Welcome to The Product Awards 2024 Judging 

Thank you for joining us to judge the industry’s most coveted and recognised Product Awards. You have joined a judging panel of over 50 expert, bringing together the industry’s finest minds. Your knowledge, skill and integrity as a judge will help us determine this year’s winners. 

The Product Awards are back to celebrate entrants from across the UK. It’s now time for our industry to submit its most innovative, inspirational, and inventive products representing brilliant promotional merchandise in the UK.

Categories

Our entry criteria have been improved and updated to streamline categories. We have 9 categories in which products can be entered, providing a wide range of categories to suit every product. This year, all entries will automatically be entered into an additional three categories. There are categories to help every product find its match and to help you tell your sustainable product stories too.

Celebrating success

Returning for a second year, the Product Awards will be celebrated at Product Awards 2024 LIVE on 6th December in London. Click here for more information.

In addition, each Platinium Winner will have a chance to win the Grand Prix Award, celebrating the winner of winners. This coveted Award will be presented at the BPMA Annual Awards on 22nd January 2025.

Judging Panels

There are two judging panels for these Awards.

  • Round One Judges: these panels only judge on line and help create the shortlist for the Product Awards. There are over 50 judges in this panel.
  • Round Two Judges: this panel is made up of catalogue groups and members of the Board (distributors and service providers only).

Our Products Award Panel Chair is Brian Hayward, a long standing BPMA Board member, who oversees the Awards with the BPMA Executive team. Brian does not have a voting role and oversees the Awards, supported by the BPMA team.

Your role as a judge

As an Awards Judge, we ask you to assess the entry submitted and then assess whether the entry has met an award-winning standard in its category. You will be prompted to score each section where points can be allocated. You will see a range of information with each entry which includes sustainability information too. Your experience as a Distributor gives you the credentials to be able to spot excellence, innovation, and inspiration. Your input is invaluable.

Judging Guide

Below, we have prepared a comprehensive guide to help you at each stage. You can download the guide and you are also invited to attend a judge’s briefing too so you can ask any questions you like. In this guide, we aim to provide clear instructions and answer any questions you have. Please make sure you attend the briefing session as most judges find it invaluable – even if you’ve judged before! The team is on hand to answer any queries via awards@bpma.co.uk and more information is available at bpma.co.uk/productawards

Round 1 and Round 2 Judges

We have two rounds of judging for these Awards; Round 1 Judges and Round 2 Judges. Round 1 Judges will only judge online and are responsible for the first, critical stage of judging to create the shortlist for a second panel to assess online and in person.

On your Judging invitation, it will be noted if you are a Round 1 or Round 2 Judge.

Round 1 Judging: Timings

  • Your judging takes place online between 11th October and closes on 21st October 

Round 2 Judging: Timings

  • The shortlist is announced on 22nd October
  • Your judging takes place online between 21st October and 28th October
  • Your face-to-face panel session takes place on 31st October

Winners will be announced in December and the coveted Grand Prix winner will be announced at the BPMA Annual Awards dinner on 24th January 2024.

How to Judge

  1. Visit the online platform via the link in your invitation email, create a user profile and sign our confidentiality agreement. If you already have a profile, this will be updated so you can see the categories to judge on the day your judging opens.
  2. You will see a list of categories and entries allocated to yourself. Clicking on the entry name will take you into the entry.
  3. When you click into an entry, you will see all the details entered by the entrant on the left side of the page. On the right side, is where you put in your score (1-5).
  4. Any images or documentation upload in entries can be viewed and downloaded at the bottom of the entry.
  5. If you wish to abstain from judging for any reason, check the box on top on the right side and you can skip scoring that entry.
  6. You can leave a comment at the end of the entry.
  7. Once you have scored all criteria, hit ‘Save + next’ to move to the next entry.

Useful and important notes for Judges

  • All score fields must be completed.
  • The *Comments* box can be seen by organisers and may be used publicly.
  • The same product may be entered into more than one category.
  • The status ‘to be scored’ refers to an entry that is yet to be scored.
  • The status ‘in progress’ refers to an entry that hasn’t had all the criteria scored yet (but has commenced).
  • The status ‘complete’ refers to an entry that has had all criteria scored and is therefore completed.
  • Round 1 scores will be used to create a shortlist for the round 2 panel to judge.
  • The Round 2 panel will meet in person in November to confirm the final winners and nominate the Grand Prix. .

What are you looking for?

In every category, we have supplied the specific range of products which relate to each category, the evidence we are looking for to support the entry including images, videos, presentations and certifications, plus prices. We have noted if any exclusions apply.

As a Judge, you should look for the following: originality, innovation, creativity, ethical and sustainable credentials, value for money and any other criteria specified in the category.

Scoring

The entries will be scored on

  • The product details
  • The supporting story and documentary evidence
  • Your market positioning
  • Unique selling proposition

Judges should be looking for products that have met the goals they were set out to achieve. In your role as a Judge, it’s important to assess the entry from the information provided, if you think this product stands out and is a potential Award winner.

Categories

You can access the Categories information here. These are useful to refer to you when you judge specific categories. We have allocated categories and all entries within in each category to be judged. Please make sure you complete all the judging so we can collate your scores.

Each Judge has been allocated between 2-4 categories in Round 1 and a separate allocation for Round 2. This is to ensure you aren’t overwhelmed with too much information!

Your digital Judges badge

We’ll be announcing our Judging panel on social media and you’re welcome to download your Judges badge here to use on your own social media and digital email signatures.

Questions?

If this is your first time Judging, you may have further questions. Please get in touch with us at any time if there is anything you need to know. Don’t forget to attend your briefing session as this will answer most of your questions and you can ask anything you like.

Please contact us on awards@bpma.co.uk or call us on 01372 371 184 with any questions.

Thank you again for your time to judge these Awards; your contribution to find the best of the best in each category is really appreciated.

BPMA Awards Team