Category: Don’t Panic

The Global Agency Awards 2021 saw its winners take centre ‘virtual’ stage last week.

Hosted by Andy Crane, the event took place on Thursday 13 May at 7pm BST via live stream and entrants, judges and sponsors got involved using #GlobalAgencyAwards. 

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30 Category Winners and 8 Silver Awards were announced. Andy reported that judging sessions were intense because judges were impressed by the creativity and innovation that has been shown over the past, difficult year across the Globe. 

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Head Judge, Juliette Van Rooyen, Global Customer Acquisition Lead for British American Tobacco, in her introduction stated “These awards are incredibly important because they allow us the chance to reflect upon the incredible work Agencies have done around the world, they give us the opportunity to recognise where we are seeing great strides being made and what clients need, and what the best agencies have to offer. The Award entries have been fantastic this year which has led to some really tough decisions.” She went on to wish all entrants the very best of luck. 

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Award partners and sponsoring the PPC Agency of the Year category, which had a winner and silver award, were Clever Ads. Adelaide Knight explains cleverAds involvement with the awards.

“We chose to be a category sponsor of the Global Agency Awards because we value talent and believe that organizations that award talent are very important. As a Premier Google Partner offering tools designed for PPC agencies, supporting the PPC Agency of the Year category came naturally. This past year has been difficult for everyone and acknowledging the successes and efforts of fellow PPC lovers was important to us. Congratulations to Peak Ace AG and Launch Online for their impressive work this year!” 

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Other sponsors included: Tribe Global who sponsored Marketing Agency of the Year and Agency NXD who sponsored Independent Agency of the Year. 

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For details of all our Global Agency Award Winners click here

Tribe Global are very proud to be a partner of Don’t Panic Awards.

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Supporting the Don’t Panic Awards, which are globally recognised, is a natural step for Tribe Global. There are many reasons why we chose to get involved – we believe it is really important to support these digital awards by recognising the great work being produced by agencies around the world and celebrating the talent that makes this all happen… It is also a great profile booster for Tribe Global.

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Working with small agencies we see day in, day out, the expertise and value they bring to their clients. The freedom of a small independent agency allows talent to flourish and in return delivers business results for clients. They are diamonds in the “main street” of the advertising ecosystem and they deserve to be recognised and to showcase their incredible talents. 

We recognise the importance of supporting the digital and communications industry as a whole, on a greater scale. As an indy network, our mission is to empower independent businesses and ensure that our community is future-focused, which is why working with Don’t Panic is a perfect fit because their Awards recognise industry expertise, no matter where it emerges which in turn enables growth and development.  As the world emerges from the Coronavirus pandemic, it is critical for small and independent agencies to continue to advance their businesses on behalf of the brands they serve. Tribe Global embraces change and keeps working hard to be at the forefront of the latest developments in the industry. 

Partnering on Awards is our way to support and promote excellence across all aspects of agency work – putting a spotlight on outstanding. We’re also supporting our Member agencies and business partners all over the world, from digital marketing and technology to performance marketing and social media, by championing them and supporting the industries and communities that they are part of. 

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We see incredible value from our partnership with Don’t Panic Awards. By being part of these ethical, transparent, industry respected Awards, we are sharing the Tribe Global story through a valid, trusted platform. We are giving our Member agencies the stage through judging opportunities and winner announcements, as well as providing our network a discount to enter the awards.

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The support we have received from the Don’t Panic team has been excellent and we can’t thank them enough for working with us on this partnership. We look forward to what’s to come and to celebrating the rest of this year’s winners! We hope that might be you and so look forward to seeing you at an awards event soon. 

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At Tribe Global we have one very unique thing in common – we’re all different. This is captured by our mantra of One Tribe, Many Vibes which is a celebration of our differences and the uniqueness of our people and their agencies. We work together not because we have to, but because we want to and working together, we have a greater impact.  

For more information find us at www.tribeglobal.net.

By Elaine Miller, Global Operations Manager at Tribe Global.

Last year, Don’t Panic took Awards virtual, because there was no reason to cancel the celebrations of the digital community, we are proud to be a part of. The role out of vaccines in the UK have enabled us to plan going ‘live’ with the remaining 2021 UK Awards and, if like us, you are ready to get back in front of a living and breathing audience then now is the time to join us.

What does being a sponsor at a Don’t Panic Event mean to you?

