Why awards still matter in the B2B space in 2026
Opinion
The Festival of Media CEO makes the case for taking professionally run award programmes seriously.
When you run and own a company whose primary business is awards, then you’re going to have a natural affinity to the sector. But before you stop reading, bear with me as this piece is designed to challenge, reaffirm, or simply provide some key insight into why awards matter in the B2B space in 2026.
It is worth noting the media industry – unlike many other sectors when it comes to awards – takes legitimate programmes seriously and understands the value they can bring to a business.
My recent forays into creating award programmes for the esports and women’s football sectors have only reaffirmed this. Both of these sectors were shocked when we implemented our judging process and discovered there were real jurors going through real information and awarding real winners based on the standard of the work/entries they had submitted, rather than on how many tables, or how much sponsorship they had paid to be part of the programme.
The jurors soon realised they were effectively setting the benchmarks for their sector and could decide the winners based on the work with no outside interference or pressure.
One of the biggest problems is that there are many award programmes that are just looking for a quick financial win, with no real attempt at longevity or a proper judging process, which questions their legitimacy across various verticals and taints the legitimate players in the awards business.
One of the most common comments I hear when I explain what our business does to people outside of the industry – including friends in different sectors – is that the trophies are only handed to those companies who have spent the most on sponsorship, or bought the most seats to the ceremony.
It’s a constant battle and one that always rankles me. Thankfully, despite some snobbery and cynicism, usually from companies that never enter, or just like to permanently sneer, on the whole, the media industry embraces the role of awards and the impact it can have on their business.
Long gone are the days when it was simply about beating your rival agency or client to the trophy – although there is still a little bit of competition left, thank goodness – but now the role of awards has many important facets for any business that enters.
Before we look at the reasons for entering, it’s important to ensure a potential entrant chooses the right awards programme to submit to.
Does it have a thorough judging process? By which I mean that jurors associated with an entering company are not allowed to adjudicate or discuss their entries, and that results are always recorded and transparent upon request.
Are most of the jurors clients of that industry, or the people you need to get your business in front of and work with?
You should also review the categories and decide whether they provide the right platform to showcase your company’s work and are worth entering. Once you have sorted this, then it’s time to consider these other key reasons:
New business
There is an opportunity to drive new business and showcase effective and creative solutions. You don’t have to win a trophy or even be shortlisted to have your work and business showcased to clients. The entering company can use its submissions as valuable case-study content.
In today’s climate, from holdcos and indies to media owners and adtech companies, they are constantly looking for new business and entering awards is a very cost effective way – much cheaper than a successful paid for social media campaign for example – to reach an engaged audience who look after media budgets and most importantly are looking for new ideas and inspirations for their own campaigns.
Retaining and attracting new talent
Whenever anyone is looking to buy a new product or service, or to watch a movie or box set, they tend to look at its rating or the accolades it has won. The same can be said about employees choosing organisations to work for.
If your company has been winning awards, it will attract talent to join an organisation deemed the best in class, or one that delivers fantastic work deemed good enough to be showcased to clients.
Equally, if your employees see their work being recognised by clients and peers, it provides another reason for them to stay and be part of the success.
Generating greater productivity and increasing the internal company culture
From childhood to adulthood, most people enjoy being praised or recognised for their work. So if a colleague or boss deems work worthy of an entry into an awards programme adjudicated by senior clients and peers, the curator feels good, and this positive feeling quickly spreads throughout the business, improving productivity and helping to drive positive company culture.
Setting benchmarks
Work shortlisted from the first round of judging sets industry benchmarks for what good and potentially great work looks like and helps clients and agencies aspire to these levels going forward.
What company doesn’t want to be seen as setting a benchmark for its sector?
Driving greater client spend
There is no doubt that a winning client is a happy client.
More often than not, after an award win, the client is given a bigger budget and remit for the next iteration of its campaigns, which then flows into the agencies’ P&Ls, which makes great business sense.
Amplifying business around the world
Just entering a revered awards programme, never mind being shortlisted or winning a trophy, allows your business to build a narrative around the strategies, insights and results it is delivering to clients.
It is a great opportunity to develop content and amplify what your business is doing in the industry, and it can serve as a strong calling card for current and prospective clients.
As media businesses seek that competitive edge, awards certainly offer an opportunity to gain it cost-effectively.
Jeremy King is the CEO of Festival of Media and co-founder of the Festival of Women’s Football Awards.