Previous Winners & Judges Feedback

Nakheel

Best Place to Work

Commenting on Nakheel, the winner in the Best Place to Work Campaign category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Dubai-based master property developer Nakheel for being an excellent employer that helps staff feel fulfilled, supported in their work and involved in the direction of the company. It is commendable that staff were recently consulted about the rebranding of the company. The range of benefits staff can enjoy is incredible. All have access to training, team building workshops and they can join any of Nakheel’s social clubs offering sports and hobbies. Nakheel is officially a top employer because in 2022, it achieved Great Place to Work certification.”

The Power Within Training 

Best Business Transformation

Commenting on The Power Within Training, the winner in the Best Business Transformation category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to The Power Within Training for inventing a new and exciting approach to leadership called Motivational Intelligence (MQ). Recognising the need for more innovative leadership solutions, MQ is designed to unlock individual and organisational potential to improve productivity and staff engagement. Clients have been delighted with the results of the programme and report that employee engagement and productivity have risen steeply. The MQ programme has transformed The Power Within Training, too, helping it to produce strong financial results and expand overseas.”

Promoveritas

Best Small to Medium-sized Business

Commenting on PromoVeritas, the winner in the Small to Medium Sized Business category, the chairman of the judges said::

“PromoVeritas may be small with only 40 people in London, but it is a leader for UK, European and global brands and agencies to verify their prize competitions. As a unique business, it has seen spectacular growth since its launch just after the millennium. It has an enviable list of clients that many an agency would love to boast about, and it has the reputation as being the go-to agency for organisations running prize competitions. Well done to PromoVeritas for punching well above its weight!”

Nakheel

Best Social Media Campaign

Commenting on Nakheel, the winner in the Best Social Media Campaign category, the chairman of the judges said:

“To support its transition to becoming a customer-centric organisation with a new logo promoting its brand values of excellence in delivery, master property developer Nakheel undertook a large-scale digital communication campaign that has produced stunning results. Targeting 4.5 million people in the United Arab Emirates, Nakheel took a multi-channel approach that resulted in an incredible 35 million impressions being achieved that increased awareness and engagement in the new brand. The results were phenomenal with all key performance indicators surpassed and amazingly, the campaign cost substantially less than the planned budget.”

Runaway Entertainment

Best Place to Work

Commenting on Runaway Entertainment, the winner in the Best Place to Work category, the chairman of the judges said:

“With a core staff of 10 people Runaway Entertainment, an independent theatre production company, has created a friendly and open work environment were all staff feel valued. Everyone gets treated in the same way, there are no hierarchical barriers and they all celebrate successes together. As a consequence, staff loyalty is high. With theatres having to close in the pandemic, it was a challenging time for the company but thanks to brilliant teamwork it has recovered and is thriving with substantially more performances than ever before.”

Fifty

Best Innovative and Creative Use of Technology

Commenting on Fifty, the winner in the Best Innovative and Creative Use of Technology category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Fifty for producing brilliant results with its multichannel awareness campaign using its innovative platform for the Broadway stage show Harry Potter & The Cursed Child in New York. Its FiftyAurora platform was used to analyse social data and identify the various types of Harry Potter fans. An effective media strategy was then developed to reach them. Using its magical platform, Fifty was able to exceed targets and objectives by creating 5,162 ticket transactions and great revenue for the producers of the Harry Potter show.”

On Verve

Disruptor of the Year for Product or Service

Commenting on On Verve, the winner in the Disruptor of the Year for Product or Service category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Well done to On Verve for shaking up corporate offices with its DayMaker concept and making them more appealing to staff, encouraging more people to return to the office. DayMakers aims to go above and beyond expectations in facilities management and guest services, and provide excellent support for staff. On Verve organises everything from office refurbishments to training and staff events. After only two years in business, On Verve can boast a staff of 80, a portfolio of 15 clients, resulting in excellent revenue.”

Nakheel

Commenting on Nakheel, the winner in the Outstanding Support during COVID-19 category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Well done to Nakheel for doing just about everything possible for its staff of 1,000 during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. From offering vaccines to staff and their families to having a nurse on site and providing tests, it has helped to keep its people and communities safe. Cleanliness and hygiene were top priorities with deep office cleaning and sanitation immediately organised. As part of its wellbeing programme, the company nurse has been retained and now offers staff quick health checks. When it comes to protecting staff and communities, Nakheel is a role model.”

