Ahead of the 2016 ESA Excellence Awards ceremony, taking place on Thursday 9th February in London, we’re asking each of our chair of judges to give some insight into their judging categories and highlight any trends or themes that are starting to appear.
Here we’re speaking to Claire Ritchie, CEO of Sine Qua Non, who gives us an insight into the CSR Partnership category.
Of the four categories I chaired I felt that CSR was very hotly contested, with a particularly high standard of innovative entries which made judging a winner all the more challenging.
We noticed that many commercial brands found the perfect charitable property, which matched their values and aspirations, and they executed well against it across the marketing mix to give great results. What we also saw were causes creating their own campaigns and driving their own agendas in a hard-hitting and very effective way.
In one example, by taking their brand to an appropriate media outlet and creating an all-encompassing, 360° partnership, it not only resonated with the target audience but also amplified their key messages beyond anything they could achieve standalone whilst, at the same time, preserving the charity’s budget for its critical work.
It begs the question: is the time now right to perhaps have Media Partnerships as a separate category in 2017? Watch this space…
The 2016 ESA Excellence Awards take place at Porchester Hall in London on the evening of Thursday 9th February 2017.
For further information, and to purchase tickets for the event, please click here.