a4uAwards Photos
a4uAwards photos from last night!
A huge congratulations to all the winners, we really enjoyed ourselves!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/existemevents
Check those DJ’s, Dresses, Cufflinks and Shoes, its Awards Night!
The team here in Bristol are just about to set off to London to prepare for tonight’s prestigious black tie a4uAwards. With nearly 400 of the top figures within the Affiliate Marketing industry in attendance and tickets selling out six weeks prior to the event we are all getting very excited!
For those attending tonight don’t be late or you’ll miss the Champagne Reception at 7pm (please remember to enter through the ballroom entrance) The evening will close at 1am.
Tonight will very much be about celebrating how far we have all come, and rewarding those individuals and companies who have shown excellence within our industry, and we’re very thrilled that so many of you will be part of that tonight.
Look out for our a4uAwards booklet in today’s NMA for more more in-depth information about the awards.
It’s time to double check those DJs and dresses, cufflinks and shoes and prepare to be dazzled!
We’ll see you all there!
A4uAwards now Sold Out - Waitlist Open
Even after increasing capacity, the a4uAwards are now Sold Out!
June 5th will see the UK’s leading affiliate marketers in the space coming together to celebrate the innovation and excellence within the flourishing channel.
As this is our first black tie awards ceremony we have been really pleased with the support from the community and the quality of the entries received– it really does show how Affiliate Marketing is now a central channel of the online marketing mix - we raised a few eyebrows when we announced the format of the awards, but deep down we knew the time was right to shout out how great we all are!
If you’ve not already booked a table or place then we are opening a waitlist. Contact Claire Hoyland at Existem, and if any places or tables become available we will let you know.
We look forward to seeing you in early June!
LinkShare Supports Retail
We are pleased to announce that LinkShare are supporting the upcoming a4uAwards by sponsoring the retail vertical award.
LinkShare whose UK clients include House of Fraser, Lego, Figleaves, Goldsmiths and more recently British Airways will be taking a table of 10 to the awards ceremony on 5th June 2008.
The Retail category proved to be one of the most contested categories and the judges have a difficult decision ahead rattling the entries down to a shortlist of just five in the coming days.
Don’t forget to play your part with the final round of voting for the Publisher’s and Community Choice awards - vote now before it’s too late.
a4uAwards - 2008 Community Choice Shortlist
The first round of results are in for the highly anticipated Affiliate Marketing Awards taking place on the 5th June 2008 at the Sheraton Park Lane, London.
We have compiled the nominations from affiliates4u members and would like to congratulate the following publishers, bloggers, account managers, affiliate networks, and agencies for getting through to the shortlist for the final round of voting for our Publisher and Community Choice awards.
Affiliate Manager of 2008
• Chris Bishop (Hotel Chocolat now House of Fraser)
• Chris Clarkson (Sunshine.co.uk)
• Daniel Morley (Alpha Rooms)
• Graham Keen (Buy a Gift)
• Jasper Van Der Bliek (Jackpot Joy)
• Zak Edwards (Prezzy Box)
Affiliate Marketing Agency of 2008
• Equator
• Existem AM
• Media Vest
• Quantum BLM
• R.O.EYE
Affiliate Marketing Blog of 2008
• Jason Dale (www.onelittleduck.co.uk)
• Kieron Donoghue (www.here.org.uk)
• Kirsty McCubbin (www.affiliatestuff.co.uk)
• Lee McCoy (www.leemccoy.co.uk)
• Paul Wheatley (www.mooseontheloose.co.uk)
Publisher’s Account Manager of 2008
• Jonathan Erwin (OMG)
• Julie Wood (AW)
• Kier Marston (Webgains)
• Thuy Pham (AW)
• Vicky Long (OMG)
Publisher (affiliate) of 2008
• ClickAngel
• Net Media Planet
• Quidco
• Spear
• UK Web Media
• eConversions
Publisher’s Choice Of Network 2008
• Affiliate Future
• Affiliate Window
• Buy.at
• OMG
• Paid On Results
• Webgains
Members of affiliates4u can now cast their vote in the final round by visiting www.affiliates4u.com/awards - Voting closes at 3.00pm on Wednesday 28th May, and the winners will be announced on the evening of the Awards.
We are busy compiling together our judged awards for which we had well over 100 entries.
