‘Come and see how we pull it off!’: how you can be a part of The Drum’s new awards shows
If you’re in London on July 7 or 8, you can apply to be in the audience for The Drum Chip Shop Awards or The Drum Awards for Marketing. The first two of a new show format, these hybrid events will be filmed live before an audience and broadcast from The Drum Labs in Shoreditch next week.
The Drum Labs is an innovative space in the heart of Shoreditch, and the new home of The Drum Awards
The Drum is a veteran when it comes to awards shows, having run its first competition in 2006. While the global outbreak of Covid-19 undoubtedly threw a spanner in the works of awards celebrations, leading to a year of virtual ceremonies produced by the in-house team, the gradual re-opening of venues now presents an opportunity to transform awards shows for the better.
Next week the results of The Drum Awards for Marketing and The Drum Chip Shop Awards will be announced at The Drum’s first two hybrid ceremonies.
Gordon Young, editor-in-chief, believes the new show format helps fulfil The Drum’s mission to make its award-winners famous. “By broadcasting the show online, we have the chance to amplify it to a much larger audience. It’s more inclusive to people who can’t physically be in the room, meaning we can put the winning work front and center.”
The Chip Shop Awards are all about creativity, famously with an element of peril, so there could be no better opportunity to trial a new format. “We know audiences love jeopardy,” Young jokes. “So if you want to see how we pull it off, if any disasters are waiting in the wings, or if you simply want to road-test our new bar, then you should come along.
“The Drum Awards for Marketing recognizes the most effective and innovative campaigns and people – so why not create a new, more effective and exciting model for the ceremony too?”
Taking cues from the most famous awards shows, each ceremony will include live commentary from the judges, behind-the-scenes content from The Drum Labs, and an atmosphere of celebration with nominees’ reactions on-screen.
Packed with cutting-edge technology, The Drum Labs makes the perfect backdrop for these new awards shows. Located in the heart of Shoreditch, it’s a new multi-purpose event space that boasts a futuristic retail space powered by partners Capgemini. It also features virtual dressing rooms, vertical farming and next level smartphone tech – interested readers can find out more here.
Since the awards are open to a global audience, nominees based elsewhere in the world, or anybody with an interest in the awards, can watch the broadcast live and join the discussion that way. To register, sign up below:
The Drum Awards for Marketing – July 8 at 4pm BST
The Drum Chip Shop Awards – July 7 at 4pm BST
In the meantime, keep an eye on The Drum’s social feeds for a sneak preview of the most hotly contested categories, or check out the full list of nominated work here and here.