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ALF

EXTENDED ENTRY DEADLINE: 11 FEBRUARY 2022

The awards qualifying period is from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 and the cost per entry is £300 + VAT.

ALF subscribers are entitled to 2 FREE entries, please contact Nitin for the unique code or if you have any questions about the entry process or categories: nitin.kundra@mbi.london

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This award will go to the account management team with an outstanding record of delivering growth and value for their customers. We’ll be looking for evidence of strong client and account retention and growth and great ideas and relationships that have really moved the dial.

Entries should detail the success of the account management team and any projects and initiatives that have paid off and delivered growth. The judges will be looking for solid evidence of account management success and growth. Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about the team, the objectives and how they were delivered. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best Account Management Team, please include as much evidence in the form of numbers and KPIs as you can, and examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

The market - a short summary of the customer base and market the team are working with.
The team itself – How many in the team, where are they based and what are their objectives. Tell us something about how they work together as a team?
Client success: How the team have supported and helped clients during the qualifying period and what that meant for the business – with some examples.
Client communication: How the team have demonstrated strong communication with clients that helped them and the business.
Beating targets/Performance: What was the commercial result of the team’s great work in terms of client retention and growth and any other KPIs that are relevant.

This award will go to an initiative or campaign that has produced positive and demonstrable results in improving diversity and inclusivity within a business or market sector. It can be either an internal campaign or one run for a client or sector.

Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about how the initiative was created and delivered, including its objectives and how success was measured. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

You can enter this category on behalf of your own company for the work you’ve done on Diversity and Inclusion – or you can do it for a campaign you’ve run for a client. Either way we’ll be looking at the following areas:

What are the objectives of the initiative and how and why was it launched?
Who has worked on it – and who has championed it in the business or industry?
What were the key ideas of the campaign or initiative and how was it communicated?
Were there any specific challenges or obstacles you had to overcome to make the campaign or initiative a success?
What evidence of success can you point to and what changes have already been achieved?
What happens next and how might the campaign continue or develop?
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the initiative or campaign worked and delivered.

Best campaign or initiative during the last 18 months during the pandemic that created a real sales opportunity while fulfilling the needs of a client or clients. The judges will be looking for innovation, great ideas that connected with clients – and how adversity was turned into opportunity.

Entries should detail the success of the team in innovating during the lockdown and coming up with a winning idea. The judges will be looking for solid evidence of how the sales initiative really contributed to success. Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about the team, plan, resulting actions and the success delivered as a result. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

The lockdown was a challenge for everyone – including sales teams. So in this category we’re looking for the best campaign or initiative to come out of that period and to celebrate a team that really turned adversity into success. When completing your entry for Best Lockdown Sales Initiative please include the following points:

What was the challenge facing the team or brand in their particular market?
How did the campaign or initiative come about and who championed it?
How was the client/clients brought on board with the campaign or initiative to make it work?
Tell us about the process of delivering the campaign or initiative and what was involved.
How was it marketed and communicated?
Were there any particular challenges or obstacles to its success?
What did it set out to achieve and how did it perform against those objectives? (Here any data or KPI information is essential).
How did the campaign develop as we moved out of Lock down?
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the initiative or campaign worked and delivered.

This award will go to a campaign or initiative that puts partnership at the heart of its strategy bringing together two brands in a way that delivers both in terms of strategy, execution, and results. This can be a new partnership or one that has formed over time and had long-term benefits but it must have been active during the qualifying period.

Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about how the partnership was created, its objective, execution and how success was measured and delivered. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best Media Partnership please include as much evidence in the form of numbers and KPIs as you can, and examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

How did the campaign or initiative come about and who championed it?
How were the partners brought on board with the campaign or initiative to make it work?
Tell us about the process of executing the campaign or initiative and what was involved.
How was it marketed and communicated?
Were there any particular challenges or obstacles to its success?
What did it set out to achieve and how did it perform against those objectives? (Here any data or KPI information is essential).
How is the partnership going to develop in the future?
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the initiative or campaign worked and delivered.

This award will go to the new business team that has really delivered in terms of new business planning, account wins and a focus and determination to deliver high quality new business in relationships that work for both sides.

Entries should detail the success of the team on new business, particular projects and initiatives that have paid off and delivered new projects and accounts for the agency. The judges will be looking for solid evidence of success and new business growth. Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about the team, the objectives and how they were delivered. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best New Business Team please include as much evidence in the form of numbers and KPIs as you can, and examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

The market - a short summary of the customer base and market the team are working with.
The team itself – How many in the team, where are they based and what are their objectives. Tell us something about how they work together as a team?
Were there any particular challenges or obstacles the team faced?
Delivery: How the team approached their new business objectives and successfully beat their targets.
Communication: How the team demonstrated strong communication with new clients that helped them win business.
Outcomes – what was the result of the team’s work and any information on client satisfaction or retention to support the entry.
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.

