It was a fabulous night this Tuesday, at Church House Westminster, for the 20th year of the Awards for Marketing Effectiveness.
In addition to celebrating our much-deserved winners and highly commended entrants, it was an evening in which we were able to reconnect with some of our brilliant members after a long period of separation.
Here’s a recap on what happened at the event:
Pete Markey addresses the audience via video.
Sadly Pete Markey, CMO at Boots, had unfortunately caught Covid (get well soon, Pete!). But that didn’t stop him from Zooming in to present his opening keynote. Pete highlighted 4 calls to action for Forum Members:
- We need to deepen customer relationships
- We need to get our tech right
- We need to make the CFO our best friend
- We need to be champions for the financial services industry
A great speech from Pete on this thoughts on the pillars of financial services marketing for 2022.
As he couldn’t be there in person, Pete got by with a little help from his friends, with Raj Kumar, Group Brand and Reputation Director at Aviva and Mark Evans, Managing Director, Marketing and Digital at Direct Line Group, taking to the stage.
Pete needn’t have worried: double act Raj and Mark were here to save the day!
Giving themselves the title of the ‘Ant and Dec of Financial Services’ (would have to wholeheartedly agree!) Mark and Raj touched upon some of the pillars Pete had mentioned, and the imperative importance of championing inclusion and diversity in our industry.
Lee Jay from The TradeDesk and guests Raj, Mark and Alastair enjoying the evening.
Forum members seated at David Cowan’s table didn’t go without a top-up.
Enjoying a performance from the cast of Les Mis and Jersey Boys.
After dinner – and a surprise performance from the cast of Les Mis and Jersey Boys for the theatre fans in the audience! (I can also confirm that Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical director was in attendance earlier in the evening to coordinate the rehearsal…) we were joined by familiar faces Ian Henderson, CEO, AML Group and Matt Dawson MBE. Let’s face it, the digital awards were great, but we just couldn’t replicate the impromptu interviewing of unsuspecting winners!
Friends Reunited: Ian Henderson, CEO, AML Group and Matt Dawson MBE.
And without further ado, here are our winners of the evening…
“Pick him!” – Investec scoop the gong for Most Effective Use of Brand Strategy with Marketing Director Iain unanimously nominated to be interviewed by Matt.
Most Effective Brand Strategy
WINNER: Investec ‘Brand Strategy’
Highly Commended: Moreish Marketing with Defaqto ‘Defaqto Engage: Financial Planning with No Loose Ends’
Highly Commended: The Exeter ‘The Making of a Modern Mutual’
Smiling faces all round as Quilter receive recognition for Most Effective Content Marketing Campaign.
Most Effective Content Marketing
WINNER: Quilter ‘Driving Digital Adoption Using Behavioural Science’
Highly Commended: NOW: Pensions ‘The Underpensioned Report’
Highly Commended: Fidelity International ‘Delivering the Wealth Proposition’
Everybody rise! Skipton Building Society leap to their feet in joy as they beat a list of hefty competitors to the prize for Most Effective Integrated Campaign.
Most Effective Integrated Campaign
WINNER: Skipton Building Society ‘Finding Our ‘Good Place’ During a Pandemic’
Highly Commended: Finceo Bank with Teamspirit ‘Trading the New Landscape’
Janus Henderson and partners Hub are victorious once again in 2021, this time with the accolade for Most Effective Digital Marketing Campaign.
Most Effective Digital Marketing Campaign
WINNER: Janus Henderson with Hub ‘Janus Henderson Investment Trusts’
Highly Commended: Barclays ‘Delivering Beyond Expectations in the Most Uncertain
Mortgages Market for over a Decade’
Karen from AIG is put forward by her colleagues to be grilled by Matt on what gives the AIG marketing team that magic winning formula.
Most Effective Use of a Limited Budget
WINNER: AIG Life ‘Critical Illness Choices’
Highly Commended: Browser Media for Ipswich Building Society ‘Brownfields – Making Self-Build Accessible’
Highly Commended: Travelers Insurance Company ‘Travelers Europe Cyber Security Campaign’
NOW: Pensions pick up the Most Effective Use of Data and Analytics award. With Matt having already visited a few tables, colleague nomination of the interviewee was becoming rife!