Hayat Holding

Best Corporate Social Responsibility

Commenting on Hayat Holding/DESIBEL AJANS AS, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Turkey based Hayat Holding for educating primary school pupils in climate change, helping them to grow up to become ecological citizens. The Climate Literacy Programme offers 28 hours of learning to pupils and, additionally, it has been educating teachers and parents in environmental science. To date around 30,000 students, 600 teachers and 60,000 parents have become involved in the awareness campaign across 10 provinces, which is being expanded. This is a brilliant way for youngsters and adults to understand more about climate change and prepare for the future.”

Promoveritas

Outstanding Entrepreneur

Commenting on PromoVeritas, the winner in the Outstanding Entrepreneur category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Jeremy Stern, the former European promotions director for Coca Cola, is an astute businessman for noticing that many prize competitions run by organisations were a bit of a shambles with no certainty that they were being run fairly. After setting up PromoVeritas around 20 years ago as a promotional verification expert that helps global brands and agencies ensure that prize competitions are run with integrity and security, his business has been on a sky-high trajectory. Started from Jeremy’s conservatory, PromoVeritas now has an office in London with 40 people; an enviable UK and European client base; and amazing turnover!”

Nakheel

Best Business Transformation

Commenting on Nakheel, the winner in the Best Business Transformation category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Dubai-based master property developer Nakheel for transforming itself into a customer-centred organisation from being buildings focused. Called Project Falcon, it was commendable to see that Nakheel engaged with its employees in the development of new brand values and the future direction of the company. Nakheel has now undergone a major internal cultural change, staff have been retrained and everyone is working towards the same goal. This was a highly ambitious project involving communicating the brand and embedding new thinking across the organisation. Nakheel implemented the transition programme with great professionalism.”

Fifty

Best Innovation

Commenting on Fifty, the winner in the Best Innovation category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Fifty for responding to new regulations and the new world without third-party cookies and other digital identities by developing FiftyAurora. Its new platform provides clients with an insightful human view of audiences, helping them to develop more efficient media strategies than can be easily adapted. By harnessing existing human insight data within its platform, FiftyAurora produces a more ethical multi-channel solution that is not reliant on identifiers. Well done to Fifty for developing an innovation platform that enables clients to future-proof their media buying strategies.”

Nakheel

Best Brand Development

Commenting on Nakheel, the winner in the Best Brand Development category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Well done to Dubai-based Nakheel, a master property developer, for producing brilliant new branding that positions it as a business that actively improves quality of life. The rebranding reflects Nakheel’s move away from being about concrete, towers and buildings, towards being a customer-centric organisation. To deliver the values of the brand and excellent customer service, all staff have undergone training. Nakheel can also be congratulated for achieving enormous success with its large-scale digital awareness campaign that has engaged stakeholders in the new brand proposition.”

PromoVeritas

Award for Export Growth

Commenting on PromoVeritas, the winner in the Award for Export Growth category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Not many companies can boast a 50% increase in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic but PromoVeritas is one of the few. Its role as a promotional verification expert adds integrity and trust to prize promotions. Due to an increase in the use of prize promotions across borders during the pandemic, PromoVeritas successful won several high-profile clients. Congratulations to PromoVeritas for attracting new clients and producing a massive spike in revenue, enabling it to expand further afield to the USA from the UK and Europe.”

SCIS Ltd

Best Health & Safety

Commenting on SCIS Ltd, the winner in the Best Health and Safety category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to South Coast Insulation Services Limited (SCIS) for prioritising health and safety across the organisation. Each area of the business has its own health and safety champion, reporting to senior management. All employees are encouraged to put forward suggestions on how safety can be approved, helping the company to operate in the safest way possible. With health and safety at the heart of SCIS, it has had a huge impact on performance, helping it to become a trusted partner to the big six energy companies in the UK.”

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ

The Work-Life Balance Award

Commenting on Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, the winner in the Work-Life Balance Award category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Well done to Abu Dhabi Police for introducing a brilliant wellbeing and quality of life framework that is producing higher staff retention levels, and increased happiness and satisfaction scores from staff. The comprehensive framework consists of work/life balance; learning and development; and positiveness and engagement; helping staff to boost their career opportunities and improve their health. By adopting positive thinking and improved work/life balance, Abu Dhabi Police is making staff feel valued, part of a team and more loyal.”