This award will go to a campaign or an initiative that resulted in a partnership for social good. This could be a charity campaign or single cause campaign where two brands/operations came together with real purpose to do some good. Judges will be looking for measurable outcomes of any campaign and activity.

Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about how the partnership was created, its objective, execution and how success was measured and delivered. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best Partnership with Purpose please include as much evidence of success as you can, along with examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

How did the campaign or initiative come about and who championed it?
How were the partners brought on board with the campaign or initiative to make it work?
Who was it aimed at?
What did it set out to achieve and how did it perform against those objectives? (Here any data or KPI information is essential).
Tell us about the process of executing the campaign or initiative and what was involved.
How was it marketed and communicated?
Were there any specific challenges or obstacles that had to be overcome to make the campaign or initiative a success?
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the initiative or campaign worked and delivered.

This award will go to the outstanding pitch and presentation that clinched the deal with a client and translated into a great relationship and campaign. We’ll be looking for evidence of client and customer insight, clear understanding of the brief, creative thinking and a compelling story that won the day.

Entries should detail the success of the team on the pitch, including the key ideas, how it was presented and why it won over the client. Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about the pitch process, ideas and how they were presented to the client. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best Pitch please include as much evidence of success as you can, along with examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

Some background on the pitch and how it came about. What was the client’s brief and objective?
Who were the pitch team and how did they work together?
How did the idea for the pitch come about and what made it a success?
Tell us about the pitch process and what was involved?
Were there any specific challenges or obstacles that had to be overcome to make the pitch work?
What was the end result of the pitch?
What have been the successful outcomes of the pitch for you and the client?
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the initiative or campaign worked and delivered.

This award will go to a start up (a business that started trading in the last three years) and recognise their success and development. We’ll be looking for growth, a positive culture, innovation and how their business is fulfilling their customer needs.

Entries should detail the success of the agency since start up including its culture and growth. The judges will be looking for demonstrable evidence of the agency’s success. Entries should be up to 600 words and include information on the agency’s’ market position, commercial performance, culture, and clients. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry

When completing your submission for Best Start-Up (Agency) please include as much evidence of success as you can, along with examples that help bring your entry to life. This award is open to agencies that started trading in the last three years. Your entry should include:

What’s agency’s focus and areas of expertise, including what market it serves.
Where the idea for creating it came from and who are the founders?
The story of the agency’s launch - how and where is started out and any specific challenges faced in getting the agency up and running?
How has the agency established its position and offering in the market?
Who were the early/founding clients and how did the agency attract and win them?
What are the values of the agency and what sets you apart from rivals?
How is the agency trading now and what are you most proud of?
What’s next for your agency?
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.

This award will go to a start up (a business that started trading in the last three years) and recognise their success and development. We’ll be looking for growth, a positive culture, innovation and how their business is fulfilling their customer needs.

Entries should detail the success of the business since start up including its culture and growth. The judges will be looking for demonstrable evidence the media brands success. Entries should be up to 600 words and include information on the company’s market position, commercial performance, culture, and clients. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best Start-Up (media) please include as much evidence of success as you can, along with examples that help bring your entry to life. This award is open to media companies that started trading in the last three years. Your entry should include:

What is your media company’s focus and mission – and what market do you target?
Where the idea for creating it came from and who are the founders?
The story of your start-up’s launch -- how and where is started out and any specific challenges faced in getting the agency up and running?
How has your brand established its position and offering in the market?
Who were the early/founding clients and how did you attract and win them?
What are the values of the start-up and what sets you apart from rivals?
How is the business trading now and what are you most proud of?
What’s next for your business?
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.

This award goes to a business who can demonstrate a positive culture and mental health initiatives that have supported their staff and ensured a healthy working environment. The judges will be looking at the way companies support staff in areas including corporate values, mental health, training and development, work-life balance and wellbeing.

Entries should be up to 600 words. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best Culture and Mental Health, please include as much evidence of success as you can, along with examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include areas such as:

How has your business responded in the pandemic to challenges around positive culture and good mental health?
What initiatives have happened in the business to support a positive culture and mental health?
How have people been communicated to and with to ensure good communication?
What are the values you hold as a business and how do you ensure they are lived?
Who in the business leads in this area and please tell us about what they do?
How do you measure the success of your initiates and work on culture and mental health?
How have you developed in areas such as work/life balance and well-being?
What training have you put in place to support staff?
What significant changes and improvements can you point to as evidence of success?
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.