Your in-kind support of the digital community shows you care about the same things they do. In relation to our events, that is the recognition and reward of creativity, innovation and tenacity that digital achieves to be outstanding.

In return for your care and support you get…

1. Direct access to a specific, digital audience who are guaranteed to want to engage with you and your products.

2. Opportunity to shape your consumer attitudes. Your support will ensure your audience has a positive attitude towards your company. Your association with Don’t Panic also sends the message of ethical, fair and transparent – it is our award motto.

3. Media exposure and coverage from the Awards industry and related commerce. Your branding will appear on websites and social, but also on email marketing and related news and blog posts. You can even guest blog for an event, if you want to!

4. The chance to differentiate yourself from your competitors who don’t support the industry. Your relationship with your market becomes personal and the emotional value of that is exponential as it begins the journey to ‘trust.’

5. Increased reach from word-of-mouth marketing. Your positive interaction and promotional materials allow you to reach beyond the award ceremony and networking opportunities. Don’t Panic offer longevity for your sponsorship. If you get your sponsorship in early then from the moment a website is launched to the relaunch the following year, your name will be associated with the Awards. You are not only connecting to the shortlist and winners, you are connecting to the wider digital community.

Don’t Panic run 28 digital awards around the world, your relationship with Don’t Panic reaches a global audience by association.

There are many more reasons to and benefits from sponsoring an award or two and there are many ways to get involved, from sponsoring a whole event, award category or even an award game or activity, which incidentally go on during virtual events too.

Talk to Nicky to discuss exactly what Don’t Panic can offer, including bespoke packages with opportunities to host webinars or demos, or perhaps you have some ideas of your own on how to join the community and party.

Oh what a night! April 27th saw the first Company Culture Awards celebrate companies who are outstanding in supporting, nurturing and developing their people. 

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The judges, industry experts spearheading cultural excellence, were overwhelmed by the number of entrants and the quality of work that was submitted, their task to find winners was, they collectively agreed, a difficult one!

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Up for grabs were 21 Awards including: The Company Culture Award, Company Culture and Vision, Workplace Mental Health Campaigns, People Strategy, Wellbeing & Education programs, Employee Reward Schemes, Diversity and Inclusion and Working Environment Awards.

Congratulations to all of our entrants, 60 shortlist nominees and 21 winners, you are making an incredible difference to the health, mental health and wellbeing of all your employees whilst trail blazing for others to follow. 

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The Awards event was a virtual affair that followed appropriate social distancing rules and with health and wellbeing in mind. Hosted by Lucy Nicholls and with a theme of ‘Come as you Are’ the awards encouraged as much social interaction as was possible. Online attendees could download a Kindness Kit that included activities and challenges and a motivational Don’t Panic playlist to accompany any celebratory dancing. 

Head Judge, Paul Marks, acknowledged the difficulties of working this year but praised the companies who achieved happy, healthy workplaces even when remote and encouraged all to keep being ‘awesome.’

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Our worthy winners, who all deserve a mention are: 

You can still download the Kindness Kit challenges online at Company Culture Awards

And listen to our motivational playlist by scanning here. 

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The Social

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If you didn’t enter the Company Culture Awards this year, but feel you have a winning culture where you work, sign up to our Awards reminders and make sure you enter in 2022! We are passionate about celebrating outstanding Company Culture and you should be too!

Why, when you enter an outstanding Campaign into one or more of our Award categories, do you not enter the Team and Agency Awards? This question puzzles the team immensely!

The creativity, innovation, flexibility, tenacity and relationships behind campaigns are what make them so outstanding. The client brief is taken by a whole team who make the vision reality, sometimes it is easy, sometimes the challenges seem impossible but together they do it and … ‘VOILA!’ At the end of it all is an outstanding campaign which is an award winner. Surely the creators are team award winners too!

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The Team/In-House/Agency/Individual Awards were designed to celebrate the people who are at the heart of your business, they are not for the client; they are for the workers. So, how do they benefit the company?

Employee recognition is extremely important and should never be underestimated and what it creates is:

• Engagement
• Retention
• Productivity
• Satisfaction
• Culture

Entry Process: We believe the entry process is the perfect opportunity for team review, who did what and how did it work. What skills did we utilise and what did we learn during the process, and this is relevant to both the team and the individuals for development, growth and progress. At the end of it you will have insight into the team’s involvement in future endeavours and their engagement and they will have a sense of belonging, connection and commitment. 

