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 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.
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:
- Alcohol Beverage
- Non-Alcoholic Beverage
- Food
- Entertainment and Sport
- Household Product and Services
- Healthcare, Beauty and Fashion
- Retail & E-Commerce
- Travel, Leisure and Tourism
In the ‘Experiential’ category, there are 4 subcategories:
- Best brand experience at or near point of purchase
- Best brand experience in non-retail public space, event or festival
- Best creative and innovative experience
- Best sampling activation
In the ‘Retail/Shopper’ category, there are 2 subcategories:
- Best creative shopper activation
- Best shopper promotion in, on or with pack
In the ‘Incentive, Prize & Loyalty’ category, there are 3 subcategories:
- Best incentive and/or prize promotion
- Best loyalty campaign
- Best management of incentive, prize and/or loyalty promotions
In the ‘Promotional Marketing Services’ category, there are 2 subcategories:
- Best promotional marketing management/service
- Best staffing and event support
In the ‘Brand Partnership’ category, there are 2 subcategories:
- Best Brand Partnership (Duel or Multi-brand)
- Best Sponsorship Promotion/Activation
In the ‘Techniques & Objectives’ category, there are 10 subcategories:
- Best use of technology, Ai and/or digital channels
- Best use of data and insights
- Best use of social media and/or influencers
- Best Business-to-Business Campaign
- Best environmental/positive impact campaign
- Best trial and/or acquisition campaign
- Best new product launch
- Best integrated campaign
- Best small-budget campaign
- 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:
- David Pearson – Spark, CEO
- Clare James – N2O, CCO
- Steven Gray – The IPM, Chairmen
- Joe Ward – Altavia UK, Management Director
- Catherine Shuttleworth – Savvy Marketing, Owner
- Marc Rigby – MRM, Managing Director
- Jess Hargreaves Paczek – Pretty Green, CEO
- Robert White – ZEAL Creative, Founder & Joint-CEO
The Judges are as follows:
- Paul Beynon – Altavia UK, Executive Creative Director
- Jason Waghorn – VCG Promo Risk, Director
- Kate Stevens – Live Experiences, Director
- Louise Ramplin – Spark, Marketing Manager
- James Maycock – Wowme Design, Managing Director
- Marco Ribolla – Sky, Senior Commercial Manager & Content Partnerships
- Charlie Hartley – Heineken UK, Head of Activation - Pubs, Stadia & Hospitality
- Beccy Purvis – Mando, Business Development Director
- Andrew Rae – Another Way Prize Management, Founder
- Andy De Vito – ABM Experience Solutions (AX), Creative Solutions Director
- Helen Kirkman – Creatisan, Head of Growth & Strategy
- Julie Selby – Selby Marketing Services, Company Director
- Emma Coleman – Cloud Nine Incentives, Director of Events
- Lucy Harkness – Once Upon A Time Marketing, Managing Partner
- Jen Dixon – Together Agency & MMR Research, Director of Growth & Marketing Operations
- Alison Sciortino – Once Upon A Time Marketing, Group Account Director
- James Cahill – Momentum Worldwide, Creative Director
- Chris Pearson – Element London, Client Services Director
- Emma Thompson – Golley Slater, Head of Agency & Consumer Brands
- Taj Sur – Surtaj, Director
- Cat Micunovic – N2O, COO
- Stewart Hilton – ZEAL Creative, Founder & CEO
- Stevie Craig – Kehemi, Founder
- Max Dobson – Quantum, Marketing Manager
- Jo Schofield – Cat Among The Pigeons, Client Director
- Sophie Chambers – Cloud Nine Incentives, Director
- Omid Moallemi – Prsnt, Founder
- Bolu Akindoyin – MIAI+, COO & Co-Founder
- Sally-Anne Cuthbertson – VCG Promo Risk, Business Development Director
- Kelly Hinds – Neocurrency, Head of UK & Europe
- Steve Chambers – CScreens, CCO
- Amy Ritchie – Twelve, Client Services Director
- Adam Shoemark – Pretty Green, Client Services Director
- Amy Hawksley-Blackburn – Savi UK, Head of UK Sales
- Charlotte Ayres – Creatisan, Founder
- Matt Ramsay – Activation, Managing Director
- Alessandro Camaioni – Momentum Worldwide, Head of Commerce Strategy - Europe
- Hema Kukadia – Mando-Connect, Partnerships Account Director
- Mark Lewis – Mando, Director of Risk
- Bradley Harvey – POD Staffing, Account Director
- Stephen Simpson – In The Moment, Founder & Managing Director
- James Elsworth – Hashting UK, General Manager UK & EIRE
- Katie Copping – ZAPPIT, Sales Director
- Natalie Haskell – CoppaFeel!, CEO
- Michael McDonnell – ZEAL Creative, Head of Partnerships
- Simon Renwick – Cat Among The Pigeons, Senior Consultant
- Vera Barovska – Ovation Incentives, Director
- James Mellor – Digital Rewards Group, Business Director
- Georgia Pounsford – TRO, Senior Strategist
- Katy Brown – Haygarth, Associate Planning Director
- Nigel Clifton – N2O, Head of Creative
- Chris Booker – TRO, Creative Lead
- Justine Clement – The Happy Prize Company, Managing Director
- Sara Callanan – Elevator Promotional Marketing, Managing Director
- Nancy Cullen – Space & People, CEO
- Ryan Coomer – TLC Worldwide, Agency & Strategy Director
- Mike Bates – Juice, Creative Director
- Mays Elansari – Wasabi, Marketing Director
- Max Goodliffe – Altavia, Client Service Director
- Jacob Dunn – Netflix, Global Commercial Partnerships Manager at Roald Dahl
- Rob Scott – TLC Worldwide, Group Creative Director
- 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 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.
Promotional marketing, powered by technology.
PromoNow is a platform empowering brand owners & agencies with rapid, flexible and seamless digital solutions for any type of promotion.
Speak to one of our experts at no cost. Consider using the PromoNow platform. Speak with a platform consultant at +44 (0)20 380 555 38 or email hello@promo-now.com to learn more.
