Restoring the world-famous Press Awards to the heart of their industry
Challenge
The Press Awards and Regional Press Awards are the pinnacle of British journalism, spanning more than six decades of history and boasting a winners’ list that reads like a roll call of the industry’s golden age. But when Wonderly began working with the News Media Association, owner of the awards, to produce the 2023 awards programmes and events, they had not been held in person since 2019 and significant work was required to re-establish the awards’ prestige and re-engage the national and regional newspaper industries, which supply the majority of entrants.
Solution
Wonderly is part of Haymarket Media Group, a major employer of journalists which enjoys close links with the national press, while our lengthy track record operating awards programmes and large scale events for the marketing and advertising industries means we understand how to engage creative businesses. This experience was put to use immediately. The first step was to reach out to the press, holding a lunch event for managing editors and other key individuals on national newspapers to understand what they need in an awards event, and conducting focus groups with regional newspaper editors. This led to a revamp of categories to be more relevant for the digital reality of newsrooms, and an increased focus on up-and-coming journalists, which was allied to a concerted marketing campaign which emphasised the heritage and prestige of the awards, as well as the career-defining nature of winning one. Wonderly’s experience of event procurement and operations meant we were able to minimise costs for the events themselves, which were held on the same day at the same venue, with a tight turnaround time to ensure guests had a memorable experience at both events.
Solution
Wonderly is part of Haymarket Media Group, a major employer of journalists which enjoys close links with the national press, while our lengthy track record operating awards programmes and large scale events for the marketing and advertising industries means we understand how to engage creative businesses. This experience was put to use immediately. The first step was to reach out to the press, holding a lunch event for managing editors and other key individuals on national newspapers to understand what they need in an awards event, and conducting focus groups with regional newspaper editors. This led to a revamp of categories to be more relevant for the digital reality of newsrooms, and an increased focus on up-and-coming journalists, which was allied to a concerted marketing campaign which emphasised the heritage and prestige of the awards, as well as the career-defining nature of winning one. Wonderly’s experience of event procurement and operations meant we were able to minimise costs for the events themselves, which were held on the same day at the same venue, with a tight turnaround time to ensure guests had a memorable experience at both events.
Results
Entries and table sales for both the national and regional awards surpassed our ambitious targets. The national awards alone attracted more than 630 entries and almost 400 attendees to a celebratory evening event hosted by TV presenter and journalist Kate Garraway. The success of these relaunched events, which includes hitting budgetary targets, has now led to a strategy to grow both awards programmes even further, and to continue to reflect the changing nature of the industry through close engagement with journalists and editors.