A great piece of market research which really helped build customer insight and developed a sales or marketing initiative or product development. The judges will be looking for evidence of great customer insight and how it was applied.

Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about the brief for the customer insight project, how it was devised and delivered; what objectives were identified, what insights were created and successfully applied. The judges will be looking for demonstrable evidence of the value of the insights and how they helped a business or brand. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Best Customer Insight Award please include as much information about the success of the project as you can and any examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

What was the specific objective or question the project set out to address?
What was the market sector the insight was sought from?
Who were the main people involved and what roles did they play?
Tell us about the process of mapping out the insight project and what was involved.
What insights were generated and how were they successfully applied in terms of sales, marketing or product development. (Please include any KPI or data information here).
Were there any particular challenges or obstacles to its success?
Has there been further developments in customer insight or product work based on the findings?
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the initiative or campaign worked and delivered.

This award will go to a rising agency star in the world of business development who has been in their role for less than two years. We will be looking for people who have really made a difference to their organisation and team in that time through their commitment, skills and performance.

Entries should detail the contribution the rising star has made to the business and team. The judges will be looking for demonstrable evidence of success. Entries should be up to 600 words. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Rising Star (Agency) it’s important that the judges get a strong sense of the person and their achievements so try to include examples that demonstrate the qualities you are writing about. Your entry should include:

Personality – tell us about this person’s personality – who they are, how they fit into the team and what they have brought to the business.
Motivation – tell us about person’s motivation and enthusiasm and give examples of how they have contributed.
Communication: talk about the Rising Star’s communication abilities with clients and colleagues and give examples to demonstrate their contribution.
Results – give information on how this Rising Star has really contributed to the success of your business -including financial and client performance – and any examples that help demonstrate their success.
Testimonials – please provide some direct testimonials and comments from the team or clients to support the entry.

This award will go to a rising star in media sales and/or business development who has been in their role for less than two. We will be looking for people who have really made a difference to their organisation and team in that time through their commitment, skills and performance.

Entries should detail the contribution the rising star has made to the business and team. The judges will be looking for demonstrable evidence of success. Entries should be up to 600 words. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Rising Star (Media Sales) it’s important that the judges get a strong sense of the person and their achievements so try to include examples that demonstrate the qualities you are writing about. Your entry should include:

Personality – tell us about this person’s personality – who they are, how they fit into the team and what they have brought to the business.
Motivation – tell us about person’s motivation and enthusiasm and give examples of how they have contributed.
Communication: talk about the Rising Star’s communication abilities with clients and colleagues and give examples to demonstrate their contribution.
Results – give information on how this Rising Star has really contributed to the success of your business -including financial and client performance and any examples to help demonstrate their success.
Testimonials – please provide some direct testimonials and comments from the team or clients to support the entry.
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.

This award will go to the individual leader of a sales team whose work and approach has helped both drive growth but also the development of that team. Some sales leaders may be too modest to enter themselves (really!) so we encourage sales teams to enter the leader who has inspired and helped them to succeed. The judges will be looking for evidence of real sales leadership that has both developed winning teams and delivered sales growth through sales plans and strategies.

Entries should detail the contribution the sales leader has made to the business and team. The judges will be looking for demonstrable evidence of great leadership that has really helped sales teams deliver. Entries should be up to 600 words. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Sales Leader it’s important that the judges get a strong sense of the person and their achievements so try to include examples that demonstrate the qualities you are writing about. Your entry should include:

Communication – give information on how this sales leader has demonstrated strong communication skills with their team, market and stakeholders and what they put in place to ensure teams remained connected.
Motivation – tell us how this person motivated their teams and what they did to ensure cohesion and strong performance – that can be through team morale building, development, setting a strong example.
Planning – what are this person’s planning strengths and how did their vision help the team deliver. Give any examples of plans they put in place for projects or initiatives that really paid off.
Results – give us information on the results this person’s leadership helped produce – this should be in revenue performance but can also include staff retention numbers, output increases and any other results you think paint a picture of this person’s leadership.
Testimonials - please provide some direct testimonials and comments from the team to support he entry

This award will go to a team that can demonstrate outstanding performance for their business and clients with innovative and creative solutions and sales excellence.

Entries need to show evidence of strong sales growth and performance.