Making the Shortlist: This a confidence and moral boost, bar none. To be shortlisted as one of the best in the country/world in your chosen area of expertise is an accolade in itself. It is not just a pat on the back, it is the recognition of leading industry experts outside of the organisation. The team will feel motivated to achieve more next time and naturally increase productivity to ensure future success. 

Winning: Of course, this is the ultimate recognition. Teams happy with their work are more likely to become client and brief focused and once they have the title, they will defend it year on year. On the bottom line it will affect retention which is great for business and client relationships and it will attract the best new talent, who wouldn’t want to work for an award-winning team? It is proven that satisfied employees are happy – that is the least they deserve. 

Award Winning Culture: Recognition develops your company culture. It establishes cultural expectation of work, behaviour and commitment and strengthens relationships peer to peer as well as through networking opportunities. Public recognition is perfect for marketing your company and what a great place it is to work, which in turn will attract new clients. 

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The application form is easy: As with all of our award categories you only have 1,000 words! What do we ask?

We want to know the size of your team i.e. the number of employees & their roles. There are Team Awards for big (+26 employees) and small teams (25 employees or less), and for Agency and In-House. We ask about your team objectives and request information on recent examples of your work and any achievements and success. Judges also want to know of the challenges you faced and how these were overcome because this shows spirit and determination, key to team brilliance. The last section on the form asks why you think you should win the award. This is where you show your passion and commitment to what has triumphed, what is being accomplished and the success you envision for the future. You can provide supporting documentation, if you like, to prove your entry’s merit and that is it. Simple!

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Next time you enter any of our Awards make sure you enter the Team and Agency Awards too! The benefits for them and your whole organisation are exponential. 

Don’t Panic have been celebrating the digital industry for over 15 years, we are passionate about putting outstanding work in the spotlight and promoting the community we have become an integral part of. For us taking the competition Global was a natural extension of our digital celebrations as we searched for campaigns, technology and agencies and teams who were deserving of the title ‘Global Awards Winner’ title.

Due to the pandemic that swept across, and continues to dominate business around the world, last year it felt like the right time to launch 6 global awards that acclaimed the incredible work that was taking place in the face of adversity and that could be celebrated virtually. And trust us, we make it a celebration in every way we can with virtual or physical award packs to get the party started, and we intend to continue celebrating Global Awards in whatever way possible for the next… 15 years plus!

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The first of the Global Awards was the Global Search Awards and following its success and your thirst for global glory we quickly added Global Digital Excellence, Global Content, Global Biddable, Global Marketing and Global Agency. This year we are adding Global eCommerce and Global Business Tech and we are working on something new too…Watch this space for our newest Global Award.

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What does it take to be a Global Award Winner?

All it really takes is outstanding work. Obviously, the title is a bit of a giveaway, given that our Judges are looking at work that has hailed from around the world. Last year we had winners from USA, Germany, Bulgaria, UK, Iceland, Israel and New Zealand.

One of the biggest misapprehensions about the Global Awards is that to enter you have to be a large agency working internationally, but this is simply not true. The winners are agencies and teams who produce outstanding work in relation to the judging criteria whether that is a global, national or local. 

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Why Going Global should be your Award goal?

We know that Global Awards are an incredible incentive for clients to use your business. Our judges, recognised industry leaders provide professional and knowledgeable social proof of your ability which cannot be questioned. The Global Award Winner title is the ultimate accolade, perfect for marketing and PR opportunities, a draw to the most talented in the digital workplace, a benchmark from which to grow. 

Imagine your company CV with Best in … Global Award Winner! Only you can make this happen, entering is easy and as our judges regularly say ‘you have to be in it to win it.’  And you might just surprise yourselves and the world!

Obviously, there is the Event! Live or Virtual.

Don’t Panic have already announced their first live event, now the scientists are showing Covid-19 who is boss. The UK Social Media Awards will be live in London on the 8^th July 2021, and you are invited. Our Global Awards remain virtual, for the time being and your link to the events can be found on the relevant individual award’s event page or on the Don’t Panic Twitter account @dontpanicprojects. In fact, you are always invited to any of our events, live or virtual, each is a celebration of outstanding work and they are not only open to shortlist nominees, but they are also open for networking opportunities, sponsorship partners, award newbies, campaign partners and anyone else who wants to show collective support to the digital industry – no-one needs an excuse to party! And we excel at live and virtual parties!

But, other than the party, what other benefits are there?

