Award-Winning IPM Activations at 2026 IPM Awards

Contents

What are the IPM Awards?

What are the categories for the IPM Awards 2026?

Who are the judges for the IPM Awards 2026?

Who is on the IPM Awards shortlist?

Who are the 2026 IPM Award winners?

What are the IPM Awards?

The IMP awards are an UK awards ceremony that has been hosted for over 5 decades focused on the amazing work in the promotional industry. IPM awards feature several categories including product sectors, activation-types, prizing, and many other promotional elements. PromoNow is proud to have helped many of these award winning agencies and brands with expert promo tech digital.

This year, the IPM 2026 Award Winners will be announced at NOBU Hotel Portman Square, London on Friday 18th September 2026.

This year, the awards are being sponsered by savi, Prsnt, Cloud Nine Incentives, NeoCurrency and Live Agency.

What are the categories for the IPM Awards 2026?

There are 8 categories with awards for each sub-category available.

In the ‘Sectors’ category, there are 8 subcategories:

1. Alcohol Beverage
2. Non-Alcoholic Beverage
3. Food
4. Entertainment and Sport
5. Household Product and Services
6. Healthcare, Beauty and Fashion
7. Retail & E-Commerce
8. Travel, Leisure and Tourism

In the ‘Experiential’ category, there are 4 subcategories:

1. Best brand experience at or near point of purchase
2. Best brand experience in non-retail public space, event or festival 
3. Best creative and innovative experience
4. Best sampling activation

In the ‘Retail/Shopper’ category, there are 2 subcategories:

1. Best creative shopper activation
2. Best shopper promotion in, on or with pack

In the ‘Incentive, Prize & Loyalty’ category, there are 3 subcategories:

1. Best incentive and/or prize promotion
2. Best loyalty campaign
3. Best management of incentive, prize and/or loyalty promotions

In the ‘Promotional Marketing Services’ category, there are 2 subcategories:

1. Best promotional marketing management/service
2. Best staffing and event support

In the ‘Brand Partnership’ category, there are 2 subcategories:

1. Best Brand Partnership (Duel or Multi-brand)
2. Best Sponsorship Promotion/Activation

In the ‘Techniques & Objectives’ category, there are 10 subcategories:

1. Best use of technology, Ai and/or digital channels
2. Best use of data and insights
3. Best use of social media and/or influencers
4. Best Business-to-Business Campaign
5. Best environmental/positive impact campaign
6. Best trial and/or acquisition campaign
7. Best new product launch
8. Best integrated campaign
9. Best small-budget campaign
10. Best Campaign Delivered by a Small Business

There are also two ‘Special Awards’ to be won:

• The ‘Grand Prix’ 
• The ‘Agency of the Year’

Who are the judges for the IPM Awards 2026?

There’s a long list of judges, composed of individuals who are experts in the promotional industry. The judging panel is composed of 8 Chairs, and 62 Judges.

The Chairs are as follows:

1. David Pearson – Spark, CEO
2. Clare James – N2O, CCO
3. Steven Gray – The IPM, Chairmen
4. Joe Ward – Altavia UK, Management Director
5. Catherine Shuttleworth – Savvy Marketing, Owner
6. Marc Rigby – MRM, Managing Director
7. Jess Hargreaves Paczek – Pretty Green, CEO
8. Robert White – ZEAL Creative, Founder & Joint-CEO

The Judges are as follows:

