The inaugural Digital Event Awards (DEAs) took place on 18 March at Aztec Studios, UK, where 21 winners were announced from a shortlist of hundreds of entries.
The free-to-attend event celebrated the excellence in digital events where there have been crucial developments over the past year. It was hosted by comedian Zoe Lyons.
The event covered a range of categories including awards ceremonies, webinars, training programmes, conferences, exhibitions, festivals and charity events.
Martin Fullard (pictured), editorial director at Mash Media, and who introduced the awards, said: “Twelve months ago this event and its associated magazine, Digital Event News, hadn’t even been conceived.
“The shortlists represent only the tip of the iceberg that is the variety of digital expertise. The vast majority of entries represent more than just immediate client engagement, but rather represent an industry faced with the Herculean challenge of needing to connect people with people, all the while unable to leave their homes.
“These entrants had to think on their feet, to work with their clients to understand their business needs, clients who themselves probably didn’t know what they needed.
“They have had to rethink their entire strategy, what they offer, the skills they need, and they did all this against a backdrop of unprecedented economic uncertainty.
“The bar has been raised in the digital event world, and I look forward to seeing how this part of our industry evolves over the next 12 months.”
The event’s headline sponsors were Showcase, Collaborate Global, Ivent and Circdata, while the event sponsors included ON24, Scoocs.co, The Event Site, Visions and Virtway Events.
Guests attended the afternoon online thanks to software platform Evessio, which provided the Awards Rooms.
The winners of the 2021 Digital Event Awards:
Best Audience Engagement Model, sponsored by ON24
WINNER – ACT’s Not The Annual Dinner by Association of Corporate Treasurers
Best Digital Awards Event, sponsored by EFX
WINNER – Emerging Payments Awards by 73 Media
Highly Commended – EGR Operator Virtual Awards by Pageant Media
Best Digital Conference – production budget less than £5,000, sponsored by Virtway
WINNER – CPC 2020 Live! By CloserStill Media
Best Digital Conference – production budget over £5000, sponsored by Visions Group
WINNER – Digital Transformation World Series by TM Forum
Highly Commended – Redken Symposium, The Virtual Connection by Wolf and White
Best Digital Equality Event or Series, sponsored by Scoocs.co
WINNER – #YouTubeBlack Black History Month (And Beyond) by YouTube
Best Digital Event Marketing Campaign, sponsored by Circdata
WINNER – Top Drawer On Demand by Clarion Events
Highly Commended – Guidelines Live 2020 by MGP Ltd
Best Digital Event Production Company
WINNER – GDS Group
Highly Commended – 73 Media
Best Digital Event Revenue Model
WINNER – Diabetes Professional Care by CloserStill Media
Best Digital Exhibition, sponsored by Showcase
WINNER – ConneXion by The Virtual Event Company
Highly Commended – Zukunft Personal Europe Virtual by CloserStill Media
Best Digital Fundraising Event, sponsored by
WINNER – BGC Virtual Charity Day 2020 by Brandfuel
Highly Commended – Specsavers Scottish Music Awards 2020 by Nordoff Robins
Best Digital Internal Communications Event
WINNER – Product Launch Summit by Roche and The Creative Engagement Group
Highly Commended – Festival of Culture by Skipton Building Society and simplybetter
Best Digital Festival
WINNER – Lost Horizon Festival by Lost Horizon
Best Digital Participation Event, sponsored by IVent
WINNER – [LIVE] SIG 2020 by esri France and Eventmaker
Best Digital Product Launch, sponsored by Collaborate Global
WINNER – Life Unstoppable by Samsung and Smyle
Best Digital Training Series
WINNER – Lockdown Webinars by The Square Metre Group
Best Live Streaming Experience
WINNER- New York Evening Auction by Sotheby’s and Anna Valley
Best Sponsorship Delivery and Fulfilment Model
WINNER – Finance in Sport Conference by Premier Sports Network
Best Stand-Alone Webinar
WINNER – Ahead Global – by Sleeper Media and Silverstream TV/H2
Best Technology Platform, The Event Site
WINNER – Swapcard
Highly Commended – ExpoPlatform
Best Venue offering Digital Event Facilities
WINNER – Pixl in Partnership with John Henrys
Best Webinar Series
WINNER – Diabetes Professional Care by CloserStill Media
Highly Commended – UK Digital Event 2020 Webinar Series by Project Management Institute