Contents. Your Steps to Entry FAQs The COGS Awards 2018: Terms and Conditions Need a Hand? Key Dates

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2 2 Contents Key Dates Welcome Entry Fees The COGS Awards Categories How to Enter Judging Judge s Tips What Makes a Winning Entry? Your Steps to Entry FAQs The COGS Awards 2018: Terms and Conditions Need a Hand? Key Dates COGS Awards Masterclass Closing Date for Entries Judging Panels Shortlist Announced COGS Awards Presentation 14 th May th July 2018 August 2018 August th September 2018

3 3 Welcome Welcome to The IPM COGS Awards 2018 The IPM developed the COGS Awards to reward and recognise the incredible contribution the service agencies, handling, risk, print, staffing sectors make in delivering world class campaigns, homegrown in the UK. Now in our 8 th year, The IPM COGS represent a standard in the industry of award winning work. The IPM COGS Awards are simple to enter and are open to any promotional marketing campaign that has run in the UK, or has been created and executed by an agency or service agency based in the UK. All you need to do is find your category most suited to your core discipline or fitting the campaign service you provided and complete the details online. Below you will find the details of your categories for The IPM COGS Awards 2018 with full COGS category descriptions, judging criteria and weighting. Please read the category descriptions carefully and if you have any questions about your eligibility to enter, please talk to the Awards team. Good luck! The IPM Awards Team Call us today on awards@theipm.org.uk Entry Fees The COGS Awards are open to IPM Members and Non-Members. Our entry fees are split into four pricing bands for IPM Members. If you are not a Member of the IPM and would like to be considered for Membership, please contact us to discuss the benefits of Membership. Deadline for all entries: 19 th July 2018 at 23:59 IPM Member Entry Fees 1-2 Entries 190 +VAT 3-5 Entries 5% Discount 6-9 Entries 10% Discount 10+ Entries 15% Discount IPM Non-Member Entry Fees 250 +VAT

4 4 The COGS Awards Categories All campaigns worldwide are eligible regardless of whether they happened in the UK or Cross Border internationally, however the company responsible for running the campaign must be UK based Detailed descriptions of each of the categories can be found below. Please read the descriptions carefully before making your entry. All campaigns must be compliant with the CAP Code. Each campaign will be vetted by the IPM s Legal and Compliance Team and the ASA. How to Enter Entering is simple: find your category most suited to your core discipline or fitting the campaign service you provided. Enter your details online. Complete all stages, all fields are mandatory and must be completed before you move on. Categories Special Awards Coupons Print Management Risk Management Digital Promotional Merchandise Experiential and Event Handling and Fulfilment Staffing Direct Marketing Loyalty Prize Incentive and Reward Innovation Multi Territory The IPM COGS Service Agency of the Year The IPM COGS Breakthrough Company of the Year Grand Prix Judging Criteria All campaigns are to be judged against the following criteria unless specific criteria are provided in the relevant category description. 30% Execution 20% Adding value and driving innovation 30% Meeting the client s expectations and targets 20% Addressing category challenges

5 5 Coupons The IPM COGS Coupons Award will be awarded to the campaign that demonstrates the best work by a provider of either physical or on-line coupons. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims behind the campaign including ease of use for consumers, an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter). Execution of the campaign will show the judges efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Print Management The IPM COGS Award for Print Management will be awarded to the campaign that demonstrates the best management of work by a supplier covering printing services of all types and sizes, and includes print sourcing and buying. Areas covered by entrants may include printing on paper, card, printed substrates, the use of specialist inks (thermochromic for example), security printing including the use of specialist techniques to create materials for a campaign e.g. latex overprints, promotional packaging. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims surrounding the campaign and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter), executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Risk Management The IPM COGS Award for Risk Management recognises outstanding work by a risk management provider related to a campaign. Businesses that qualify will be providing services for a campaign based on providing either fixed fee services (typically where they assume all the risks in the management of a promotion), promotional risk management or promotional risk insurance services. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Digital The IPM COGS Award for Digital recognises outstanding work by a provider of specialist digital services for promotional campaigns. This includes provision of online or mobile services; for example, website, mobile website or app build and development, search engine optimization, pay-per-click, online and mobile games, video and rich media, social media based activity, ad servers, viral marketing seeding and management, text-to-win, SMS and MMS messaging, augmented reality, NFC and GPD related systems. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign.

