The Inavation Awards Business finalists have been announced. Read on to discover the shortlists as well as insight from Inavation Awards judges.
In 2020 the Inavation Awards launched a whole new set of categories designed to highlight and celebrate businesses that were run successfully and operated ethically. A great success, they returned in 2021 with one major difference. While last year these awards were only open to manufacturers of AV technology, this year anyone working in AV or a related field was invited to participate.
Now we can unveil finalists across eight categories. Before we do that, a word on this year’s judging process.
The 2021 Inavation Awards has a record number of categories with the continuation of the Business Awards and the return of Technology categories. Therefore, prior to drawing up shortlists for the Business Awards, organisers decided to limit finalists to just four per category. (There is one exception where a complete deadlock between judges resulted in an extra addition to the shortlist.) That meant competition across many categories was fierce this year. The companies you see shortlisted below have already excelled in their field and judges now have an unenviable task of deciding who will top each category.
Best Client Support
This was one of the most hotly contested of all this year’s Business Categories. Judges were looking for evidence that companies had gone above and beyond in support for their clients and found ample evidence. Everyone has gone through huge upheaval through 2020 and into 2021. The evidence we were presented with demonstrated flexibility and innovation from our entrants in how they’d helped their clients meet and overcome new challenges and unforeseen events while navigating their own obstacles. With the global emergency caused by the pandemic, many of our entrants found themselves an essential line of support for companies delivering critical services.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for Best Client Support is:
Clear-Com
Crestron
Hospital Services Limited
Peerless-AV
Best Marketing Campaign
We had some strong entries for this category, effectively demonstrating the power of marketing with specific gains in sales and revenue. We also had a number of entries detailing how marketing teams had pivoted quickly to refocus efforts in a landscape rapidly changed by the pandemic. We saw how teams worked innovatively and tirelessly to create suitable messaging for new clients as well as existing customers with changed priorities and needs. Some entries also demonstrated creativity in finding alternative routes to marketing from events and other in-person approaches. Importantly all entrants demonstrated that marketing should never be side-lined when times are tough.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for Best Marketing Campaign is:
GPA
Digital Projection
Maverick AV Solutions
Samsung
Best New Company
Our judges were on the lookout for business founders that spotted an opportunity, a gap in the market, or a challenge that organisations faced and responded with the launch of a new company. We wanted fresh and original ideas but business acumen was a must for this award too with particular attention paid to how a company was established, funded and run during its first years. Companies had to launch after January 2017 and a number of our entrants were able to show healthy balance sheets for their first years in business, others were bravely launched in the pandemic.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for Best New Company is:
nsign.tv
Nteck Systems
Prozaar
Syncpro
Best Place to Work
Business success begins with staff and being a good employer will give a company an edge over its competition. This award was launched to find out what businesses do to attract, retain and motivate their employees and reward best practice. In a year of lockdowns due to the pandemic this award took on an extra facet as businesses worked hard to engage with employees remotely; many acknowledging the extra pressures that isolation, home schooling and home working placed on their staff and responding proactively and supportively. Entries detailed programmes and schemes to improve working environments supported by staff testimonials.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for Best Place to Work is:
Clevertouch Technologies
K-Array
Maverick AV Solutions
Midwich
Best Research & Development
In a technology industry, it’s no surprise that this is one of our most hotly contested categories. What was surprising this year was the diverse range of companies that entered. Technology development is not only in the hands of manufacturers as this year’s shortlist, which is representative of the whole field of entries, shows. Some of our finalists demonstrated an ongoing approach to R&D which saw it prioritised and prized as a fundamental part of the organisation. Others detailed the development of a single groundbreaking technology. In this category, more than any other, judges struggled with a shortlist of four… and ultimately failed. Five companies now compete for this crown.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for Best R&D is:
Brompton Technology
Crestron
Datapath
Jones AV
White Light & disguise
Business Growth Award
Judges had the tough task of comparing companies who were often measuring growth by different parameters. And for our judges, revenue was important but it wasn’t the only measure. They were looking for sustainable and intelligent strategies as well as ambitious plans that paid off. They were rewarded with some strong entries that had those revenue stats, that detailed team or geographic expansions; but also demonstrated these companies were setting themselves up for growth in the future by making sure they were built on sustainable foundations, were staying agile and constantly learning to continue to stay relevant and were always looking for new opportunities.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for the Business Growth Award is:
Clevertouch Technologies
Diversified
Kudo
Snelling Business Systems and Faye Bennett Consultancy Services
Corporate Social Responsibility Award
This award is for companies that have robust and well thought out CSR policies in place and executed well, delivering benefits for both the company’s staff and the communities and programmes they are supporting. We expanded the scope of the award this year to actively hunt out companies that had supported others throughout the pandemic. We were rewarded with some incredibly resourceful and altruistic campaigns specifically related to victims of the coronavirus crisis. We were also heartened with stories from companies that maintained and launched programmes to help others even as they faced their own struggles.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for the CSR Award is:
Epson Europe
Powersoft
proAV
Unilumin
The Sustainability Award
This award seems to have grown in importance in the space of just one year and produced one of the strongest fields of the 2021 Business Awards. Manufacturers dominated in this category this year, detailing how they were running their companies to deliver a low impact on the planet, while also creating technologies in ethical and sustainable ways. With the climate crisis the biggest threat society faces today, we’re thrilled with the focus and interest this category has generated. Whittling the field down to four was tough, picking a winner will be even harder.
The Inavation Awards 2021 shortlist for the Sustainability Award is:
Ctouch Europe
d&b audiotechnik
Genelec
Vitec