Most Effective Data and Analytics
WINNER: NOW: Pensions ‘The Underpensioned Report’
Highly Commended: Fidelity International ‘Data-Driven Insights for Record Results’
The Federated Hermes team celebrate an amazing win in our Most Effective ESG Strategy category: the first ever winners of this new award.
Most Effective ESG Strategy
WINNER: Federated Hermes ‘Federated Hermes Sustainability Campaign: Sustainability. We Mean It.’
Moreish Marketing Managing Director, Simon Martin, celebrates a win in the Most Effective B2B Campaign category with clients Defaqto.
Most Effective Business to Business Campaign
WINNER: Moreish Marketing ‘Defaqto Engage: Financial Planning with No Loose Ends
Highly Commended: BlackRock ‘iShares Index More’
Highly Commended: Prudential with Teamspirit ‘Winning the Generation Game’
BlackRock scooped the prestigious award for Most Effective International Campaign with iShares Index More.
And joining them as winners were Fidelity International Australia with Teamspirit, the latter of which took the opportunity to solicit Matt Dawson’s help with a drinking game.
Most Effective International Campaign
WINNER: BlackRock ‘iShares Index More’
WINNER: Fidelity International Australia with Teamspirit ‘The F Word’
In the words of founding awards judge Malcolm Oliver, Skipton’s Sponsorship entry was ‘the best that we’d seen, ever’ in twenty years. Big smiles from Skipton on receipt of that news.
Most Effective Sponsorship
WINNER: Skipton Building Society ‘Skipton Building Society and Channel 5: The Great Outdoors’
Link Group pick up the award for Most Effective Public Relations, with their campaign in partnership with Teamspirit and 5i Research.
Most Effective Public Relations
WINNER: Link Group with Teamspirit and 5i Research ‘Changing the Narrative’
Highly Commended: Killik and Co with Teamspirit ‘The Elephant in the Room’
The emotion was visible on the Teamspirit and Prudential table as they beat the competition to a coveted Judges’ Special Award for Consumer Insight.
It wouldn’t be a Forum awards night without a kilt, and Prudential didn’t fail to deliver!
Judges’ Special Award for Consumer Insight
WINNER: Prudential (with Teamspirit) ‘Winning the Generation Game’
Getting their ducks (or, awards) in a row were Skipton Building Society, with 3 trophies in the bag as they scooped up the Judges’ Special Award for Marketing Excellence for their campaign with Channel 5.
Judges’ Special Award for Marketing Excellence
WINNER: Skipton Building Society ‘Skipton Building Society and Channel 5: The Great Outdoors’
‘All back to our place!’ It was back to the Teamspirit table as they celebrated a much-deserved win as The Financial Services Forum’s 2021 Agency of the Year.
Proud CEO, Kirsty Maxey, was there to pick up the trophy.
Agency of the Year
WINNER: Teamspirit
Simran Aniekar, Account Manager at Moreish Marketing was crowned our 2021 Young Marketer of the Year, after winning the member vote.
Some powerful words of advice shared by Simran on how to succeed in your early career as a marketer ‘Take every opportunity that’s presented to you, and you will have the chance to prove yourself’.
Young Marketer of the Year
WINNER: Simran Aniekar, Account Manager, Moreish Marketing
2021 Marketer of the Year winner, Samantha Gould, was delighted (if a little surprised!) to have won the coveted award.
Luckily, with a little help from Matt, she was soon on her feet. Sam is also a prior winner of our Young Marketer of the Year award, so this accolade was even more special.
Marketer of the Year
WINNER: Samantha Gould, Head of PR and Campaigns, NOW: Pensions
You’re all invited to the winners podium!
Moreish Marketing’s Sim and Simon celebrate their wins of the evening with client Defaqto, with the agency picking up Young Marketer of the Year, B2B Campaign and Highly Commended Brand Strategy.
The winners took to the stage to celebrate.
And that’s a wrap!
This is just a selection of the photos taken on the evening. If you would like to receive a link to the full professional photo album and photobooth pictures, please drop me an email at [email protected].