Our blog ‘In these times of trouble, is award entry a nice to have, or essential?’ covers all the practical aspects, but to really persuade you we thought we would let our 2020 Winners share what being shortlisted and winning really means to business and their people.   

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Aimclear – Winner: US Search Awards

Marty Weintraub, Founder & Creative Director

“Such validation from our treasured industry peers certainly brings us great pride, but more importantly assures clients and prospects that we’ve earned our place among the best search and digital marketers in the world. A US Search Award speaks volumes about quality, innovation, and leadership.”

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Memetic – Winner of Content Strategy of the Year: UK Content Awards

David Lewis, Founder

“Winning this award is a validation that marketing is not always about who is the loudest, but can also be about who can best articulate business transformational ideas and raise the standard of discussion in their industry.”

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Rise At Seven – Retail Content Campaign of the Year: UK Content Awards

Carrie Rose, Co-Founder & Creative Director

“Nine months after we launched the agency we were hit with the COVID-19 pandemic and I’m incredibly proud that despite this we’ve continued to grow rapidly and deliver award winning work for our clients – it’s a true testament to our amazing staff, well done everyone!” 

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Major Tom – Winner Retail/eCommerce Campaign: Canadian Search Awards

Victoria Samways, Marketing & Brand Manager

“We always strive to do better than we’ve done before. Committing ourselves to improving our skills, networks, and client relationships is at the core of every decision we make. This award is a great motivator for our team to keep learning, growing, and improving our processes. We’re always wondering, what can we do next?”

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Wolfgang Digital – Occasional Winner: European Search Awards

Alan Coleman, Founder & CEO

“Our team finds entering the awards exciting and occasionally winning an award hugely rewarding. Our clients draw great confidence in the standard of the work we are doing together when it is listed among the top digital marketing on the continent. The night out itself is always brilliant craic (Irish for fun) and among the most eagerly awaited dates in the Wolfgang diary. For me, the most magical part is that moment when a team of winners stands on the stage clutching their trophy, as European Champions. A career-high for any marketer.”

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Don’t Panic believe awards are the most cost-effective form of marketing money can buy, but with the rise of social proof, what better, than industry recognised judges who give their seal of approval and award accolades that can be trusted and brandished whenever and wherever to demonstrate your prowess. You don’t have to take our word for it – our social proof is our winners!

Don’t Panic have a range of awards across the digital industry that celebrate excellence across the world. If you are proud of the work that you have created, we want to shine a light on it and support your business growth and future prosperity – that’s why we do awards!

Don’t Panic Events are Award organisers who deliver awards that are ethical, transparent and highly respected. Our Awards truly value the expertise, creativity and innovation that digital industries around the world deliver on a day-to-day basis.

Ethical and transparent

Our Awards are judged by international leading, industry experts who understand the digital industry which means Award accolades are not only industry recognised but they are legitimate and can be trusted by clients, business partners and employees. Our Awards are driven by merit and judged by peers. They are not a popularity contest!

Judges follow a robust, two-step judging process that involves pre-scoring of all entry forms and examination of any supporting materials. Scores for each question on the entry are combined to give an overall score and the highest scoring entries determine the Shortlist. Judges meet to discuss in detail the highest scoring entries and agree, although this can sometimes become heated, an overall winner.

Confidential

Our judges agree to our judging code of conduct to ensure confidentiality and to provide peace of mind for entrants. All judging discussions are confidential, and material will not be shared with anyone outside of the judging panel before or after the ceremony. Judging papers will not be shared with any third parties and will be deleted immediately after the judging period. Judges can only access entries they have been asked to score.

Progressive

We are passionate about Awards and their need to reflect excellence. In 2020 we began working in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University and David Edmundson-Bird, Principal Lecturer in Digital who is our Judging Panel Chair of Standards. David and Don’t Panic will be working together on continual improvement – in the design of categories and criteria as the digital landscape advances into the future, the development of the judging process that can be applied objectively to ensure consistency and with the selection and coaching of judges. 

From Sept 2020 anyone entering a Don’t Panic owned award receives qualitative feedback on their score, alongside honest constructive feedback from the judges. Each awards scheme has several Head Judges who are responsible for reviewing and approving feedback before it is given to ensure validity and authenticity, agreed by the panel.

Community

Don’t Panic have been delivering Awards for over 15 years with the intention of shining a spotlight on the digital industry. We welcome feedback from our entrants: if you cannot see an award category that suits your work let us know, our team and the judges will look into it; If you have problems with entering, let us guide you through the process; if you feel you can help us ensure the future of Awards is valid, respected and trusted then talk to us. We are in this together.