1. Paul Beynon – Altavia UK, Executive Creative Director
2. Jason Waghorn – VCG Promo Risk, Director
3. Kate Stevens – Live Experiences, Director
4. Louise Ramplin – Spark, Marketing Manager
5. James Maycock – Wowme Design, Managing Director
6. Marco Ribolla – Sky, Senior Commercial Manager & Content Partnerships
7. Charlie Hartley – Heineken UK, Head of Activation - Pubs, Stadia & Hospitality
8. Beccy Purvis – Mando, Business Development Director
9. Andrew Rae – Another Way Prize Management, Founder
10. Andy De Vito – ABM Experience Solutions (AX), Creative Solutions Director
11. Helen Kirkham – Creatisan, Head of Growth & Strategy
12. Julie Selby – Selby Marketing Services, Company Director
13. Emma Coleman – Cloud Nine Incentives, Director of Events
14. Lucy Harkness – Once Upon A Time Marketing, Managing Partner
15. Jen Dixon – Together Agency & MMR Research, Director of Growth & Marketing Operations
16. Alison Sciortino – Once Upon A Time Marketing, Group Account Director
17. James Cahill – Momentum Worldwide, Creative Director
18. Chris Pearson – Element London, Client Services Director
19. Emma Thompson – Golley Slater, Head of Agency & Consumer Brands
20. Taj Sur – Surtaj, Director
21. Cat Micunovic – N2O, COO
22. Stewart Hilton – ZEAL Creative, Founder & CEO
23. Stevie Craig – Kehemi, Founder
24. Max Dobson – Quantum, Marketing Manager
25. Jo Schofield – Cat Among The Pigeons, Client Director
26. Sophie Chambers – Cloud Nine Incentives, Director
27. Omid Moallemi – Prsnt, Founder
28. Bolu Akindoyin – MIAI+, COO & Co-Founder
29. Sally-Anne Cuthbertson – VCG Promo Risk, Business Development Director
30. Kelly Hinds – Neocurrency, Head of UK & Europe
31. Steve Chambers – CScreens, CCO
32. Amy Ritchie – Twelve, Client Services Director
33. Adam Shoemark – Pretty Green, Client Services Director
34. Amy Hawksley-Blackburn – Savi UK, Head of UK Sales
35. Charlotte Ayres – Creatisan, Founder
36. Matt Ramsay – Activation, Managing Director
37. Alessandro Camaioni – Momentum Worldwide, Head of Commerce Strategy - Europe
38. Hema Kukadia – Mando-Connect, Partnerships Account Director
39. Mark Lewis – Mando, Director of Risk
40. Bradley Harvey – POD Staffing, Account Director
41. Stephen Simpson – In The Moment, Founder & Managing Director
42. James Elsworth – Hashting UK, General Manager UK & EIRE
43. Katie Copping – ZAPPIT, Sales Director
44. Natalie Haskell – CoppaFeel!, CEO
45. Michael McDonnell – ZEAL Creative, Head of Partnerships
46. Simon Renwick – Cat Among The Pigeons, Senior Consultant
47. Vera Barovska – Ovation Incentives, Director
48. James Mellor – Digital Rewards Group, Business Director
49. Georgia Pounsford – TRO, Senior Strategist
50. Katy Brown – Haygarth, Associate Planning Director
51. Nigel Clifton – N2O, Head of Creative
52. Chris Booker – TRO, Creative Lead
53. Justine Clement – The Happy Prize Company, Managing Director
54. Sara Callanan – Elevator Promotional Marketing, Managing Director
55. Nancy Cullen – Space & People, CEO
56. Ryan Coomer – TLC Worldwide, Agency & Strategy Director
57. Mike Bates – Juice, Creative Director
58. Mays Elansari – Wasabi, Marketing Director
59. Max Goodliffe – Altavia, Client Service Director
60. Jacob Dunn – Netflix, Global Commercial Partnerships Manager at Roald Dahl
61. Rob Scott – TLC Worldwide, Group Creative Director
62. Neil Mandel – Epic Activation, Founder

What is the 2026 IPM Awards judging criteria?

The IPM panel will judge the submitted promotions on 4 core-concepts and based more generally on how compelling a promotion’s story is that connects all the core-criterions:

Strategy & Insights

For this, brands will be judged based on:

• How the promotional strategy was shaped by the research and insight
• Did it align with the audience, brand, and market conditions
• How the budget influenced the approach

The Concept

Judges will be looking for:

• Innovative and fresh concepts that stand out
• Usage of promotional mechanics such as incentives, digital codes, or gamification in order to encourage audience engagement

Execution & Delivery

This criteria is all about how your campaign was brought to life:

• How well was the campaign executed?
• Did the execution communicate the brand identity and engage audiences?

