How to enter the MCV Awards 2017

The MCV Awards return for 2017 on March 9th at London’s The Brewery.

Here, we detail the criteria for each of the 24 categories and how you can get involved. Don’t forget to check the event’s website for even more details.

The Awards

Specialist Retailer

Mainstream Retailer

Independent Retailer

New Games Brand

Sales Triumph

Buying Team

Peripherals and Accessories Brand

Marketing Team

Digital Marketing Team

Trade Marketing Team

PR Team

Agency Team

Community Team

Distribution Team

Events Team

Export Team

Media Team

Sales Team

Indie Games Label

Game Campaign

Games Publisher

SPECIAL AWARDS:

• Store Manager of the Year
• Unsung Hero
• Person of the Year

Key Dates

Entries close: Friday, January 6th

MCV Awards 2017: Thursday, March 9th

How do I enter?

This year, all entries and nominations for the MCV Awards are being handled online. Simply head to the event’s website – www.mcvawards.com – go to the Enter section, then select the category you want to put someone – or yourself – forward for, and upload documents and evidence supporting your nomination. A company or person may enter for as many categories as they see fit.

How are the Awards judged?

For the 21 main awards we will be assembling specific panels with specialism/interest in key fields – retail, marketing, publishing, development and so on – to judge groups of awards.

All judges will be invited to read the supplied lobbying/entry documents.

Store Manager of the Year, Unsung Hero and Person of the Year are selected by the MCV team after soundings from the games industry. Please put forward any recommended person for these prizes.

Specialist Retailer

This award is open to any specialist retailer – digital, online or physical, or a combination thereof – which champions video games and offers a wide range of products to the market.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of exceptional customer service in the form of up to three testimonials and/or proof of active staff training around customer service and product knowledge

• Evidence of a considered range and merchandising design and layout

• Commitment to street dates

• An overview of games-specific multi-platform marketing campaign alongside detail surrounding KPI’s and measurement of success according to said KPIs

• Evidence of innovation – what makes you stand out from other specialist retailers?

Mainstream Retailer

This award is open to any large retailer – High Street, grocer chain or online – that sells video games, hardware and accessories as part of a wider product mix.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of exceptional customer service in the form of up to three testimonials and/or proof of active staff training around customer service and product knowledge

• Evidence of a considered range and merchandising design and layout

• Commitment to street dates

• An overview of games-specific multi-platform marketing campaign alongside detail surrounding KPI’s and measurement of success according to said KPIs

• Evidence of innovation – what makes you stand out from other mainstream retailers?

Independent Retailer

This award is open to any independent retailer – mainstream or specialist, digital, online or physical, or a combination thereof – which sells games and prominently features them in its product range.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of exceptional customer service in the form of up to three testimonials and/or proof of active staff training around customer service and product knowledge

• Evidence of a considered range and merchandising design and layout

• Commitment to street dates

• An overview of games-specific multi-platform marketing campaign alongside detail surrounding KPI’s and measurement of success according to said KPIs

• Evidence of innovation – what makes you stand out from other independent retailers?

New Games Brand

This award is open to any new video game brand introduced over the past 12 months that has made a significant impact at consumer level within the UK marketplace – regardless of whether the game is a physical release, digital release, hardware brand, or even a company brand.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of originality, innovation and creativity in the communication of brand values to the marketplace

• Sales success; include evidence of sales figures against initial projections/targets

• Long term potential; please detail the strategy for sustainable growth and relevance over a longer period

• Marketing support and impact – please include details of a multi-platform marketing campaign with evidence of impact through testimonials, case studies or improved commercial success in time with activity

• Digital support – please give an overview of your digital support arrangements, with at least one example of an outstanding support service

Sales Triumph

This award is open to any publisher – regardless of size – who has achieved significant success with the sale of a piece of hardware or game across the UK.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of sales success against initial projections; including detail around exceeded targets

• Detail regarding how said sales triumph was orchestrated, including, but not limited to, marketing campaigns and sales strategy development and execution

Buying Team

This award is open to any team that managed buying and procurement for retail operations in the UK serving video games – be that for physical games or digital games across any format.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of commitment to excellent product knowledge and industry commitment

• Detail surrounding product range and versatility, and the strategy behind said range

• Commercial strategy and projections

• Up to three testimonials from partners attesting to the excellence of the buying team

Peripherals and Accessories Brand

This award is open to any company that designs, distributes and/or manufactures its own brand of peripherals and accessories for use with home consoles, handhelds and PC games.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of innovation in the design, distribution strategy or manufacturing of peripherals and accessories

• Testimonials from up to three partners as to the quality of the devices

• An overview of games-specific multi-platform marketing campaign alongside detail surrounding KPI’s and measurement of success according to said KPIs

Marketing Team

This award is open to any UK-based marketing team or specialist company that has executed multi-platform marketing campaigns around more than one product or project within the games market over the last 12 months.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of effective communication of product or brand messages

• Evidence of consistent creativity through branding and messaging

• Evidence of a link between marketing activity and sales performance – please include illustrative figures and metrics

• Detail surrounding impact of the project/product vs. budget and resource level, including evidence of innovative use of both

Digital Marketing Team

This award is open to any UK based digital marketing team or specialist company that has worked on more than one project within the games market over the past 12 months. This award focuses solely on digital marketing (not the marketing of digital-only or digital-first games).

