The EVCOM London Film Awards are officially open for entry! And to help you as you go through the entry process, we’ve created this short guide with everything you need to know, from keys dates and prices to FAQs. The key details are as follows:
What are the dates I need to have in my diary?
How much is it to enter?
The entry costs for the EVCOM London Live and Film Awards are below. We know that entering awards can be an expensive business, so we have included a special price point for freelancers to enter their work and an early bird rate. Early bird rates are available until midnight, 6th June, so make the most of them! And remember, you can make changes to your entry up until the entry deadline. So even if you haven’t quite finished answering the entry questions, you can still submit by the 6th June to get the early bird discount and then continue working on your entry!
Our ‘Rising Star Agency’ and ‘Agency of the Year’ categories are both FREE to enter. And we have also introduced a new free-to-enter category: ‘Best Agency Culture’. All projects are automatically entered into the Grand Prix prize for free, which is awarded to the most impressive project across the board.
Plus, the ‘Best Use of a Smaller Budget’ category can be entered at a discounted rate to accommodate the entry of companies working with smaller budgets.
Freelancer: £125 (+VAT)
Member: £199 (+VAT)
Non-Member: £275 (+VAT)
Early bird freelancer: £100 (+VAT)
Early bird member: £175 (+VAT)
Early bird non-member: £250 (+VAT)
What does the entry process involve?
With each entry you can submit up to five films or supporting materials. We will then ask you to answer the following questions. Each answer can be a maximum of 200 words. We advise you to put time into answering these questions, as a significant part of the judges scoring allocation is weighted across these questions.
The following questions are part of the entry form for all of our categories, with the exceptions of ‘Best Agency Culture of the Year’, ‘Rising Star Agency’ and ‘Agency of the Year’. Please see below to find out what questions you will be asked to answer when entering those categories.
Let’s start at the very beginning.
What was the objective of the project, and why has it been made? What was the brief, how did you approach it and what did you do to meet it?
Help us to get into the details.
We are interested in the specifics for the project. We want to know more about the various elements of the project and how you and your team drew them together. We are interested in the size and scope and complexity of the project, and your teams experience of working on it. We’d also love to hear about anything that you think will help us to understand the context, setting, environment (positive and negative) for the project and deliverables.
Let’s talk about creativity and innovation.
This is the creativity question and we’d love to hear how you tackled the brief with creative ways of thinking and working to the fore. What was the creative thread running through the project? Was there anything new, different or innovative about the way you designed or delivered this project? And if not, what makes this project special? And looking at the wider context of the project, did you come up against challenges that you had to find creative solutions for?
How it made a difference.
We want to understand more about why your work matters in the space it is seeking to make a difference. We are interested to know more about the legacy of your project. What impact did the project have on its audience and its field? If you have ROI, ROO and other meaningful statistics, we’d like to see them here, however we understand it is not always possible to provide meaningful statistics for these things, and that projects are often submitted before that information is available. If that’s the case, we’d love to hear about the intended impact of the project.
Please ensure that you DO NOT mention your name/ the name of your agency when answering these questions. We also ask that any supporting materials are not branded. This is to ensure anonymity in the judging process.
Best Agency Culture of the Year
With each entry you can submit up to five supporting attachments. We will then ask you to answer the following questions. Each answer can be a maximum of 200 words. We advise you to put time into answering these questions, as a significant part of the judges scoring allocation is weighted across these questions. Please note, this category is free to enter.
The story.
Tell us about your agency culture. What makes it special?
Support.
What initiatives have you put in place to support your staff and/or clients? This is the place to tell us about your DEI, mental health, wellbeing and next gen policies.
For a better industry.
What initiatives have you put in place to work for a better industry? This is the place to tell us about your sustainability policies, and how you work with, and influence positively, the wider industry and your clients.
The journey.
How have you built and shaped your agency culture? How do you ensure it has meet, and continues to meet, the needs of your team and agency?
The impact.
What is the impact of the culture you have built on the individuals in your agency, and the agency as a whole? If you can share staff retention rates and some staff and/or client feedback here, we’d love to see it!
Agency of the Year/ Rising Star Agency of the Year
The following questions are part of the entry form to enter ‘Rising Star Agency’ and ‘Agency of the Year’. Please note, these categories are free to enter. With each entry you can submit up to five supporting attachments. We will then ask you to answer the following questions. Each answer can be a maximum of 200 words. We advise you to put time into answering these questions, as a significant part of the judges scoring allocation is weighted across these questions.
USP and unique agency character
What makes your agency utterly unique? We want to hear about your unique brand and brand purpose. What are the words that your clients, suppliers, friends and even family would use to describe your agency? And why would winning Agency of the Year matter to you – it matters to us!
The story of your year
Start by telling us the story of your year to date and why, you think, this year is a winning year. Why, in your own opinion, was this a stand-out year for your agency. We want to hear more about the story of your agency, its people, its clients and all specific challenges and opportunities well-met. Don’t hold back. If there are stand-out moments from your year – a milestone celebration – please share these here too.
Growing your agency
Did you grow this year or did you invest, in a meaningful way, in future growth? We want to hear about your investment – time and effort as well as just cash – in team, talent, technology and more. We’d like an indication of how your fee-based income and profitability has grown in-year.
Developing your team and talent
How did your team perform this year? We want to hear all about your talent attraction and retention. How do you reach out to the very best talent in the industry and show them that life at your agency is simply the best? Are there particular members of your team that deserve special recognition here? Don’t forget the junior people in the agency. We are looking for examples of great leadership at whatever level.
Working for a better industry
What steps have you taken to be more sustainable, to champion diversity and inclusion and to ensure the wellbeing of the people you work with?
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t know which category to enter!
If in doubt, send us an email and we’ll happily chat it through with you. But a good rule of thumb is to enter the category that you want to win – the most. And if in doubt, enter multiple categories. Winning projects rarely stand-out in only one category so consider multiple entries. Contact amelia.brown@evcom.org.uk with any questions you might have.
My client is awards-shy; what should I do?
Some clients are a little awards-shy and sometimes for good reason. Clients who need to be anonymous, can be. If you don’t want our judges to see who the client is, please leave the ‘client’ field blank on your entry form. If it’s important for our judges (who ensure everything is kept confidential) to know who the client is, write the client’s name in the specified filed but write ‘Anonymous’ after it so we know to remove it from any shortlisting comms and trophies!
I want to enter some films that are part of a series. Can I submit the whole series as a single entry?
Yes, depending on the length of the series. We can accept a series of up to five short films in one entry. We recommend choosing the strongest films from the series if it is longer than this, as the series of films will be given an overall mark by our judges.
The project I want to enter was published/ delivered in summer last year. Is it still eligible?
Projects, initiatives and events published/ delivered after the 1st May 2024 up until the 28th June 2024, are eligible for entry. Anything within that year span is eligible for entry.
I’m not an EVCOM member – can I enter?
Yes! Entrants do not need to be members of EVCOM to enter the awards; however member entrants receive a significant discount on their entries. Find out more about EVCOM Membership here.
Where can I see examples of previous award-winning work?
We have a dedicated area on our video hub where you can find award-winning work from previous years. Take a look here.
If you have any more questions that aren’t covered here, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via amelia.brown@evcom.org.uk. We look forward to seeing your entries in the coming weeks. Best of luck!