The WatchPro Awards became an instant institution in the calendar of the British watch industry last year. For 2017, we have relocated to a larger venue in anticipation of hundreds of watch business leaders joining WatchPro for a night of fine dining, networking and raising a glass to the winners of this year’s treasured trophies.
Anticipation and expectation is already building for this year’s WatchPro Awards, which take place on November 22 at 8 Northumberland, London’s most centrally-placed events venue, right next to Trafalgar Square in the heart of Westminster.
The WatchPro Awards were launched in 2016 to celebrate the achievements of the British watch industry. The inaugural Black Tie Awards dinner was attended by 250 leading executives who celebrated with the winners in 15 categories.
The WatchPro Awards have a simple, and highly effective judging process. A shortlist of finalists in each category is voted on by the industry in two phases. In one phase, watch retailers vote for the watch brands and suppliers they most admire; a simultaneous second phase asks the watch brands, wholesalers and suppliers to vote for the retailers they most admire.
“This is an event created to celebrate the extraordinary success of the British watch industry, and the people that have contributed to making this one of the world’s most professional and sophisticated markets,” says Rob Corder, managing editor of WatchPro.
“This voting process gives the WatchPro Awards their authority, and means they are truly valued by the industry because the winners are chosen by the industry,” explains Daniel Malins, publisher of WatchPro.
Nominations for the 2017 WatchPro Awards will open in July. The WatchPro team will then select and publish a shortlist of finalists.
The judging process, which is run as an anonymous online poll among WatchPro and WatchPro.com subscribers, will take place in August and September.
This year’s WatchPro Award Categories are:
RETAILER CATEGORIES
• Independent Fashion and Lifestyle Watch Retailer of the Year
• Multiple Fashion and Lifestyle Watch Retailer of the Year
• Independent Luxury Watch Retailer of the Year
• Multiple Luxury Watch Retailer of the Year
• Department Store Watch Retailer of the Year
• Online-only Watch Retailer of the Year
• Multi-channel Watch Retailer of the Year
• Innovative Watch Retailer of the Year
• Branded Watch Boutique of the Year
WATCH BRAND & SUPPLIER CATEGORIES
• Marketing and Merchandising Team of the Year
• Sales Team of the Year
• Service and Support Team of the Year
• Executive Leadership Team of the Year
• Luxury Watch Brand of the Year
• Fashion Watch Brand of the Year
• Lifestyle Watch Brand of the Year
• Breakthrough Watch Brand of the Year
For the first time in 2017, there will also be a Lifetime Achievement Award that will be presented to an individual who has dedicated their life to building and supporting the British watch industry.
The WatchPro Awards take place on November 22 at 8 Northumberland, a venue where the ballroom is described by English Heritage as ‘the grandest example of a Victorian ballroom in existence’.
The high ceilings, impressive chandeliers, grand columns, stained glass windows and ornate detailing all ensure that the WatchPro Awards will take place in a memorable setting.
Burton McCall, Mondaine, Wolf watch winders, Redd Retail Group and LBS watch straps have already confirmed they will be sponsoring award categories at the 2017 WatchPro Awards.
Every award sponsor benefits from a package of activity that lasts from now until the ceremony in November and beyond with the post-event editorial coverage in WatchPro and WatchPro.com.
AWARD SPONSOR BENEFITS INCLUDE:
PRE-EVENT BENEFITS
• The Brand’s logo on all WatchPro Awards advertising in the three months running up to the awards from June 2017 – October 2017 including on promotional literature, both print and online; branding on the Awards invitations; branding on print adverts from June – October.
• Announcement on WatchPro.com and the WatchPro Daily News Alert that the Brand has become an Award Sponsor. This will be promoted across WatchPro’s social media universe of over 20,000 followers.
• Branding alongside the announcement of the shortlist of finalists in the September edition of WatchPro and online with live links to your brand.
BENEFITS AT THE EVENT
• Ownership of a table (10 Seats) for personal invitations to the awards for your employees and guests (Table value of £3,000).
• WatchPro to tweet and tag in Award Sponsor brands on the day.
• Category Sponsorship for category award of your choice, a representative from the band is invited to personally present the category and hand out the award to the winner in front of a branded backdrop screen of the Award Category which highlights the shortlist and winner.
• Branding on sponsors’ board and screens throughout the Awards dinner.
POST-EVENT BENEFITS
• We will have an Awards Review of the winners in the December edition. The sponsor’s logo will be included on the pages that cover your chosen category.
• December edition – we will have coverage of the awards including feedback, personal comments from guests and images from the night.
• Online news story – to include the winner of the category you sponsored with your brand’s name attached and a live link to your website.
• A List of guests that attend the WatchPro Awards will be supplied to Awards Sponsors.
Sponsorship options are available now, and secure a table at the gala dinner in a prime position (best positions go to sponsors that book first). These tables of 10 will go on sale to the whole industry in August priced at £3000+VAT for the full table, or £300+VAT for individual tickets. The dress code is black tie.
Daniel Malins and Rob Corder are ready to answer any of your questions about nominations, the voting process, tickets, sponsorships, dress code – you name it!
Just click daniel.malins@itppromedia.com or rob.corder@itp.com.
