How To Enter
Step 1: Submission Instructions
Download the detailed, printable
Submission Instructions, which fully explain the following requirements and the entire submission process.
Step 2: Form/Fee
Fill out the
online entry form and remit payment via credit card.
Step 3: Summary
Provide project information via a written summary in Word format and submit via
Dropbox.com. (See Submission Instructions for details.)
Step 4: Art/Visuals
Use
Dropbox to submit overall and detail images of the project in two different formats. While highly recommended, videos are not required for eligibility. (See Submission Instructions for details.)
Questions?
Contact Linda Armstrong,
larmstrong@exhibitorgroup.com
Entry Info
Eligibility
Corporate events launched between Dec. 1, 2022, and Dec. 1, 2024, are eligible. A corporate event is defined as a proprietary marketing event at which external customers (other businesses, partners, or consumers) or members of the media are the target audience. (See categories for eligible event types.) The following events are ineligible: trade show exhibits and internal events, such as sales-incentive programs, company parties, and recognition programs. (Projects that have previously won a Corporate Event Award are ineligible.)
Categories
Projects may be entered in multiple categories, but each category submission will require an additional fee.
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C-level/VIP Event. An event that targets executive customers or partners.
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Cost Cutting. An event that has maintained or exceeded expectations despite a marked year-over-year budget reduction.
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Customer-Appreciation Event. An event intended to build or foster relationships with customers or partners.
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Customer Conference/Event. Any eligible marketing event held for traditional purposes, such as to generate awareness, affinity, sales, loyalty, etc. among customers and/or prospects.
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Dealer/Distributor Event. An educational, recognition, or training event for external dealers, distributors, or franchisees.
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Green Event. An event with both corporate objectives and Green objectives/directives to reduce the negative impact on the environment, as realized through sustainability, eco-friendly or recycled materials, and/or a reduction of energy consumption.
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Hybrid Event. An event with both online and in-person components.
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International Event. A corporate or media event held outside the United States.
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Media Event. An event at which members of the media are the primary guests and the objective is to generate media coverage for a company and/or its products.
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Nontraditional Event. An event for customers, partners, or the media that doesn't fit other categories.
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Private Trade Show. An event that includes a trade show floor.
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Product Launch. An event used to launch a product to customers, partners, or the media.
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Road Show/Multivenue Event. An event presented in multiple locations. The event may or may not be based on a vehicle platform, such as a tractor-trailer.
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User Conference. An educational event hosted by a corporation.
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Virtual (Online/Digital) Event. A stand-alone virtual event (aka online or digital event) targeting customers, prospects, and/or the media. Examples include: stand-alone virtual exhibits, online conferences, virtual user conferences, webinars, etc.
NOTE: EXHIBITOR reserves the right to disband the awards program if the quantity of entries affects the viability and integrity of the program. In this case, applicable entry fees will be refunded.
The Judges
The competition will be judged by a panel of marketing and design experts.
Click on a photo to view each judge's bio.
Valerie Bihet
founder
Vibe Agency
Miami
Valerie Bihet has more than 20 years of experience in the management, design, and production of special events that communicate and achieve her client’s objectives. Originally from Paris, Bihet founded Vibe Agency, an event design and destination management company, in 2004 in Miami. Since then, she has produced more than 1,100 events throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, East Asia, and South America. Her clientele includes global brands such as Dior, Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, LVMH, Coty, L'Oréal, Barclays, Banco Santander, McCain, Merck, Thea Pharmaceuticals, and many more.
Bihet received her Master's degree in marketing and business administration from the Sorbonne University in Paris. A few of her and her firm’s most recent awards include being listed among the The BizBash 500: Must-Know Event Pros in the U.S. for 2020; Top 50 Event Companies by Special Events for 2020 and 2019; and VIP Women of the Year Circle Inductee 2015-2016 by The National Association of Professional Women. She was also named the Most Outstanding Corporate Events Planner 2017 - USA by Acquisition International Magazine.
Andrew Childers
director of business development
Steelhead Productions
Las Vegas
Andrew Childers is a seasoned professional in business development, integrated marketing, and growth strategy. With more than a decade of experience, he specializes in event marketing and trade show activations, crafting immersive experiences that leave a lasting impact. Based in Las Vegas, Childers has a proven track record of driving growth and enhancing brand visibility at events throughout North America and Western Europe. His current role as director of business development at Steelhead Productions and former role as director of North American business development at Von Hagen GmbH in Germany underscore his expertise in leveraging events to foster meaningful connections with target audiences.
Having served as president of Access Revenues North America LLC, Childers pioneered strategic initiatives that employed innovative event marketing strategies to unlock new revenue streams for international companies expanding into the United States. His multifaceted background positions him as a versatile leader in the live events industry. With more than 11,000 followers on LinkedIn, Childers frequently shares best practices to help trade show and event marketers hone their crafts and avoid costly pitfalls, further establishing himself as a thought leader in the field.