When completing your submission for the Sales Team of the Year please include as much evidence in the form of numbers and KPIs as you can, and examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

The market - a short summary of the customer base and market the team are working with and the brand or service the team are selling.
The team itself – How many in the team, where are they based and what are their objectives. Tell us something about how they work together as a team?
Were there any particular challenges or obstacles the team faced?
Delivery: How the team approached the sales challenge and successfully beat their targets.
Communication: How the team demonstrated strong communication with clients and stakeholders.
Results – what was the result of the team’s work and any information on client satisfaction or retention to support the entry.
Testimonials – please provide some direct client testimonials to support the entry.
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.

(Non-enterable category)

Made to someone in media sales and marketing who has made an outstanding contribution to the industry through their work and development of others. Nominations will be invited from all judges and discussed during the judging sessions. The winner will be selected by the ALF team.

This award will go to a change in approach, direction of strategy that really made to difference to a sales and marketing team - it can be a brand change or relaunch, or a new way of executing sales or marketing strategies. But we’re looking for an innovation that was a gamechanger for your business.

Entries should detail basis of the innovation and what was done. The judges will be looking for demonstrable evidence of how the initiative or plan has been a gamechanger for the business so facts and figures will be vital. Entries should be up to 600 words and cover the innovation and its impact. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

This category will honour an innovation or change in approach that was a gamechanger to a business. We’re looking for best and smartest innovations in the sales and marketing sector, made to help overcome the challenges of a pandemic. When completing your entry for Best Gamechanger Innovation Award please include the following points:

What was the idea or innovation that created real change for your product or business
How did the Gamechanger Innovation come about and who championed it?
How was it marketed and communicated?
Were there any particular challenges or obstacles to its success?
What did it set out to achieve and how did it perform against those objectives? (Here any data or KPI information is essential).
How has the innovation in your business developed and what’s the next step?
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the innovative change or product worked and delivered.

This award goes to a team or business whose work or campaigns have contributed to sustainable causes or environmental protection. This work can be either on behalf of a client or by a company or agency themselves.

Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about how a campaign or initiative contributed environmental and sustainable benefits. The judges will be looking for environmentally friendly actions and strategies with clear evidence of success. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Green Award please include as much evidence of success as you can, along with examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

Some background on the campaign and how it came about. What was the objective of the initiative or campaign? What was it setting out to achieve?
Who were the key players involved and what roles did they take?
Tell us about the key messages or actions from the campaign/initiative were.
Were there any specific challenges or obstacles that had to be overcome to deliver?
What was the result of the campaign/initiative? Please provide evidence of its success.
Please include any relevant marketing or advertising materials that help the judges understand how the initiative or campaign worked and delivered.

A special award to recognise the most successful turnaround by a sales team facing the challenges of the pandemic whose work and inspiration allowed them to succeed despite a pandemic. We will be looking for information about the challenges the team faced, how they managed and sold their way through it – and emerged as the Comeback Kids.

Entries should detail the success of the team in turning around a challenging position in their market. The judges will be looking for solid evidence of how the decisions made and work done really helped turnaround a performance. Entries should be up to 600 words and talk about the team, plan and actions and the impact they made. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for the Turnaround Award please include as much evidence in the form of numbers and KPIs as you can, and examples that help bring your entry to life. Your entry should include:

The market - a short summary of the customer base and market the team are working with and the brand or service the team are selling.
The team itself – How many in the team, where are they based and what are their objectives. Tell us something about how they work together as a team?
What was the specific challenge the team faced that needed turning around?
What were the core ideas and actions that enabled them to turnaround performance.
How did the team work together on this?
Results – what was the result of the team’s work in sales performance and other KPIs?
Testimonials – please provide any relevant client testimonials to support the entry.
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.

This award will go to a person who does not work in the sales team but whose positive contribution and support has helped enable the sales success story. The person winning this award can hold any role – they could be a sales administrator, a market researcher or help manage the CRM system.

Entries should include testimonials from sales leaders or sales team and evidence of how the winner has really helped and supported the sales team and helped deliver sales and commercial success through their role. Entries should be up to 600 words. Any relevant marketing materials or supporting material can be included in addition to the written entry.

When completing your submission for Unsung Hero, it’s important that the judges get a strong sense of the person and their achievements so try to include examples that demonstrate the qualities you are writing about. Your entry should include:

Personality – tell us about this person’s personality – who they are, how they fit into the team and what they have brought to the business.
Motivation – tell us about person’s motivation and enthusiasm and give examples of how they have contributed.
Results – give information on how has really contributed to the success of your sales team and/or commercial performance and helped others do their job.
Please give any KPI or performance data that demonstrates success.
Testimonials – please provide some direct testimonials and comments to support the entry. (These can be from your team, clients or colleagues – to support the entry).
Please include any relevant marketing or support materials for your entry.