About the awards

Great, innovative planning lies at the heart of the most successful TV advertising campaigns. The Thinkbox TV Planning Awards celebrate the most effective TV planning, from spots and sponsorship to the latest emerging interactive and on-demand TV opportunities, and recognise the brilliant thinking behind them.

Record viewing to commercial TV is delivering prices from the mid-‘80s in real terms, contributing to TV’s increasing effectiveness.   TV continues to deliver for advertisers and has been proved to be the most significant driver of revenues across a wide range of products. So why on earth wouldn’t you want to get the most out of TV while delivering fantastic business results to your clients?  There’s nothing cooler than delivering exceptional payback on your clients’ advertising investment.

These awards are about recognising and celebrating brilliant and effective uses of TV, whether within a multi-media advertising campaign or on its own.  And not only broadcast TV; we are also interested to see how TV is innovating, with new technologies like web TV, IPTV, interactive TV, mobile TV together with the use of live ads and events as well as recognising TV designed to drive short-term responses.

Entrants for these awards can come from media, integrated, full service, online and creative agencies or related organisations who can demonstrate the skill of TV planning.

These awards are free to enter.

Award categories

There are a total of six categories you can enter.

1. Best Use of TV in an integrated campaign
   This entry features the use of broadcast TV alongside any number of other media, including non-broadcast TV.
2. Best ongoing use of TV
   TV keeps delivering value years after campaigns have aired so consistent TV advertising can produce exponential returns. Entrants need to tell us how they have used TV over three or more years for their advertiser, and how the activity has evolved to produce the best results. Entries must feature broadcast TV in every calendar year over the period featured (including the most recent calendar year, Jan – Dec 2009* )
3. Best newcomer to TV
   This entry is for new brands or brands which have not used broadcast TV since January 2004 until doing so in 2009.
4. Best use of sponsorship or content
   Sponsorship, branded content, advertorials, AFP, promotions, prizes, televised branded events, PR - there is now a wealth of rewarding ways to integrate your brand into the fabric of TV programming. Entrants must tell us how it worked for them.
5. Best use of TV innovation
   From new technology to live ads & events, innovative thinking in media planning and the clever use of technology is liberating TV and adding new dimensions every year. Entrants must explain how they used TV innovation for a brand to good effect.
6. Best use of TV for response
   TV builds brands but TV can also be used to very powerful effect for short-term and tactical objectives. Entrants must specify the nature of the desired response and how successful the campaign was in delivering it.

The Judges will also be awarding The Grand Prix from the winners of the six entry categories.

(* - please contact Jamie Maskall if clarification is required)

Prizes

Each winning entry will receive vouchers from an electrical retailer, enabling the prize to be divided amongst everyone who deserves a share. All six category winners will then be eligible for the Grand Prix, the prize for which is a 52" HD Ready Plasma Digital TV, for use at their agency.

In addition to these great prizes, and having a coveted Thinkbox TV Planning Award on your mantelpiece, your work will appear in a special awards supplement, distributed with both Campaign and Mediaweek.co.uk.

Key dates

• Friday, 9 April 2010: closing date for submissions
• Tuesday, 11 May 2009: Judging day

What to do next?

Well, the first thing to do is to pre-register your interest in entering the awards; it’s quick and easy to do. This will enable us to keep you updated with further announcements as we head towards the winning line and remind you of easy-to-forget things like submission deadlines.

Secondly you should have a good look at the critical elements your submission will need to include and the entry deliverables. You can read all this essential stuff here.

Also, we’ve also put together some handy hints on writing a successful paper.

The ever-necessary small print is available for scrutiny here.

Finally, you may wish to have a look at last years’ winners, or find out what struck the judges from amongst the 2009 papers and perhaps have a look at some pictures from the award’s ceremony to spot who partook of a sweet sherry or two.

Further queries

If you have any further questions, please give Jamie Maskall a call on 020 7630 2329 or drop him an email at jamie.maskall@thinkbox.tv.