Smyle has won Experience Agency of the Year at The Drum Awards for Experience this week – capping off a year of accolades that has seen the creative agency bring home top honours at three major industry awards.
Alongside the prestigious Drum award announced in a virtual ceremony on Wednesday (December 2), Smyle has also been named Event Agency of the Year at the EVCOM (Event and Visual Communication Association) corporate awards last month and again Agency of the Year at the C&IT (Conference & Incentive Travel) awards. And as if to demonstrate the agency’s gift for innovation, Smyle also took home a Drum award for B2B Experience of the Year for its immersive virtual experience Samsung Life Unstoppable.
Recognising Smyle’s ambitious pivot into virtual experiences earlier this year, as well as its longstanding reputation for innovation, sustainability and investment in its people, all three agency awards highlighted the company’s successful efforts to survive and thrive through a global pandemic.
In a show of solidarity and in acknowledgment of the difficult year that the events industry is enduring, Smyle has dedicated these awards to the wider network of agencies, suppliers and freelancers who are continuing to work hard to keep the industry moving forward.
Dominic Thomas-Smith, Managing Director at Smyle, says: “We are super proud of the amazing brands we work with and of our whole team at Smyle who have helped us innovate throughout this challenging year.
“Picking up three agency of the year titles this year is no small feat, but in these hard times its hard to celebrate when there are so many talented individuals and agencies out there who are struggling financially due to the Covid-19 crisis. We would have loved for this year to be a year where all agencies are thriving, which is why we would like to dedicate these awards to the One Industry One Voice initiative to inspire everyone to work together on the road to recovery.”
One Industry One Voice is a coalition of events industry associations and businesses coming together to champion events professionals, inspire confidence, and kickstart recovery after a year that has almost decimated the wider industry. In support of the initiative, the #wecreateexperiences campaign, founded by Smyle Group Executive Director Rick Stainton, is launching a B2B drive from Monday, December 7 to build awareness around the sector’s important contribution to the economy.
Smyle’s ambition has always been to fuse creativity and technical innovation together in order to take events beyond the expected – and 2020 has been the year to put this determination to the test. Not only has the company pivoted into virtual and hybrid events, but is has also worked hard to maintain a strong company culture and impactful experiences for its clients through a year of change.
The Drum Awards for Experience 2020 recognised this balance, awarding Smyle the agency title for showing “strong growth while pivoting very effectively and strategically” and for having an “innovative approach to solving problems that Covid-19 presented”. The judges also called the Samsung Life Unstoppable event a “super impressive, high tech and immersive experience”
For more information on Smyle and some of the agency’s creative innovations for 2020 please visit www.smyle.co.uk.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
