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The Stationers’ Company has announced that the Innovation Excellence Awards will go ahead this year, following a pause in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Although businesses continue to face significant challenges, due to Brexit and the demands of the Covid environment, innovation is flourishing and needs to be encouraged and recognised. The company believes this is the right time to bring back the awards and to give public attention to the amazing achievements of the content and communications industries it represents.
Jill Jones, chair of the awards, said: ‘Necessity is the mother of invention, and new and exciting developments are already emerging from areas as diverse as online education and disposable paper products. We want to celebrate achievements within the content and communications industries, particularly in these challenging times. 2019 saw a wealth of innovations in service and customer experience, and for the first time, entries focused on the Internet of Things. We look forward to hearing more about innovations that improve experiences for customers and communities in 2021 and seeing the emergence of new trends.’
Entries for the 2021 Innovation Excellence Awards are encouraged from across the spectrum of businesses that make up the communications and content industries including global, SME and non profit businesses. Start ups are welcomed with a new award this year. A company can put in entries in more than one category.
In total there are seven awards:
Business process
Communications and marketing
Customer experience
Product design
Product performance
Service design
Start ups.
An overall ‘Innovator of the Year’ will be chosen from the winners of each category. The most recent recipient of this overall award was Heidelberg UK for their groundbreaking IOT development in 2019.
Heidelberg UK managing director Ryan Miles said, ‘One of my first duties on arrival in the UK was to accept the Innovator of the Year Award for Heidelberg Assistant, an application which enables printers to easily and safely access a wide range of key performance data and support information and services. We are corporate members of the Stationers’ Company, but the Innovation Awards are open to anyone in the content and communication business and are a great way of gaining recognition.
‘For us it was a well earned accolade for our research and development people and a valuable marketing tool as well. Within 12 months over 100 customers subscribed to, and continue to use, Heidelberg Assistant. This exceeded our original expectations, and we look forward to continued take up. Innovation is key to keeping ahead of the pack and helping customers remain productive and profitable.’
Applications should focus on novel products, services or business processes that have a positive financial and/or social impact on customers and on the environment.
Picon, the trade body representing suppliers of print and papermaking equipment, is the first sponsor for the 2021 Innovation Excellence Awards.
CEO Bettine Pellant said, ‘Many of our members have entered these awards in past years and we have seen no let up in breakthrough technologies. As drupa and many other exhibitions did not happen last year, the Innovation Excellence Awards provide a really valuable platform for companies to shout about the latest products and applications.’
This year’s awards will be announced at a special virtual awards ceremony on 22 June 2021, details of which will be circulated at a later date along with the judging panel and sponsor details.
The awards are a terrific opportunity to publicise your company’s creativity and remain free to enter. The closing date is 14 April 2021 (7pm). For more information and an application form, see https://www.stationers.org/siea-entry. Or, if you have questions sales@stationers.org
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