'Agencies are often the best-run businesses of all': The Drum’s Gordon Young launches The Agency Business Awards 2018
The Drum Agency Business Awards 2018 have been officially launched by The Drum’s editor-in-chief Gordon Young. The awards, which culminate in a glittering ceremony at The Marriott Grosvenor Square London on 27 November, aim to highlight business excellence in the marketing agency sector and feature categories including ‘start-up of the year’, ‘business performance’ and ‘back-office of the year’.
Winners at the recent Drum Design Awards.
Explaining the motivation behind the newly rebranded awards (formerly known as The Drum Network Awards) Young said: “The more I work with marketing companies, the more I recognise that they are among the best-run businesses within the industry. In many ways that's not a surprise - they must be agile to stay ahead of the digital revolution, competitive to cut through in a vibrant environment and shrewd enough to ensure a point of difference when many are saying the same things.
“But of course, there is another imperative here. Clients want to work with successful agencies, which is completely logical - why would they want to take business critical advice from an organisation that does not have its own house in order? This is why in 2018, The Drum Network Awards have transformed into The Drum Agency Business Awards. We want to put more focus on identifying the best-run businesses.”
The Drum has assembled an impressive team of industry senior players to judge the inaugural Agency Business Awards, ensuring that the insights of both agency and brand marketers are accounted for in the judging process. Names include Gaele Lalahy, Panasonic UK & Ireland; Paul Wright, Iotec; Joby Russell, Purplebricks; Lisa Jeden, Bacardi; Tim Bonnet, Unlimited; Antony Hill, Google; Peter Reid, MSQ and Ash Taylor of Britvic.
Young continued: “By celebrating best practice and recognising the best agencies and the best people, we help our readers to make better decisions. Clients can see the best teams to work with and talent can identify the best places to work. And of course, the Agency Business Awards are part of The Drum - one of the most popular marketing websites in the world. If you win one of these awards, we’ll then make sure that the world hears about it!”
The deadline for entries is 24 August, with nominations announced on 17 October. The full list of categories and entry pack for The Drum Agency Business Awards 2018 is available here.