Being invited to judge for the PM Society Awards was a fantastic opportunity to join a group of hand-picked creative leaders to debate, deliberate and decide on the standard of the life-changing creative work produced in the UK.

Ahead of judging day, each member of the panel had dissected and digested the entries independently, so once in the room, identifying the contenders for silverware was a fairly rapid process.

Our very own Tom Richards was chief judge on the day. Tom simply challenged the panel to benchmark the work with a head, heart and hands approach: Is the work smart and insightful? Does the work create an emotional connection with the target? And finally, is the work crafted to an exceptional level?

With this in mind, the debating really stepped-up when it came to allocating a single gold award for each category. So much so, for the first and only time, after much deliberation, two golds were awarded in the Events and Exhibitions category; recognising the high standard of work delivered at congresses in 2018 – work which was insightful, innovative and interactive.

In the majority of categories, for instance Film & Animation and Disease Awareness, the standard of the entries was exceptionally high, with a few submissions being contenders across the board.

I believe the opportunity for the year ahead is for creative teams to look for new approaches to sales aids, and consider how fresh insights lead to original creative expressions, to create some true competition in the Best Use of Insight category.

But the PM Society Awards was a day for applauding not only the work, but celebrating the brilliant creative minds that dedicate their days to a common goal – generating outstanding creative communications across healthcare and pharma!

Many congratulations to winners and runners-up and huge thanks to the team at the PM Society for organising a great event.