teams to produce the highest quality new homes.

Organising the competition’s annual 12 award ceremonies is an enormous undertaking with hundreds of NHBC staff and over 200 event crew involved in the project. 11 award ceremonies take place every Friday between September and November with the majority of events attracting 400-550 guests.

Judging for the awards is rigorous too and takes 18 months. Thousands of sites are judged using strict marking criteria ensuring a transparent and consistent process

We’re very proud to say that for four decades, PiJ has gained momentum and remains highly respected. Rewards go beyond receiving a trophy. Winning helps build careers and professional reputation.

The competition was also Covid-19 resilient and in 2020 we delivered the competition to its usual high standards, changing our approach from in person and broadcasting 12 virtual award ceremonies.

Redactive – Recruiter Awards 2021

The Recruiter Awards marked a milestone 20th anniversary in 2021, and never had a night been so hotly anticipated by the audience it serves. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the live event had been postponed from May that year. And although a virtual alternative had been proposed and surveyed, it is testament to the popularity of the Recruiter Awards that the results were overwhelmingly not in favour.

Over the past two decades the event has earned a reputation as the place to be seen in the world of recruitment. Bringing together a spirited audience into the closest they can get to being a real community without having to swear allegiance to a professional institute. An audience that was prepared to wait for happier times when large gatherings could meet face to face.

And 23 September 2021 didn’t disappoint.

In what was still a pandemic year, the 2021 Recruiter Awards were the most successful yet. A sell-out with a record number of table bookings. Existing sponsors were retained despite the delay and – most crucially – new sponsors came on board.

Taylist Media – kbbreview Retail and Design Awards 2021

The kbbreview Retail & Design Awards are our industry’s most sought-after accolades in the kitchen and bathroom sector, and celebrate the very best retailers, designers, and manufacturers.

27 Years Strong! We are proud to have run the kbbreview awards for such a vast number of years. We love the challenge of creating unique and quirky themes year on year and delivering the best night in our industry bar NONE.

For 2021 we held our carbon-neutral awards in Liverpool at the UK’s biggest cathedral wowing our 550 guests. Every “uneven” year we take kbbreview Awards on tours to new cities to keep our event fresh and exciting and this one was certainly a spectacular setting.

Joel Dommett hosted 2021’s event and Martin Kemp DJ’d our amazing afterparty. Previous hosts have included other big names such as: Al Murray, Tom Allen, Jason Manford, Steph McGovern.

In recent years we’ve captured our audience with Bollywood and Steampunk themes, for 2021 we incorporated uber trendy laser violinists (sponsor branded too)! We love to raise the bar and make our awards one to remember – no challenge is too big for us, we love what we do!

The Payments Association – The PAY360 Awards

The Payments Association represents over 160 of the leading payments organisations – from industry giants such as Lloyds Banking Group, Visa and Mastercard right through to several niche start-ups Our industry is built on collaboration as well as competition, both of which are recognised in our Awards. The Awards allow members and non-members alike to enter awards.

The Payments Association’s purpose is to empower the most influential community in payment through our comprehensive programme of activities, facilitating connections and build the bridges that join the ecosystem together and make it stronger.

The PAY360 Awards (previously the Emerging Payments Awards) celebrates innovation and collaboration by recognising companies that have made significant advances in how we pay today.

Now in its 15th year, The PAY360 Awards is the most prestigious event of the year for the UK payments industry Attended by over 850 of the most senior executives from across the payments value chain, it is an amazing networking opportunity.

The after-party is legendary! The black-tie reception, dinner, ceremony, and party will be held on the 5th of October 2022 at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, Park.

Wilmington Events, EMEA – HSJ Awards 2021

For 41 years the HSJ Awards have been recognised as most esteemed accolade of UK healthcare service excellence. Whilst evolving and adapting to ensure continued relevance within the NHS and wider healthcare sector, the awards have adhered to their original values since inception.

Building on the success from the HSJ Awards 2020 (delivered virtually), the messaging remained focused on shining a light on the NHS efforts to deal with the pandemic and celebrating teams and individuals, sharing best practice and innovations, which seemed to resonate with the entrants as they received over 1,000 entries which was 20% above target.

The event was delivered in a covid-safe environment whilst still proving an incredible experience for all attendees. 11-months of work by the team culminated in over 1,600 guests on the night celebrating how amazing the NHS are, which was reflected in all the feedback.

The 2021 event is testament of how successful the HSJ Awards are. Our legacy of celebrating the NHS continues to guide this event into an influential and inspirational one.

BEST EVENTS TEAM

Africa Oil Week – Hyve Group

AOW has run in Cape Town for 26 years but with South Africa facing a horrid time due to Covid-19, the teams hope and determination to deliver a face-to-face event in 2021 was looking more and more unlikely.

AOW is an international event, attracting attendees from over 70 countries and we asked ourselves how can we re-connect our industry face-to-face again?  We made the bold move to relocate the event to another continent. The facts, stats and data led us to Dubai but this was not without a combined team effort.

To be able to deliver a conference in 2021 was in itself a huge team achievement but to have delivered one of our best editions to date was unthinkable.  Commercial goals exceeded by over a £1million, a 104% increase in NPS score and a 93% rebook.  To move an established event of 26 years to a brand new continent, not knowing if any delegates or sponsors would follow with you, host it at a venue with suppliers you’d never before worked with and to achieve all this in under eight months is an incredible achievement and shows the dynamism, passion and dedication of an outstanding team.

