COVID-19 BOUNCEBACK AWARD – 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.