The judges will be considering these over the coming weeks and a shortlist will be announced a week before the event. For more information on attending this prestigious networking event, please visit www.a4uawards.com or give Claire Hoyland a call on 0117 972 3269 as places are now very limited and are expected to sell out shortly.
Paddy Power supports the Casino and Gaming Affiliate Marketing Award
We are pleased to announce that Paddy Power is supporting the Casino & Gaming vertical award in the upcoming a4uAwards on the 5th June 2008.
The team at Paddy Power will be joining more than 300 of the UK’s top affiliate marketers on the 5th June in London. An evening which promises to not only entertain but to provide exceptional networking opportunities.
Nominations and entries for the awards closed last week, however it’s not too late to book your place as we have added a few additional tables on the balcony overlooking the stage.
Contact us now to book one for your team or company before they get snapped up!
2008 a4uAwards Nominations up 150% on last year
It was a busy 24 hours before the 1st May deadline for nominations and entries for the a4uAwards.
We received around 150% more nominations for the awards this year from members at affiliates4u.com which is fantastic! – a personal thanks to everyone who took the time to vote.
We will be auditing the nominations today and early next Tuesday (don’t forget Monday is a bank holiday here in the UK)
The top five nominations will be announced on Wednesday 7th May on this blog. At which time we will open the final round of multiple choice voting. The winners will be announced at the glittering award ceremony on the 5th June - We have a few places / tables remaining if you would like to attend but be quick.
Once again thank you for your nominations and support.
Deadline for Voting & Award Submissions Extended until 1st May
To help those procrastinators out there we have extended the deadline for both the 1st round of voting for the publishers and community choice awards and the judged award submissions, until midday on Thursday 1st May 2008.
To remind you here is what you need to do to vote / enter:
1. Members of affiliates4u.com can vote here to nominate their winners for the publishers and community choice awards. Your signup demographic will show the awards you can vote for.
2. Members of affiliates4u.com can nominate individuals or companies for the ‘Affiliates4u Award for Excellence‘ another community choice award that does however require a testimonial type submission by a third party, an endorsement if you wish.
3. The judged awards, i.e Best Use of Creative, Best Network Innovation, Best Merchant Innovation etc require a one page summary stating why you feel you should win (templates are available for guidance)
What happens after 1st May?
We will total up the nominations for the publishers and community choice awards and release the top 5 for each category. Members of affiliates4u.com will then be able to make a final multiple choice preference for their winner. An overall winner and highly commended will then be announced on the 5th June.
The judged awards will be collated, uploaded online for the panel to digest and an overall winner and highly commended will be annonced on the 5th June.
The very best of luck to everyone who has chosen to enter. If you’ve not done so already you still have plenty of time to get recognised for your achievements.
Banners and buttons are available on the a4uAwards website to help spread the word about the awards to the wider community and to encourage your clients to vote for you.
Good Luck!
Matthew
How to Enter & Vote in the a4uAwards on 5th June 2008
There are just 85 days to go until we kick off the a4uAwards with a Champagne reception - time will fly, so this rather long blog will explain how you or your company can enter the awards free of charge- try to keep with it!
There are in total 16 categories up for grabs, each will attract an overall winner, and a runner up.
All publishers choice and community choice awards will be open for voting on Monday 17th March 2008.
All other awards are already Open for Submissions
Publisher’s and Community Choice Awards
The highly coveted publisher’s and community choice awards are back, and we have a selection up for grabs to be won by the most deserving companies and individuals as seen by affiliates (for the publisher choice) and other members of the Affiliate Marketing community (for the community choice awards)
Publisher’s Choice of Network 2008
This is a whopper! publishers / affiliates who are members of affiliates4u will vote for their choice of affiliate network. The first stage will be a free field vote. The top 5 will go through to a final round of multiple choice voting. The results of which will be announced on June 5th.
Publisher’s Choice of Account Manager
Publishers / affiliates who are members of affiliates4u will vote for their choice of account manager at an agency or network. To be clear, an account manager is defined as someone working on multiple campaigns at a network or agency. The first stage will involve a free field vote, with a final round of multiple choice voting.
Affiliate Manager of 2008
Publishers / affiliates who are members of affiliates4u will vote for their choice of affiliate manager at an individual merchant. The top 5 will go through to a final round of multiple choice voting.
Community Choice Awards
All members of affiliates4u.com will be given the opportunity to nominate for these awards. This includes networks, agencies and merchants.