ALM Awards Team

 This cross-Atlantic awards team has been in existence for only a few short years but has already achieved a great deal. Covering over 30 awards in 4 continents we are truly global. Whilst we aim for a standardised approach, we take into account local nuances to ensure that our markets are well catered for. The pandemic allowed us the opportunity to showcase our events in different ways and created new opportunities for our clients to promote their achievements. We remained active in almost all of our markets whilst our competitors shut up shop. This allowed us to gain market share and enhanced our brands value proposition with our clients.

DRPG

The DRPG Live team is a team of 164 full-time employees, made up of Project Directors, Producers, Project Managers, Logistic Managers, Production Managers, Project Co-ordinators, Technicians, Venue Finders, Set and Scenic Teams, and warehouse operations. This team continues to grow and develop. We have a broad range of disciplines and experience and are very much one family working together to support each other in delivering industry leading events. The team have united by sharing knowledge, experience and bringing positive challenge so that we all continue to grow regardless of their position within the team or business, from team members on apprenticeship programmes through to industry leading experts.

Since March 2020 to present day the team have delivered over 1,000 virtual and hybrid events, and whilst there have been many challenges along the way, what they have achieved is remarkable.  We have established a new virtual solutions service line that is here to stay and will very much be part of the future of event solutions. As the world moves back to live experiences, the DRPG team are in a prime position to offer expert advice and draw on a vast knowledge and offering to create world class experiences.

Foundry

The Foundry (formally IDG Communications) Western European and META events team consists of only three people: Ellis Richardson, Romy Tuin, and Tomas Benjamin. This is also a new team. Tom joined Ellis remotely in January 2021 and Romy joined shortly after in April. Together, they executed 30 events in 2021, succeeding event revenue targets by 108% and helping to grow the event portfolio in terms of revenue by 145%. As a result of their incredible work ethic, they achieved an 85% increase in 2021 registrations vs 2020, including a 64% increase in realised attendees. The sponsor renewal rate for 2021-2022 is currently at 66% with an increased sponsor deal value. The diversity of speakers across all events also improved. 48% of the speakers throughout the year were female and 33% represented ethnic minority groups. Their continuous ‘review and renew’ approach kept the portfolio fresh and reflective of the changing landscapes, bringing success after success. Because of this, the event teams at Foundry in the UK were the biggest growing team in terms of revenue across the globe in 2021.

Incisive Media Marketing Team

Incisive Media’s marketing team had a phenomenally successful 2021 in which they delivered over 240+ events including 33 award ceremonies across three core portfolios. We innovated to support entry growth and deliver new experiences to our clients which they benefited from before, during and after each awards ceremony. We market webinars, online & live conferences, roundtables, festivals and awards ceremonies.

Informa Pharma Intelligence Awards Team

2021 saw a challenging year for the Pharma Intelligence Awards team, navigating a range of internal structural changes, redundancies and uncertainty with key stakeholders, whilst battling and accommodating the ever-changing COVID-19 travel restrictions and venue rules. This team of two successfully delivered five Awards in four weeks, in the UK and abroad, exceeding revenue targets by 30%. They ran two lots of back-to-back events despite significant budget cuts and limited event assistance. Their complementing skills make them a team that is highly regarded within the division and are often referred to as ‘the dream team’!

Inside Government

Since the pandemic, the Inside Government team – including management, programme, operations and marketing – pulled together to deliver the events our consumers needed, in a way that still delivered everything they expected from us. Following the first lockdown, we knew we had to adapt, and we couldn’t simply transfer our traditional face-to-face format over to Zoom. We had to ensure that while participating virtually, our consumers could still interact with other delegates, ask questions, network, etc. By working more closely than ever before, the team redefined how they formatted events and created programmes, and implemented a sophisticated virtual events platform that facilitated the most interactive and engaging event features – Q&As, breakouts, streams, workshops, networking, roundtables, polls, etc. The team became more creative and innovative with their marketing to drive engagement and sign-ups, carefully analysing data to make informed business decisions. Finally, all these elements would come together to allow the team to deliver an exceptional experience for those delegates missing live events (from capped training forums to large interactive conferences). Using this model, the Inside Government team ran over 80 events during the past 12 months.

The Assembly

he Assembly launched as a live events business two months prior to the pandemic, so The Assembly’s first year went anything but to plan!

However, during 2021, they held four events each in a different format.

Two of their own new event brands in the physical live event space, a consumer exhibition and a consumer conference. A hybrid event and a virtual event working in partnership with companies forming an extension of their team. Plus working alongside a software developer The Assembly created their own virtual events platform.

To activate these events, without premises due to the challenges of the pandemic, they hand-picked a team for each event, pulling together like-minded experts in their specific fields, to deliver exceptional events, and drawing on skill sets that traditionally did not sit in the exhibition space. A key appointment was Jane Galpin, whose breadth of experience in live events and TV production gave The Assembly an edge. This unique team’s combined skills offered broad strategic thinking, creativity and design, along with experience in TV production, technology, bespoke software and live events.

Wilmington Events, EMEA

The Health Service Journal (HSJ) Events Team delivers events to the NHS and wider healthcare sector.  Their events unite high-level decision makers from clinical and non-clinical backgrounds on a platform that enables discussions, influences change and positively impacts healthcare delivery through carefully designed programmes and invaluable networking opportunities.

In July 2020, their audience was at the heart of the pandemic response which posed additional challenges for the team when they began to pivot events to virtual.

The journey the team embarked on was one of highs and lows, rescheduling, reinventing, and reimagining the events, but the one constant they had was their ability to work together at times of extreme pressure and deliver on results.

Consistently meeting and exceeding revenue, attendee and feedback targets they rose to every challenge to ensure that the customers always had a great experience whether joining an event virtually or in-person