IGA – Istanbul Grand Airport

Best Staff Training & Development Programme

Commenting on Istanbul Grand Airport, the winner in the Best Staff Training & Development Programme category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Istanbul Grand Airport’s IGA Academy for introducing its sustainable internal trainer program that has produced a wide range of excellent corporate benefits. The progam uses the expert skills of existing staff to train others, reducing dependency on external institutions. Those who are experts can take part in training to develop themselves as trainers. The internal trainer program is entirely voluntary, and it has reduced the cost of training, eliminated the shortage of training experts and enabled trainer staff to become experts in their specialist area.”

PromoVeritas

Award for Export Growth

Commenting on PromoVeritas, the winner in the Award for Export Growth category, the chairman of the judges said:

“As one of the top agencies for running prizes, draws and competitions, PromoVeritas has developed a brilliant international reputation as the power behind the prize promotion and seen incredible growth in business coming from overseas. Working with a wide base of household name international brands, its expertise lies in having in depth knowledge of competition rules across the world and running cross border prize promotions. After winning business from a major international brand in 2023, PromoVeritas can boast that overseas work has almost doubled.”

Abu Dhabi Police Saif Bin Zayed Academy – Virtual Training Center

Best Innovative and Creative Use of Technology

Commenting on Abu Dhabi Police Saif Bin Zayed Academy, the winner in the Best Innovative and Creative Use of Technology category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Abu Dhabi Police Saif Bin Zayed Academy for revolutionising its training with advanced technologies, including virtual reality and simulation. The academy overcame many hurdles to implement the technology, but it was worth it. Abu Dhabi Police is now providing immersive, realistic, and safe training that has significantly reduced the cost and risks associated with physical training. Consequently, the introduction of advanced technology has increased employee interest and engagement; and produced brilliant satisfaction rates from users.”

Cargill Türkiye

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative

Commenting on Cargill Türkiye, the winner in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Cargill Türkiye for launching a Women Leaders of the Future Program, in collaboration with the Turkish Education Foundation, that is giving women access to education, putting them on the first rung of the career ladder. Since the program was launched in 2021, more than 200 women have already benefitted from the training. This is an impressive move by Cargill to improve gender equality and give women the opportunity to gain the confidence, skills and knowledge required to improve their social standing and economic prospects.”

Sabri Ulker Foundation

Best Corporate Social Responsibility

Commenting on Sabri Ulker Foundation, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to the Sabri Ulker Foundation for publishing a series of books and audio books on healthy living and balanced nutrition that have reached an incredible 10 million people in Turkey. The company has also published a host of books on child development that were previously only available abroad and it has opened its own libraries to encourage more people to read. This is a brilliant initiative that is having a huge impact on the education and health of the Turkish nation.” ”

IGA – Istanbul Grand Airport

Best Corporate Social Responsibility

Commenting on Istanbul Grand Airport, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Istanbul Grand Airport for planting the seeds of education and the seeds of afforestation with its unique sustainability project. Its Seed Project brings together training, women’s employment, aviation, and sustainability under the one umbrella. On completion of a training course, participants are sent seeds to plant and some are transported by an eco-drone to more remote areas to increase vegetation. This is an ingenious project that benefits staff, the aviation industry and tackles the climate change problem.” ”

White Horse Energy Ltd

Best Large Business

Commenting on White Horse Energy Ltd, the winner in the Best Large Business category, the chairman of the judges said:

“ is creating a storm in the market with its biomass fuel products. As people switch from fossil fuel to biomass fuel, White Horse Energy has transformed its operations with the addition of new management personnel and it has enhanced its sales team with customer service training to ensure it meets the unprecedented levels of demand from consumers and the wholesale trade. With energy prices rocketing, thanks to White Horse Energy for giving consumers a welcome clean and cheap alternative to traditional fossil fuel.” ”

Etihad Rail

Best Corporate Social Responsibility

Commenting on Etihad Rail, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said:

“By establishing corporate social responsibility and sustainable strategies right at the start of the development of the United Arab Emirates’ new national rail network, Etihad Rail has secured the sustainability and success of the project. To keep in line with the principles of protecting the environment and to meet UAE’s target of net-zero emission by 2050, Etihad can’t be praised enough for taking pre-emptive action to regulate emissions from all locomotives and minimise fuel consumption. Congratulations to Etihad Rail for establishing a clear strategy to build a clean, efficient and modern railway network.”