Affiliate Marketing Blog of 2008
A popular award in 2007 and with the increase in blogs this year we expect this one to be hotly contended. The first stage will once again involve a free field vote. The top 5 will go through to a final round of multiple choice voting.
Agency of the Year *agencies are not permitted to nominate within this catagory
Aembers of affiliates4u are given the opporunity to nominate who they feel deserves the title of “Agency of the Year” 2008. The top 5 will go through to a final round of multiple choice voting.
Publisher of the Year *affiliates/publishers are not permitted to nominate within this catagory
Another popular award in 2007. You are invited to nominate who you feel deserves this prestigious title in 2008. The top 5 will go through to a final round of multiple choice voting before the winner is announced at the a4uAwards ceremony.
Affiliates4u Award for Excellence
To win this award you need to be nominated by the Affiliate Marketing community. To nominate an individual, team or company for this special award please use the submission form and provide a testimonial stating precise reasons why you feel they should pick up the award on June 5th.
You cannot enter this award personally; someone must nominate and provide a testimonial on your behalf.
The number and quality of the nominations will be taken very strongly into consideration by the panel. The winner will be announced on 5th June at the awards ceremony.
Community choice awards will be open for nomination on Monday 17th March.
Other Affiliate Marketing Award Categories
These awards require more complex submissions and therefore are judged by a varied panel of Affiliate Marketing figureheads.
Best use of Creative
Show the industry how creative you can be within Affiliate Marketing. Demonstrate to the judges the use of creative within Affiliate Marketing with the mix of technology, flair and design to increase conversion and ROI for the publisher.
Who can enter: All parties
Best Network Innovation
Judges are looking for a single innovation that has made an outstanding contribution to the publisher whether in terms of workload, revenue opportunities or new opportunities.
Who can enter: Affiliate Networks
Best Merchant Innovation
This category celebrates merchant innovation within Affiliate Marketing. Whether based on technology or another medium, the innovation would have made a real difference to clients within the Affiliate Marketing sector.
Who can enter: Merchants (or an agency / network on their behalf)
Agency of the Year
This award will go to an Agency that has demonstrated a real understanding and commitment to the Affiliate Marketing channel.
Who can enter: Agencies
Publisher / Affiliate of The Year
Judges are looking for a publisher who has performed outstandingly, with a commitment to the channel, whose innovation has shone through.
Who can enter: Publishers / Affiliates
Best Use of Affiliate Marketing As Part of an Integrated Campaign
Judges are looking for evidence of competent integration of Affiliate Marketing within the wider marketing mix.
Who can enter: All Parties
All non publisher / community choice awards are now open for submissions.
Vertical Affiliate Marketing Awards
Vertical awards have been designed to reward innovators and those that excel within their vertical. Awards exist for - Travel, Finance, Retail, Gaming and Technology & Telecoms.
The vertical awards can be entered by two different demographics; the strongest entries will be rewarded.
Who can enter: Publishers / Merchants / Agencies (see below for detailed information)
Publishers
Enter this award if you feel you have had great success within a vertical, perhaps worked with a merchant or agency to provide an exceptional end result, used new technology and innovative ideas to create a value add website or service, or have created something outstanding.
Merchants & Agencies
Do you have an affiliate programme that leads your vertical? Has your partnership with all parties flourished to provide great communication, transparency and revenue driving, innovative tools for affiliates? Let us know via your entry for your chance to scoop an award.
All vertical awards are now open for submissions.
Hopefully this blog has made you more aware of which awards you can enter and how you can play a vital role in who wins.
A number of web badges and media will be available soon to drum up support for your entry campaign.
Good luck with your entries!
Launching the a4uAwards blog
We are pleased to announce the launch of the a4uAwards blog.
Subscribe to our RSS feed now so you don’t miss any important updates on the upcoming awards which take place on Thursday 5th June 2008.
We’ll be posting in the next couple of days a full time-line including submission deadlines for each award and how publishers / community choice voting will work.
Those active within the affiliate marketing sector here in the UK have a crucial role in the awards to ensure the right individuals and companies get rewarded for their affiliate marketing activity.
This includes the ‘affiliates4u excellence award’ where we are asking the community to nominate individuals or companies, and a further 4 publisher and community choice awards.
Keep your eyes peeled!
Matthew.
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