Jenny Ewing
freelance strategist and event producer
Anaheim, CA
Jenny Ewing brings a deep range of event production and strategic acumen, built with more than 25 years of event and marketing experience on domestic and international projects.
Her innate curiosity and love of learning has helped her to build an accomplished project history, including showroom design, large-scale trade show management, immersive environments, corporate meetings, multiday launch events, touring programs, and strategic rebranding. A career highlight is her role as lead event producer for the pre-opening and grand opening events for Hong Kong Disneyland.
As a strategic consultant, Ewing has a passion to create genuine, enjoyable connections that exceed the client’s goals. Working in multiple industries, including automotive, pharmaceutical, energy, and consumer products, she has won several in-house corporate awards, as well as ASID recognition for trade show design.
Chetan Fernandes
global project director for Expo Riyadh 2030
Hopscotch Groupe
Paris
Chetan Fernandes is an award-winning creative leader and communications strategist with more than 25 years of experience across EMEA and APAC markets. He thrives on building integrated communications projects that transcend screens, pages, and devices, and that touch real people in real life while delivering real results. He is inspired by passionate critical thinking, popular culture, and cinema. His calling is to create work that is informed by and in synch with the pulse of culture, creativity, commerce, and communication.
Fernandes’ professional journey has seen him work with agencies from LA to Paris to Bombay and with clients from verticals as diverse as aviation, automotive, CPG, defense, government, and tech.
Matt Jones
former marketing executive
GE Appliances
Louisville, KY
Matt Jones grew up with a sketchbook in his hands, and when he wasn't drawing, he was building with Legos. Ultimately his passion for drawing and building brought him to the University of Cincinnati and its Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning building, where he studied industrial design. As a result, he's been designing, building, creating, and solving problems for more than 20 years. As a creative producer, he has led multifaceted teams, challenged assumptions, translated C-suite ideals into actionable creative outputs, and orchestrated new engagements and experiences (including award-winning trade show exhibits and corporate events) that delight customers and attendees.
Zahra Matson
head of global events and experiences
Amazon Project Kuiper
Seattle
Zahra Matson leads the global events team for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, inclusive of B2B events, consumer events, and PR and brand events, as well as the development and management of the EBC program. Matson and her team are responsible for event strategy, program and budget management, logistics, event design, and post-event recaps, as well as reporting out on progress to goals.
Matson has been doing events for more than 15 years, beginning in event-venue management and transitioning to corporate events with a focus on third-party events. She has been at Amazon since 2019 and has managed major strategic trade shows for Amazon including its presence at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Mobile World Congress, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Show (HIMSS), CERAWeek, and many more.
Before Amazon, Matson worked for brands such as Illumina, Avalara, and HD Supply to name a few. She has a bachelor’s degree from Sonoma State University and a Certificate in Event Management from the University of San Diego.
Jay Menashe
senior vice president of sales and marketing
EDE Corp.
Cranford, NJ
Chicago
A 20-year experiential marketing veteran, Jay Menashe has managed projects for trade shows, events, and mobile tours for a variety of clients across industries including technology, healthcare, manufacturing, and more. Roles have included marketing consultant, solo contributor, and sales and marketing leader. Menashe prides himself on asking questions to gain understanding and helping to build out strategies and solutions for clients to excel.
Kristin Veach
integrated event marketer
Trio Creative Communications LLC
Chicago
From digital strategies to live events (and everything in between), Kristin Veach is an accomplished marketer with more than 15 years of agency and brand-side experience. Throughout her career, she has led the strategy, development, implementation, and measurement of innovative event-marketing and lead-generation programs, with proven success in building awareness, driving leads, closing sales, and achieving goals. In 2021, Veach was named a Smart Women in Meetings: Industry Leader. A gifted writer and editor, she has also authored a plethora of event industry eBooks, white papers, and blogs for leading publications, including MarketingProfs.com and TSNN.
Before starting her own experiential marketing consulting company, she served as chief communications and growth strategist for an award-winning experiential marketing agency. Responsibilities included building brand awareness for the agency and consulting on client account teams to develop strategies and tactics for marketing programs. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Criteria/Recognition
Criteria
Entries are judged primarily on their measurable results and level of innovation. Entries must provide measurable, numeric objectives and corresponding measurable, numeric results such as leads gathered, sales made as a direct result of the event, media coverage, or return on investment. Entries without measurable objectives and results will not be considered.
Recognition
Multiple awards are offered along with one Judges' Choice Award, the competition's top honor. Awards may not be granted in all categories. Winners will be notified by Feb. 15, 2025. Winners that provide print-quality visuals as described in the Submission Instructions will be featured in the August/September issue of EXHIBITOR magazine. Entries also are considered for features and columns unrelated to the competition.
>> View articles featuring past winners.