The winners of the national IoIC awards are…

On Friday night I joined 350 professional communicators for the annual national awards from the Institute of Internal Communication.

Set in the stunning Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane, London (aka posh!), it was wonderful to recognise practitioners’ hard work.

It was an honour to be asked to judge again this year and my goodness me it was a tough one. The level was high and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the entries and working alongside my fellow judges to reward the best of the best.

Well done if you won or received an Award of Excellence on Friday, you should feel justifiably proud. Congratulations to Awards and Events Director Justine Stevenson and the whole IoIC team for yet another cracking night.

I had a sore throat when I woke up on Saturday after speaking to so many comms pros and hearing their news. Thank you if you stopped me to say hello, I put so many faces to Twitter handles on the night, you truly can’t beat face-to-face comms!

If you have a story to share about your IoIC award and fancy writing a guest post, you’d be welcome to. Please see my guidelines and do get in touch if you would like to tell other practitioners what made your work award-winning and what we can learn from your success.

Over 44 class winners were handed out, with the Gold Award winners the pinnacle of the evening. These three top trophies went to the Royal Mail/AB (Print), Nissan/Beem (Digital) and NHS Merseyside/Kenyons (Campaign).

Justine Stevenson said: “It is a privilege to see such a volume of great work and I am continually impressed at the standards that colleagues are achieving.”

You can see the whole list and check out the Book of the Night online.


Here’s the full list of The IoIC Awards 2017 winners:

Campaigns

Best single campaign 
Green Rooms Redesign Launch for Macmillan Cancer Support by Aine Murphy, Claire Westall and the wider Strategic Communications team
Best ongoing campaign 
University Awards for University of Warwick
Best change communication 
The BIG Conversation for Nationwide Building Society
Best crisis campaign 
Pass it on for Williams & Glyn, Royal Bank of Scotland by Internal Comms Team
Best storytelling 
My Story for Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
Best integrated campaign 
A Race along the Rainbow-brick road for JLL UK by JLL UK’s Marketing & Communications team

Operational Campaigns

Best operational campaign
#JabDone for NHS Merseyside by Kenyons.


Best Use of Print

Feature-led magazine up to four issues a year 
Team Talk for Antalis by Sequel Group
Feature-led magazine more than four issues a year 
Highlights for KPMG by AB
News magazine up to four issues a year 
MUSnews for Morrison Utility Services by Morrison Utility Services Communications Team
News magazine more than four issues a year 
Fusion – keeping the frontline in the picture for Hitachi by AB
Newspaper/newsletter 
Courier – Keeping the nation’s posties informed and engaged for Royal Mail by AB (pictured above)
Publication for members
Heart Matters for British Heart Foundation by Wardour
Publication for stakeholders/volunteers etc 
Gridline for National Grid by Made By Sonder
Relaunched publication 
Field Sales Guide for Nestle by Jaxzyn
New publication 
Highway for Highways England by beetroot
One-off publication/special edition
Links commemorative book for BG Group by AB.

Best Use of Digital Channels

Intranet

Ariel – an internal news portal for the people, by the people for BBC (pictured above)
Microsite
Heart Matters for British Heart Foundation by Wardour
Ezine
KFI for Kerry Foods by Sequel Group
Newsletter/bulletin 
Talk2 for Carestream by GVMC Limited
Mobile/app 
My Comms app for Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank by Internal Communications and Engagement
Video
HSBC: Fighting Financial Crime for HSBC by HSBC / MerchantCantos
New channel 
Nissan Insider: Creating a Dialogue with the Hard to Reach for Nissan by Nissan with Beem
Best use of internal social media (ESN, Yammer, Chatter etc)

Putting listening into action with Facebook for London Ambulance Service.

Best Use of Design and Imagery

Magazine (news or feature led) 
Team Talk for Antalis by Sequel Group
Newspaper/newsletter/ezine 
The Point for EDF Energy by EDF Energy and 44 Communications
Redesign/rebrand 
Orientation Program for Bluecare by Jaxzyn
Best photographic image 
Outside In – My Paralympic journey for RBS by beetroot
Illustration/graphic/infographic/conceptual image 
Enter the dragons for British Parking Association by CPL.

Best Use of Writing

Best news/BAU writing 
Portfolio of news and BAU writing for NatWest Markets by NatWest Markets Business Communication
Best one-off feature 
Jay Marie Bailey, Transgender Lead for Carillion plc (Services) by 44 Communications
Best writing for stakeholders/membership audience 
Gridline for National Grid by Made By Sonder
Best writing to support change 
On the Menu for Greencore Group by Words&Pictures.

Innovation

Game changer 
Ariel – a new way to engage our people for BBC
Innovative use of media 
McDonald’s – Bringing good times to crew for McDonald’s by blue goose
Success on a shoestring 
Communicating the Biggest Learning and Development Change in Alshaya’s History for Alshaya
The one that got away
2017 Play With Care Illustration for Mattel by Jaxzyn.

Best Event

Best event for an internal audience
Our BIG Event for Nationwide Building Society
Best event for a member/stakeholder audience
Spit Happens for Loughborough University by Loughborough University.

Team Awards


Best corporate in-house team 
Imperial Brands’ IC Team – small but perfectly formed (pictured above)
Best not for profit team 
National Trust Internal Communications
Best public sector team 
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Internal Communications Team
Best agency 
44 Communications.
Further reading: You can see the whole list and check out the Book of the Night online.
See the IoIC website to request high-res versions of the photos. You can follow conversations online #ioicawards17.


Are your internal comms the best in Europe?

If you’re still on cloud nine after your IoIC success, why not battle it out against European communicators?

The European Association for Internal Communication (FEIEA) is calling for entries for its 2017 awards.

See their website for all you need to know.  Their Grand Prix Awards deadline is 22 October 2017.

Post author: Rachel Miller

First published on the All Things IC blog 2 October 2017.

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Use my discount codes to save your comms budget: enter ATIC at the checkout to save 10% off PRWeek’s Strategic Internal Communications conference on 21 November. You need to use the same code ATIC to save a third off simply-communicate’s SMILE conference.

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