Result & Effectiveness

Lastly, the final criteria is the results:

• Did the campaign deliver?
• Success should be shown through clear metrics, including participation rates and return on investment
• It’s important to show the impact the campaign left in relation to your investment

Who is on the IPM Awards shortlist?

After a two-stage judging process, the official shortlist has finally been revealed. In total, there were 60 campaigns from 31 different agencies. Let' go through each of the agencies and their shortlisted campaigns:

Activation
Wall’s – Sing it to Win it
Yeo Valley – Purest Protein For Miles

Altavia UK
KitKat x Formula 1: The Break Zone Pit Stop

Blackdog Creative Marketing
DO THE VOLT!

Brand Culture & Miai
Pringles x Xbox: Unlock In-Game Rewards with Every Can, Positioning Pringles as the Perfect Gaming Partner

Bray Leino
Perfection in Every Dropkick

Cat Among The Pigeons
Birds Eye Win Trips With Chips
Wasabi Lucky Dinners

Cloud Nine Incentives
ASICS – World Championships in Japan 2025
Channel 5 – NFL Big Game Night
Win an Escape to Corona Island

Digital Rewards Group Ltd
GoHenry & Kids Pass Campaign

Epic Activation
Promotix Lite – From Innovation to Industry Adoption

Experience Staff
The Lego Botanicals Bloom Bar x Hatter

Gekko
Google’s Nano Banana Experience

GottaBe! Marketing
‍GottaBe!’ Fulfilment Project – Western Union

Hashting UK Ltd
‍Plenish – Give it a shot

Haygarth Group
Jammie Dodgers x Nerf Super Soaker
Trudi’s Launch Activation – Coop Norway

In The Moment
Bish! Bash! Bentos!

Live & Breathe x PrettyGreen
Hey, U Up ?

Mesh Marketing
Heineken – 459eken

Miai Brand Partnerships
Do What You Love

N2O
Chupa Chups x Stranger Things at Thorpe Park
Dr Pepper Dr Lurve N2O Fanta Haunted Factory
P&O Cruises Retail Pop-Up N2O Superdrug at BST Festival
Tesco 30th Anniversary x BGT
Tesco Christmas Festival
Tesco Goodwoof

PrettyGreen
Benson for Beds The Sleep Forecast
Daddy Pig Runs London Marathon For George
Lebara Smarter Cuts
Tesco Club Card

Prsnt
Montezuma’s x Prsnt GOGO: Sampling Reinvented

RPM
Guinness Home Turf Trophy Tour

savi
Sky VIP Tasty Treats

Savvy Marketing
‍19 Crimes x Universal Classic Monsters Campaign
Bloo Duo Cubes Sampling Campaign
Carex x Merlin Family Days Out

The Roald Dahl Story Company
Roald Dahl, Premier Foods & 20ten ‘Win Fantastical Prizes’

TLC Worldwide
Doritos Loaded Week
Three + £1 Coffee Network
Vaillant & Glow-worm myREWARDS

Together Agency
Tate & Lyle Sugars, Trusted by the Best

TWELVE
Prepare, Protect, Recover with Bulldog

VCCP & Bulletproof
Chill to Reveal

Zappit
‍Thatchers Juicy Apple Cider launch – on-and-off-trade
Vita Coco x Strava – Crack The Winter Blues 5k

ZEAL
-196 On Tour
Aero – Lost Bubbles
Bombay Sapphire x National Trust
Buxton – Sip, Step & Go
KitKat – A New Way to Break
KitKat – The World of Breaks
Lucozade Sport – Ice Kick
Nuii – Choose Your Next Adventure
Quality Street – Spark More Special
Ribena Winter Wonderland

Who are the 2026 IPM Award winners?

As of now, the 2026 IPM Award winners and no date for the awards has been announced. We’ll be keeping track of the latest updates so keep an eye out on this space or on our LinkedIn to be notified for any news on the 2026 IPM awards and winners. 

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