FEVO Sport Industry Awards 2024: A Welcome From Nick Keller
Welcome to the 24th edition of the FEVO Sport Industry Awards.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Awards, next year we’ll attempt to uncover the individuals who have managed to attend every single one. Whether you’re a regular at tonight’s festivities or a first timer, thank you for continuing to support our industry’s biggest and most celebratory night of the year.
When you reflect on how the working world has changed in recent years, the need to come together as an industry and celebrate some of the great moments and achievements has become even more vital.
In a year that has been defined by anaemic economic growth, our industry has taken massive strides forward. From new products and rights taking root, legendary agencies joining forces with our transatlantic cousins, women’s sport becoming an increasingly appetising investable platform, and an industry defining deal that has reshaped the view of private equity investment into sports agencies. Tonight, we celebrate just how impressive a year it has been, and how our industry represents the best of Britain on the world stage.
Our industry’s ability to deliver best-in-class product is a reminder of how vital we are for Britain’s image in the world.
Increasingly the platform for our industry’s shop window is being provided by women’s sport, and it’s incredible to see the continued evolution in this space.
Meanwhile the joy of digital, data and creative content means that it’s not just the major players and international events that catch the eye, there’s also opportunity for smaller activation budgets to cut through. Of course, finding the balance between social storytelling and operational activity that meets commercial objectives should remain the pinnacle for any organisation.
Every year we continue to refine and improve the judging process around the Awards and this year saw the introduction of new sustainability questions into the judging criteria. The point of introducing these new questions was not to try and catch anyone out, but instead to encourage the industry to consider their actions and, for organisations who may not be completely buttoned up in this area, to start their journey towards sustainability.
The sustainability of the Awards is something we take incredible seriously and, as such, I’m delighted to share that news that Benchmark, which SIG is a part of, has recently become B Corp certified.
Finally, thank you to Tom Kingsley at EY for his council, advice and his ability to cut through the complexity. As ever, Tom and his team have been at their exceptional best, as have the 90 or so judges and our Chair, Sanjay Bhandari. Thank you for your time and experience.
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