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Print and mail championed at glittering SMP Awards
The UK’s print and mailing industry has been recognised at the 2023 SMP Awards
The SMP Awards returned bigger and glitterier with two new awards for 2023
Hosted by the Strategic Mailing Partnership, the UK print and mailing industry were recognised at a glittering Awards and Networking event last night.
Held at the swanky Steel Yard in London, the event had a fresh and vibrant feel with a casual approach and a focus on networking.
Guests were welcomed to a drinks reception with an introduction from SMP Chair Lucy Swanston who then handed over to a humorous welcome from host and comedian Ellie Taylor.
Two Fireside Chats with key industry members followed with the first session hosted by Swanston featuring SMP board members Ben Briggs, managing director of Join the Dots; Lance Hill, managing director of Eight Days a Week Print Solutions; Philip Ricketts, wholesale commercial director at Royal Mail; and Gemma Mitchell, managing director of Paragon Dagenham.
The second hosted by Philip Ricketts heard from headline sponsors Adam Williams, managing director of DBS Data Marketing; Ben Snutch, chief customer officer of Go Inspire Group; and Jon Wilkins, director of DSA Mail, UK Mail.
The evening included Fireside Chats from key industry members
Both sessions touched on topics such as key industry challenges and focuses for the coming year, as well as sustainability efforts within direct mail, diversity and inclusivity, and automation.
Then came time for the Awards with two new categories making their debut at the 2023 event.
Crowned ‘best in the industry’ with the overall Platinum Envelope Winner Award was programmatic direct mail specialist, Paperplanes for its demonstrable innovation and results achieved for Bower Collective.
Golden Envelope Awards went to Propack, Join the Dots, and The Dragonfly Agency, with the latter taking two home. Go Inspire was chosen for Highly Commended.
Debuting for the first time this year, the Bright Futures category was introduced to champion emerging talent under the age of 30 in the UK print and mailing industry. This award not only shone a spotlight on rising young talent, but also highlighted the positive shift in terms of diversity within the industry with all shortlisted applicants being female.
However, it was Ellie McBeath, account manager at The Dragonfly Agency who took home the award for her “outstanding performance” over the past year.
Runners up were Jodie Hanrahan, media account director of Join the Dots in second place and Gabriela Solarek, trainee account manager at Eight Days a Week in third place.
Also new for the 2023 event was the Sustainability Award which was presented to Webmart with the company producing a campaign that demonstrated just how much the industry is doing to instigate environmental initiatives.
Runners up were Paragon for Sainsbury’s Grow Your Own in second place; Latcham’s for Forestry England National Campaign in third place; and Paragon for RMT Members in fourth place.
“We were genuinely thrilled with the huge interest this year’s Awards attracted, seeing entries from key players across all sectors of the mail and print industries nationwide,” says Swanston. “The 2023 entrants demonstrated real results from astoundingly innovative work – clearly evidencing how printers, mailing houses, agencies, and printer managers can originate award-winning campaigns as well as deliver them.”
Swanston added that the SMP has also been incredibly proud to see the calibre of young ‘Bright Futures’ entrants as well as the work presented by the applicants of the Sustainability Award, demonstrating the efforts the wider industry is taking to reduce impact on the environment.
If you have any news, please email carys@linkpublishing.co.uk or join in with the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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