6 6 Promotional Merchandise This award recognises outstanding work by a provider of promotional merchandise for any campaign whether in pack, on-pack, free mail in, gift with purchase, direct mail, experiential event, giveaway, sampling campaign or self-liquidating promotion for a business to business or consumer based. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Experiential and Event The IPM COGS Award for Experiential and Event recognises outstanding work by a provider of services to support an event or experiential campaign whether it is a public event, in-store, popup, shopping centre or away from point of purchase. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Handling and Fulfilment The IPM COGS Award for Handling and Fulfilment recognises outstanding work by a provider of handling and fulfillment services for a campaign. For example, picking, packing and distribution of rewards, handling promotion responses via phone, digital, social media or online, etc. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Staffing The IPM COGS Award for Staffing recognises outstanding work by a provider of temporary staff for a promotional campaign. For example, recruiting, managing and training temporary staff for experiential campaigns, compliance audits, mystery shopping, etc. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Direct Marketing The IPM COGS Award for Direct Marketing recognises outstanding work by providers of services for the following types of campaign direct marketing services, such as mailing houses, outbound and inbound telemarketing, door-to-door delivery, etc and may also provide other services, such as handling and fulfilment and customer relationship management (CRM). The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign.

7 7 Loyalty The IPM COGS Award for Loyalty recognises outstanding work by providers of services, to support long term consumer or business to business loyalty campaigns. The services can be of any format, digital, physical, creative services, handling and fulfillment, provision of prizes or merchandise. The campaign may be long term or newly established but must have been in operation for significant amount of time (more than 4 weeks) during the year 2017 and must clearly have been aimed at driving loyalty amongst its target audience. The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and had an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Prize, Incentive and Reward The IPM COGS Award for Prize, Incentive & Reward recognises outstanding work by a company which sources products and experiences for use as premiums, prizes, or incentives in consumer promotions, or as rewards in staff and employee motivation programmes. These include physical items, holidays, event/concert tickets, and activities such as hot air ballooning. Companies eligible to enter this category may offer a range of services, including consultancy (helping craft premiums or rewards to meet business objectives) or prize and rewards management (not just sourcing, but taking responsibility for handling the winners/recipients all through the process). The winner in this category will have demonstrated an understanding of the commercial aims and had an excellent working relationship with their client (whether this is an agency or a promoter) and executed the campaign with efficiency and cost effectiveness, hitting and exceeding the targets and service levels set for the campaign. Innovation The IPM COGS Award for Innovation recognises innovation by a service agency in their input into a campaign to either an agency or directly to a promoter. The innovation can be of any nature; new techniques, digital, technological, promotional premium, on pack, print, sampling experiential. Entrants must be able to demonstrate why their work is innovative and why it was effective in the context of the campaign. Multi Territory 60% 20% 20% Innovation Meeting the client s expectations and targets Execution The IPM COGS Award for Multi Territory recognises the work of agencies that have executed or provided services to a campaign that ran across 2 or more markets. It will be awarded to the company who demonstrates to the judges most effectively that they successfully ran a complex campaign overcoming the specific difficulties associated with running campaigns that have to overcome barriers such as multiple languages, differing rules and regulations. The campaign must be run by a UK based company but does not have to have run in the UK as one of the markets involved.

8 8 The IPM COGS Service Agency of the Year This award is open to all entrants and will be made to the company, who in the opinion of the panel Chairmen, have done most to deliver against their client s objectives, working in partnership and adding value. It will be awarded on the basis of breadth of effective work across the year while demonstrating a consistent level of service and exceeding expectations. It will also consider the contribution that the company has made to the industry and the ongoing development of their staff. For entry, please read and answer the questions carefully. Please note that the entry for Company of the Year is a separate tab within the Entry instructions. Complimentary to enter for all entrants providing entry into 1 other category. 30% 30% 20% 20% Meeting the client s expectations and targets Adding value and driving innovation Commercial Results Industry contribution and people development The IPM COGS Breakthrough Company of the Year This award is open to any company less than 3 years old who is a service agency to the promotions industry. It will be awarded to the company who in the opinion of the panel Chairmen, has made the biggest impact within the industry and has built a positive reputation in a short period of time. This might be through exceptional delivery of services, or through innovative techniques that have had a profound effective on the efficiencies within a particular category. Grand Prix 40% 30% 30% Commercial Results Adding value and driving innovation Meeting the client s expectations and targets This award is chosen by panel Chairmen from the Gold winners of each category. The panel will make this award to the campaign that did most to drive innovation and impact in its category and the industry in general.