Entries should include:

• Evidence of effective communication of product or brand messages

• Evidence of consistent creativity through branding and messaging

• Evidence of a link between marketing activity and sales performance – please include illustrative figures and metrics

• Detail surrounding impact of the project/product vs. budget and resource level, including evidence of innovative use of both

Trade Marketing Team

This award is open to any company or team that has worked on campaigns dedicated to in-store and retail support, inclusive of trade advertising, POS, distribution and merchandising.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of effective communication of product or brand messages

• Evidence of consistent creativity through branding and messaging

• Evidence of influence on sales performance; please include detail of metrics and figures

• Detail surrounding impact of the project/product vs. budget and resource level, including evidence of innovative use of both

PR Team

This award is open to all PR teams who have worked on UK games campaigns during the past 12 months – this includes in-house PR teams and retained or project-based agencies below the line activity.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of originality and imagination in shaping and executing the PR campaign

• Effective and innovative use of existing assets and the creation of new materials to support the campaigns

• Responsiveness and relations with the media – evidence of impact through testimonials from three key media professionals

Agency Team

This award is open to any UK based agency or external contributor that has worked for a UK games business to deliver influential marketing activity, that has raised brand awareness and helped achieve commercial goals. Above the line activity handled by third-party organisations will be considered.

Entries should include:

• Creativity and innovation across marketing on multiple platforms

• Evidence of effective communication of the brand’s messages and values

• Evidence of campaign impact on sales performance and audience vs. budget

• Detail around allocation of resource and innovative strategy

Community Team

This award is open to any UK based community relations or engagement team working for a UK games business. The team can be internal or external, but must have kept in regular contact with the audience to raise brand awareness and help achieve commercial goals.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of creativity and innovation in communications strategy and implementation

• Evidence of effective communication of brand’s messages

• Evidence of influence on the audience and detail around the measurement of impact vs. budget.

Distribution Team

This award is open to any distributor active within the interactive entertainment industry serving outlets large and small across the UK.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of speed of service and high quality order fulfilment

• Evidence of exceptional customer service; please include up to three testimonials from clients

• Commitment to an orderly market and consistent product condition

Events Team

This award is open to any UK based events team, including in-house staff and outsourced service companies, that focus on organising games-related events.

Entries must include:

• Evidence of exceptional event planning and logistics including deadlines and strategies to meet them

• Proof of innovative product design and execution

• Up to three testimonials from event attendees or sponsors

• An overview of the aims of the event marketing campaign and its execution and impact

Export Team

This award is open to any UK based export team, including in-house staff and outsourced service companies that focus on sales outside of the UK.

Entries should include:

• Up to three case studies that demonstrate excellent product knowledge, depth of advance information, and strong trade relations

• Evidence of outstanding telesales customer care

• Proof of field sales reliability

• Figures and associated budgets/targets that illustrate sales performance

Media Team

This award is open to any UK based specialist games media team, including print, online, social and broadcast media.

Entries should include:

• Up to three examples of work that illustrates exceptional product knowledge, depth and accuracy of content

• Evidence of innovation in content development and coverage

• Innovation in technology

• Figures around audience that illustrate impact and influence on the market

Sales Team

This award is open to any UK based sales team or specialist sales force, including in-house staff and outsourced service companies that focus on sales inside of the UK.

Entries should include:

• Up to three case studies that demonstrate excellent product knowledge, depth of advance information, and strong trade relations

• Evidence of outstanding telesales customer care

• Proof of field sales reliability

• Figures and associated budgets/targets that illustrate sales performance

Indie Games Label

This award is open to any company publishing games in the UK on behalf of a smaller development partner, achieving notable commercial and critical success over the last 12 months.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of sales development and product quality

• Details of publishing strategy and choices

• Up to three testimonials demonstrating strong trade relations

• A marketing case study illustrating the campaign strategy and subsequent impact translating into commercial success

Game Campaign

This award is open to any company who ran a significant marketing campaign in the UK supporting products or services within games. This is for an overall campaign covering TV, online, radio, outdoor and print, plus trade. Multiple campaigns can be entered by the same organisation, but each must be done on a separate entry.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of effective communication of product or brand messages and subsequent impact

• Evidence of consistent creativity and innovation

• Figures to illustrate influence on sales figures

• Impact vs. budget available

Games Publisher

This award is open to any company publishing games in the UK market that has achieved notable commercial or critical success and generally high levels of performance over the last
12 months.

Entries should include:

• Evidence of sales development over the year ideally including sales projections and figures

• Evidence of strong product quality

• Details of publishing strategy and choices

• Up to three testimonials demonstrating strong trade relations

• A marketing case study illustrating the campaign strategy and subsequent impact translating into commercial success

Store Manager of the Year

This award will honour one store manager running key games outlets across the UK. Nominees must have been a manager for at least 18 months by the time of the awards ceremony on 9th March 2016.

Entries should include:

• Up to three case studies illustrating particular successful projects and initiatives

• Evidence of market knowledge

• Up to three testimonials from colleagues

• Figures to demonstrate the contribution of said individual to the commercial success of the stores they manage

Unsung Hero

This award will honour an individual from the UK games industry who hasn’t been in the spotlight but should have been. This is your chance to put forward someone who has been instrumental in the success of a company, product or campaign, or the wider games industry, but simply hasn’t had the credit. This is not specific to an activity form the last year, but is ideal for those with committed long-service records in the games business.

Person of the Year

This award will honour an individual from the UK games industry who in the last year has been a stand-out achiever, either in terms of driving forward a product, raising awareness about an issue or topic, influencing at all levels, or simply being a notable games industry professional. This is specifically an activity in the past year and any key successes in 2016.