Don’t Panic are proud to display the Awards Trust Mark, an independent accreditation programme which validates the ethical process operated on all their awards.

Awards are essential – we have already established that.

But what about the ceremonies?

11 months ago, Don’t Panic were forced to postpone the upcoming Award ceremonies due to COVID-19 – it was a very, very sad day.

Nicky Wake, MD and the Don’t Panic team decided very quickly that cancelling permanently was not an option. In our mind the Search, Content, Biddable, Dev and Social agencies, in-house teams and businesses that enter in, and benefit from Don’t Panic run awards, were continuing to deliver incredible, brilliant and outstanding work despite the pandemic, so we would too. Award recognitions, rewards and celebrations were even more deserving than ever.

Like many companies the key to survival was adaptation. We took our first steps into the virtual awards world with the Global Digital Excellence Awards back in June 2020. It seems so long ago! From that first event we have traversed the world with the Search Awards Series, the Content Awards, the Social Media Awards and launched several Global Awards virtually. In total 25 virtual events to date and counting.

What can you expect from a Virtual Awards?

Our Virtual Awards vary depending on location, time zones and entries. All Award categories are announced live with an online build up, so the anticipation and excitement can be felt in the virtual ether. Some awards have filmed production with your celebrity host coming live to you in your living room/study/bedroom/makeshift office and others have animation based production where your host introduces the awards and judges make the winners announcements via video clips. Either way the awards are your chance to come together and live the moment, socially distanced of course.

From a business perspective you can expect all the usual ROI: Pre- and post-event marketing opportunities, industry and client recognition, new business, new talent, motivation and the accolade itself which can be purchased via our online trophy shop, will be sent to you by special delivery, instead of being handed over in person.

From a social and personal angle? Well, here is where we have had to hand it over to you… We have encouraged you to get together via social mediums; we have suggested dress up and dress down themes; we have recommended fine dine, takeaways and nibbles (who wants to cook anyway); we have advocated Champagne, cocktails and cocoa (with marshmallows and cream), we have ordered your participation in events via social walls or social media and we have demanded you share your party with your compatriots.

And we salute you! We have seen you make celebrations of your own in the virtual world we live in and we have loved what you have shared. Thank you for making our virtual awards journey so much fun.

With the vaccine roll out taking place across the world and with positive news on the horizon, we are already working on future live events across the UK where you can expect a return to the fun and frivolity associated with Don’t Panic events. And when the world opens again we look forward to delivering awards internationally and celebrating your win in person.

As leading culture guru Peter Drucker stated ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’

Often it is big business that promote their Company Culture and when we say promote, we mean shout very loud and use it to their advantage. They shout because they understand the growing power of company culture as viewed both internally by employees and externally by their competition and by their existing and future clients. Company Culture recognition says we care, we are ethical and we are trustworthy – what is not to love about us?

The Telegraph and The Times newspapers have been keen to get in on the ‘business culture’ act too with their ‘Happiest Places to Work’ and ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ articles. Articles which are based upon the feedback of employees who are asked to complete confidential surveys! And are most likely encouraged to complete said ‘confidential surveys’ by managers and directors!

Our Company Culture Awards are different.

When we first announced we were getting involved in Company Culture Awards and why we would approach them differently, our contacts across the business community wanted to help us build and drive the project forward. Experts passionate about the workplace and its impact on individuals, teams and whole businesses came forward to offer advice and guidance and have become a judging force of nature, cultural of course!

Our Company Culture Awards are judged by leading industry experts, who are working within organisations with the people, and they understand how VOI measures employee satisfaction, retention and productivity and how mental health and wellbeing can impact ROI. They understand the importance of health and wellbeing initiatives, development and training programmes, and reward schemes and environments. They work with and in companies, large and small, and recognise what is needed to make businesses not only ‘happy places to work’ but environments where individuals grow, develop and live successfully.

The Award categories have been designed with culture at their forefront and the criteria developed to engage with how culture is defined and measured. There are categories across all elements of business culture, from mental health and wellbeing to reward and recognition and they welcome even the smallest of businesses who are getting it right.

Great leaders make great culture, and our judges, leaders themselves, understand exactly what ‘great culture’ looks like.

Our Company Culture Awards are industry recognised, valuable above just popularity and they provide opportunity for assessment and improvement.