9 9 Judging First stage judging: Each category will be initially judged online by a panel of senior personnel selected from the promotions industry. To win an award each entry will be required reach a mark of 60%. Second stage judging: The best campaigns from the first round of judging will be classed as Nominations and will progress to the second stage of judging, where the judges for each category will meet face to face, guided by a panel chair to assess each nomination. Each category will have a Gold Award allocated and Silver and Bronze awards will be made at the panel s discretion based on the judging criteria outlined in this brochure and on the website. Special Awards: The Grand Prix and both Company of the Year awards are decided by the Panel Chairs. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for full details of the criteria of these awards. Note: Judges will not take part in voting for campaigns where they have a vested interest. Judges Tips Assume none of the judges are experts in your field Explain everything make no assumptions Give a clear indication as to why this campaign was so good use context Leave nothing to interpretation Don t be a slave to the word count if you can say it in less words do so Proofread your entry like it s a pitch this is your chance to show your best work! What Makes a Winning COGS Entry? It s the question everyone wants to know. So here are a few things to consider when you sit down to write your entry that will make it stand out. Look at the criteria: pay attention to the focus on objectives and results. Be specific if you can and if you can t, because of confidentiality, try and give the judges a really good understanding, not only of how good the results were but also why they were so good. Don t make assumptions about how much the judges know! They are all senior and experienced people, but they may not specialise in the area of your campaign. Avoid jargon and explain to them in plain English why your campaign is so good. Look out for judges top tips online at theipm.org.uk where judges share their views and stories about the do s and don ts of brilliant award entry writing. Our industry deserves the creativity and skill lavished on your entries to shine through so make sure you proofread your submission before you press send. Nothing like a misplaced comma to change the tone!

10 10 Your Steps to Entry

11 11 Your Steps to Entry

12 12 Your Steps to Entry

13 13 Your Steps to Entry

14 14 FAQs We've prepared some answers to questions you may have about entering the IPM COGS. These are the questions we are asked most frequently. If you can't find the answer to what you were looking for, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our helpful Awards team or visit the IPM website. 1. Can only Members of the IPM enter the COGS Awards? You don't have to be an IPM Member to enter. However, IPM Members receive a Member discount with their entries. There is a set fee for entry for non-members. Please see the section relating to entry fees for more information. If you would like to talk to us about Membership, please get in touch to discuss the advantages of IPM Membership. 2. Who can enter the COGS Awards? The IPM COGS Awards are open to any UK-based company which provides services that support the delivery of promotional marketing campaigns. Agencies are not eligible to enter. 3. What Industry Sector categories can we enter? Companies are only eligible to enter a particular industry category if they provide relevant services themselves in-house. They must also be able to demonstrate a reasonable level of expertise in a particular category to be eligible to enter it. Companies which buy in services in a particular industry category are not eligible to enter that category. 4. How much does it cost to enter the IPM COGS Awards if you are Member? 1-2 Entries 190 +VAT 3-5 Entries 5% Discount per entry 7-9 Entries 10% Discount 171 per entry 10+ Entries 15% Discount per entry Non-Members Entries: Each entry will be charged at VAT 5. When do entries need to be received by? The entry deadline is on 19 th July All entries must be fully submitted and complete to be eligible for judging. 6. How can we enter? All entries must be made via the online entry submission ( No paper entries will be considered. Please register (free of charge) to complete your entries. To register, you will need to provide your full name, and create a password. Non-Members must register to enter the Awards.

15 15 FAQs 7. What approvals, if any, are required? At the time and date of entry the entrant agrees that the information provided is truthful, accurate and adheres to the CAP Code. It is the responsibility of the entrant to have the written permission of all third parties involved in the project and the brand owner, prior to submitting the entry. Failure to do so will lead to disqualification. Please note that the IPM Legal Team vets all entries after submission. 8. What is the COGS Awards confidentiality policy? All judges are required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before they have sight of any entries. All information contained in the entries remains confidential up to the point the winning entry is added to the IPM website and thereby available for download. The entry may also be used in future marketing of the IPM Awards. If an entry is shortlisted, the entrant will be given the option to provide an amended version that does not contain confidential client information in the event the entry is published online once the Awards ceremony has concluded. 9. Is there an advised format/structure for the written entry to adhere to? Yes. Each IPM COGS category criteria clearly states the headings relating to the information the judges want to see. If information is not provided in relation to one of these headings then the entry will score zero points for that area which will make it difficult for the entry to reach the minimum standard required for being shortlisted. All entries are to be submitted using our online entry form. You will be asked to upload relevant images and a company information where appropriate. 10. Is feedback given on entries? No. The judges decision is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into, or feedback given, regarding the selection of the shortlist, awards, or winners. 11. What happens when an entry is shortlisted? The contact, as listed on the entry form, will receive an when the IPM COGS Awards 2018 Shortlist is announced in August 2018, the exact date will be published after the entry deadline. 12. How are the results of the IPM COGS publicised? At a minimum, each shortlisted company is tweeted about (using the Twitter name provided on the entry form). This is repeated on the day of the Awards ceremony as each winner is announced. Hashtags will be adopted. The winners will feature on the IPM website and in IPM media activity.

