The Conference Awards 2013

Comments from those who attended...

"This was my first conference awards and didn't know what to expect, but I had a fantastic time and the atmosphere was great."
Olivia Parker, International Herald Tribune

"Fantastic venue, loved Jo Brand and a great opportunity to network and meet up with industry colleagues."
Julie Howles, AVC Live Ltd

"I must say it was a very good event - brilliantly organised."
Stefan Lechner, De Vere Venues

"well done on producing such a great event last Friday. From someone who arrived early and left late, I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of it and the time just flew by. Jo Brand was absolutely brilliant and extremely funny which kept the whole thing light and enjoyable".
Graham Jerome-Ball, Informa

"Fantastically organised, great atmosphere, brilliant day all round!"
Laren Wilson, International Herald Tribune

"It was a real gathering of the great and good."
Tracy Collins, Emap

"One of our favourite events. The Conference awards have grown from strength to strength. The whole thing is rather like a big family network who meet year on year"
Sue Winckler, BrandFuel

"I had a really good time at the event with the rest of my team. Great atmosphere and Jo Brand was hilarious!"
Erika Cevallos, Falconbury Ltd

"Very well organised, lovely venue, and great food."
Andy Soloman
Energy Intelligence

"I thought there was a great atmosphere and from our point of view everything went smoothly. Jo Brand was very funny and v. professional."
Mandy Helm, Bioscientifica

"Great fun, thank you"
Georgia Stephanou, ukactive

"It was a really exicting and professionally run event, and the winners really felt like winners....."
Helen Gregson, Bioscientifica

"This was my first attendance and it was a truly spectacular event. It was a privilege to be short listed and able to attend. Thank you"
Grainne Crawford
City of EDINBURGH Council

"Excellent Thank You!"
Sam Smith
Whittlebury Hall Hotel & Spa

"Great event!! Very well organised"
Archie Archer
Contraband International Ltd

"A very enjoyable event. Jo Brand as compere was very entertaining and kept the pace of the Awards at a healthy rate so that the audience was kept engaged!"
Joanna McDonough
EuroFinance

"Well organised, great atmosphere."
Clare Dewhirst
WTG Events

"Loved it - had a really great time made so much better by getting an award!"
Louise Ganthony
Barbican

"Well organised and entertainment was fantastic!"
Claire Delfino
Chelsea Football Club

"Great event - THANK YOU. Your team are seamless and it really shows when true professionals organise an event."
Andrew White
Triggerfish Communications Ltd

Best New Conference Launch

Sponsored by

Winner: Elsevier - Planet Under Pressure

The judges said: "The sheer size of this event was awesome. Good social media campaign and great press coverage. Logistically very challenging. Great achievement."

Mark of Excellence: Streamline Marketing Group - Global Aerospace Summit

Shortlisted:

Base Cities - Base Leeds CR (City Region)
Green Power Conferences - The Chilean International Renewable Energy Congress
Haymarket Events/Windpower Monthly Events - Wind Resource Assessment
Incisive Media - Latin American Refining Technology Conference (LARTC)
XSEM Ltd - Keychoice Opening New Doors
Oliver Kinross - Africa Oil & Gas Summit 2013

Best Development of an Existing Conference in the UK

Sponsored by

Winner: Campden Conferences - The European Family Office Conference

The judges said: "The scale of growth is highly impressive. To create such a varied, multi-level event programme against a difficult economic backdrop is a great achievement. Speaker quality was particularly strong."

Shortlisted:

Capita Conferences - Pupil Premium Conference
Emap - Basements and Underground Structures
i2i Events Group - World Retail Congress 2012
i2i Events Group - NICE
Procurement Leaders Events – Procurement Leaders London Forum

Best Development of an Existing Conference outside the UK

Sponsored by

Winner: i2i Events Group - World Architecture Festival

The judges said: "The shift to put content at the core of this event paid off, with substantial growth. Good creativity around sponsorships, using the venue to its optimum, also delivered great revenue and customer satisfaction growth."

