ISP News Feb 2008 and ISP Awards

Marketers and agencies across Britain are gearing up for one of the most important events in the industry calendar.

The ISP Awards are a unique opportunity to recognise the creativity and effectiveness of campaigns that promote sales.

Each year, they provide a showcase for how sales promotion is being effectively used across all media channels, from advertising and digital marketing to direct mail and in-store marketing.

To some people, winning awards is no more than a pat on the back as it has no impact on the fortunes of the winners. But this isn't the case with the ISP Awards.

Winning an ISP Award gives agencies, brands and suppliers a fantastic boost for their marketing and business development.

The ISP Awards are also the only way for promotional work to be recognised, not just in the UK but also internationally.

The only way to win an IMC European marketing award or a world-wide Globes trophy is to have struck Gold in the ISP Awards.

The categories that make up the Awards enable anyone working in the marketing communications industry to take part, as they recognise that promotions are executed across all media channels.

All the details can be found online at www.isp.org.uk.

Over the last 12 months, the marketing industry has taken its fair share of flak from the media, regulators and legislators who all want to restrict promotions and advertising rather than celebrate it.

So the ISP Awards are a way to show these detractors that the UK is the most creative and effective producer of campaigns that promote sales.

The ISP has been promoting the awards in London since the start of this year by joining forces with London Pedicabs. Three bicycle-drawn cabs can be seen in the streets of the capital covered in the livery of the ISP Awards, and they have also been helping to deliver the Call For Entries brochure to agencies from Soho to Shoreditch.

The awards ceremony is an unmissable fixture in the marketing calendar, attracting agencies, brand owners and suppliers to celebrate the industry's success. This year, it takes place at the InterContinental Hotel in Park Lane, London, on May 22nd.

The top award each year is the Grand Prix. One of the previous winners of this ultimate prize was the Great British Bean Poll, which was developed by an agency called The Big Kick.

This promotional campaign supported Premier Foods' launch of Branston Baked Beans into a market that was dominated by Heinz. It was built around a blind taste-test challenge but it used an array of marketing techniques. Not only did samples reach more than 750,000 consumers, it created an amazing media buzz including an appearance on Richard and Judy.

FILM OF CAMPAIGN CAN BE SEEN ON MarketingSuccess,tv ONLINE AT http://www.thebigkick.co.uk/main.htm]

Of course, the ISP Awards could not happen without a whole host of sponsors, including the headline sponsor, Mando Brand Assurance, as well as the media partner, Sales Promotion magazine.

Other marketing and media companies to support the awards include Edward Thompson printers, Forth Generation, Halfords, The Lettershop Group, M.R.M., Sky, Valassis and V.C.G..

The event is also backed by other trade organisations, such as the Direct Marketing Association, the Internet Advertising Bureau and Isba, the advertisers' body.

So, if you are in the business of promoting sales, whether in direct or digital marketing, or creating campaigns that appear on TV, in press and on radio, or you are a specialist in the art delivering a brand experience â€" you can be an ISP Award winner.