16 16 IPM Awards 2018: Terms & Conditions 1. THE COGS 2018 are open to any activity by a service agency in support of a promotional campaign that has run in or outside of the UK that has been created and executed by an agency or service provider based in the UK, during the period January 1 st th April Campaigns that started in 2016 are eligible as long as the activity continued into 2017/18. Campaigns which have not concluded at the time of entry are also eligible, but entrants should ensure they have enough robust results to support the entry. 2. Campaigns that have been entered in a previous year s COGS Awards and won an award are prohibited from entry into THE COGS An exception will be made where significant changes have been made to a previously successful campaign or where the campaign is the continuation of a loyalty programme. The Head of Awards will decide what constitutes a significant change in their sole discretion. 3. IPM Membership is not a requirement of entry, although members receive significant reductions in entry fees. 4. Campaigns can be entered by brand owners, agencies, consultants or service agencies, provided that all necessary permissions have been obtained. 5. The closing date for entries is 23.59pm 19 th July 2018 no entries will be accepted after this date. If fewer than 100 entries are received by the closing date, the IPM reserves the right to extend this deadline for entries. 6. All entries will be charged at the rates published on the IPM COGS website including appropriate discounts. 7. All entries must be paid for by close of business on 19 th August Unpaid entries will be disqualified. 8. All campaigns entered must be legal and comply with relevant laws, the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Direct and Promotional Marketing (The CAP Code), and the IPM s Experiential Marketing Code. 9. All entries will remain the property of the Institute of Promotional Marketing, Holborn Hall, High Holborn, London, WC1V 7BD, and we may wish to use information in them in PR activity, case studies or educational content without payment to entrants. Please make sure information that is for the judges eyes only is clearly marked as such in your submissions. 10. Panel Judging There will be no less than 4 panels of judges comprising a chair and a minimum of three additional members. Each panel is allocated a number of categories to judge. Panel members are all senior members of promotional agencies and service agencies; chairmen of the panels are senior industry members. They receive electronic copies of the entry and submission forms. The judges will study and mark these entries and place them in an order of preference following the guidelines given to them and the criteria published in the COGS Handbook The judging criteria and weightings given to these criteria will vary according to each category and this is published on the COGS 2018 website for guidance. The panels then meet to discuss the nominations in each category and select the award winner(s). In each category, a Gold award will be selected. Silver and Bronze awards will be selected at the discretion of the panel. To achieve an award, an entry must have achieved a mark of 60% or more at the online stage. The panel on judging day may elect not to award a Silver or Bronze (even if there are entries who received 60% or more at the online stage). In certain circumstances, the panel may award two Golds only, two Golds and a Bronze or a Gold and two Silvers. In very exceptional circumstances, the panel may choose to not select any awards in a category in this instance, the category will be cancelled (note: the IPM will inform the entrants to that category but will not provide a refund for the entry). All departures from the standard Gold, Silver and Bronze awards must be discussed and agreed with the Head of Awards (whose decision is final). In each category, provided there are six or more entries, a minimum of six entries will be selected to go through to the panel judging sessions based on the combined scores given by the judges during the online marking. These entries will be identified as the nominations and they will be published in a shortlist. 11. Moderation and Vetting All the judging is moderated to ensure fairness and equality between panels. All possible steps are taken to avoid judges in panels where they have a vested interest. However where a vested interest is unavoidable a judge will not mark, score or comment on that entry during the process and the entry will not be penalised as a result. The Head of Awards attends all panel sessions and reviews the results before panels depart. All nominations are vetted for compliance with THE COGS 2018 Terms and Conditions as well as for CAP Code and legal compliance. Entries may be downgraded or disqualified at this stage. 12. The Judges decision is final (subject to any departures agreed with the Head of Awards) and no correspondence will be entered into. 13. Final Judging Panel The Grand Prix, Service Agency of the Year and Breakthrough Company of the Year. A final panel made up of the Panel Chairmen will select: Grand Prix: This will be selected from the Gold winners in each category and will be based on the criteria outlined in the Handbook. Service Agency of the Year: It will be assessed on the criteria outlined in the Handbook. It is free to enter provided the entrant has already made an entry into one of the COGS categories. Breakthrough Company of the Year: This is for any service agency that has been in existence less than 3 years (successor companies of previous agencies do not count) and will be judged based on the criteria outlined in the Handbook. It is not necessary to have entered into another campaign, however this will be a paid for entry in line with the pricing outlined in the Handbook.

17 Need a Hand? We re here to help and support you with your entries. Our team is on hand all the way through to make sure your entry reaches us safely! Get in touch with the Awards Team today with any questions you may have. Contact us on: Awards@theipm.org.uk Follow us on #IPMCOGS