Mark of Excellence: IIR Middle East - HR Summit and Expo

Shortlisted:

A Working Title Events - Sdn Bhd 10th International Scientific Meeting of the College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
BrandFuel / HAVAS - One Young World 2012
Haymarket Events/Windpower Monthly Events - Future Offshore Foundations 2012
Informa - MVNOs World Congress
International Herald Tribune - IHT Luxury Conference 2012: Luxury Roma
MCI Middle East - UAE Cancer Congress 2012

Best Association Conference

Sponsored by

Winner: European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) / BioScientifica Ltd - 15th International & 14th European Congress of Endocrinology (ICE/ECE2012)

The judges said: "This was a complex large scale event which used novel and current marketing techniques to engage the target audience, and created a well respected industry event."

Shortlisted:

Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) & MRO Network - Latin America & Caribbean Engineering & MRO Summit
Law Society of Northern Ireland - Law Society of Northern Ireland Annual Conference 2012
Libraries & Information Services, City of Edinburgh Council - EDGE
The British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) - Tax, Legal & Regulatory Conference
ukactive (formerly the FIA - Fitness Industry Association) - Flame Conference 2012
Institute of Fundraising - IoF National Convention 2013

Best Corporate Conference

Sponsored by

Winner: Blueprint & Volkswagen - Volkswagen One Business Conference

The judges said: "A well executed plan and delivery ensured they met the clients objectives. Clear goals, excellent execution and very well organised."

Shortlisted:

Mammoth Events - Lyreco Sales Convention 2013
Procurement Leaders Events – Procurement Leaders London Forum
TBA plc, produced for DAC Beachcroft - DAC Beachcroft Annual Partners Conference
Unilever - Change Leaders Conference 2012
Vivace - Micro Focus SKOFY13

Best Conference alongside an Exhibition

Sponsored by

Winner: i2i Events Group - Bett - Technology in Higher Education

The judges said: "High attendance for a new conference, the team worked collaboratively with sponsors building strong relationships and enabling bespoke solutions to be delivered. Including speakers from outside the sector gave good perspective."

Shortlisted:

XSEM Ltd - Keychoice Opening New Doors
Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd - Learning Disability Today 2012
Singapore Telecommunications Limited - SingTel i.luminate 2012
IIR Telecoms - WDM & Next Generation Optical Networking co-located with Telco Components World

Best Publication led Conference

Sponsored by

Winner: International Herald Tribune - IHT Luxury Conference 2012: Luxury Roma

The judges said: "Very high profile speakers and attendees. Good use of social media and live streaming was very successful. Website is excellent. Clearly a very big, prestigious event but they have updated the agenda and introduced new features and sponsor opportunities."

Shortlisted:

Elsevier - The 2nd Water Research Conference
Faversham House - Sustainable Water 2012
International Herald Tribune and Energy Intelligence - Oil & Money
The King's Fund - NHS Leadership and Management Summit

Best Managed Event

Sponsored by

Winner: C Squared - Wired 2012

The judges said: "Impressive results – significant growth and excellent feedback. The third party provider worked well with the client’s editor to research and plan the event, a great example of this type of partnership."

Shortlisted:

i2i Events Group - NICE
Elsevier - 19th Biennial Meeting of the International Society of Developmental Neuroscience
EMC/Outsourced Events Ltd - EMC Forums 2012
Haymarket Events - The IED Annual Conference 2012
XSEM Ltd - Keychoice Opening New Doors
MCI Middle East - The 13th Congress of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT) & The 4th Middle East Transplan Games (METG)

Best Conference Series

Sponsored by

Winner: The Eventful Group - Mastering SAP Conference Series

The judges said: "By operating to a defined strategy, married to smart implementation and global execution this series has delivered powerful results. This series is a classic example of a good idea being implemented well."

Mark of Excellence: Capacity Media - Capacity Conferences

Shortlisted:

Base Communications - Base Cities
C Squared - The Festival of Media
C5 Communications (UK) Limited - Anti-Corruption & Third Party Relationship Risks Series
Emap - LGC Investment
ICBI - SuperReturn & SuperInvestor
Informa Life Sciences - Informa’s Agrochemical Series

Best B to B Training Business

Sponsored by

Winner: Informa Telecoms Academy

The judges said: "A very rigorous and robust proposal that is a reflection of product. Positioned as an academic standard or degree course it certainly addresses the content in an industry that is continually changing."

Mark of Excellence: Falconbury Ltd

Shortlisted:

Incisive Media - Central Banking Training
Green Power Academy

Best Delegate Experience

Sponsored by

Winner: BrandFuel / HAVAS - One Young World 2012

The judges said: "Working with an audience from across 182 countries was a logistical and cultural challenge. The event had everything a delegate could want and with such fabulous feedback, it was all clearly delivered exceptionally well."

Shortlisted:

A Working Title Events - Sdn Bhd 10th Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists International Conference
FAB! Event Ltd - European Cross-Border programme, Interreg IVA France (Channel) – England
Incisive Media - Private Client Forum
Blueprint for Volkswagen One Business Workshops
Unilever - Change Leaders Conference 2012
i2i Events Group - World Retail Congress 2012

Best Overall Venue

Sponsored by

Winner: etc.venues - Victoria

The winner of this award was the highest scoring of the 10 venue category winners determined by the judging panel. To see the companies shortlisted for these awards see the Conference Venue and Supplier Awards website.

Best Overall Supplier

Sponsored by

Winner: Silverstream TV

The winner of this award was the highest scoring of the 5 supplier category winners determined by the judging panel. To see the companies shortlisted for these awards see the Conference Venue and Supplier Awards website.

Best Operations Team

Sponsored by

Winner: Informa Life Sciences

The judges said: "Smart, efficient and environmentally conscientious. A well structured team with a keen eye on cost management and the overall customer experience. A well oiled machine."

Mark of Excellence: Haymarket Conferences

Mark of Excellence: Incisive Media

Shortlisted:

Elsevier
Green Power Conferences

Best Marketing Team

Sponsored by

Winner: Terrapinn

The judges said: "Extremely forward thinking team, shifting the focus to incorporate content creation. Great focus on increasing effectiveness through continual testing. A real case study in change management."

Mark of Excellence: The Economist

Shortlisted:

Capita Conferences
Emap
ICBI
Incisive Media
Informa IBC Sweden
LSE SU Alternative Investment Society

Best Awards Programme

Sponsored by

Winner: UBM Awards and Partnerships - The National Business Awards

The judges said: "During tough economic times, UBM pulled out all the stops – sponsors, media, partnerships and the Prime Minister – to ensure this well-known Awards lived up to its very high expectations."

Mark of Excellence: Emap - Construction News Awards 2012

Shortlisted:

C Squared - The Festival of Media Global Awards
Emap - Nursing Times Awards 2012
Emap - HSJ Awards 2012
Renewables Roadshow Ltd - Energy Efficiency & Renewables Awards

Best Publication Led Awards Programme

Sponsored by

Winner: Emap - Nursing Times Awards 2012

The judges said: "Very good event. Good targeted research done about what the audience wanted via a customer insight program. Great feedback from attendees. No wonder they sold out!"

Shortlisted:

Emap - Construction News Awards 2012
Emap - Oracle Retail Week Awards
Insider Publishing - The Insurance Insider Honours 2012
Reed Business Information Ltd - Farmers Weekly Awards
Informa - The 2012 Health Insurance Awards

Best Awards Experience

Sponsored by

Winner: Incisive Media - British Insurance Awards 2012

The judges said: "Lots of wow! Really built up anticipation, great use of a London landmark. Great opportunities for sponsors. Ensured it was an event you would want to come to again."

Shortlisted:

Reed Business Information Ltd - British Hairdressing Awards
UBM Awards and Partnerships - TTG Travel Awards
UBM Awards and Partnerships - National Sales Awards

Outstanding Contribution to the Industry

Ros Oxley, Managing Director, ICBI