#btsia Announces Official Shortlist

The Sport Industry Group is delighted to announce the Official Shortlist for the BT Sport Industry Awards 2014, with the winners to be announced at the star-studded BT Sport Industry Awards ceremony in London on Thursday 8th May. 

15 sports are represented on the shortlist by a host of brands, teams, agencies and organisations collectively responsible for the finest commercial performance that British sport has had to offer over the past 12 months. 

Last year’s Premier League champions Manchester United are amongst the high-profile brands shortlisted for the coveted prize of Brand of the Year, sponsored by Pinsent Masons, along with adidas, The Championships at Wimbledon, and the UEFA Champions League. United are one of a number of leading football clubs on the shortlist alongside Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and QPR, but the shortlist also includes projects and campaigns from American football, athletics, basketball, boxing, cricket, cycling, golf, horseracing, motorsport, netball, rugby league, rugby union, tennis and triathlon.

Some predicted a slump in the market following London 2012, but seeing major global brands such as Microsoft and SAP on the Official Shortlist for the very first time is proof of what an exciting time this is for the UK sport industry,” commented Nick Keller, Chairman of the Sport Industry Group.  

“It has been a transformative year for British sport from a media, marketing and sponsorship perspective, and the wide range of sports on the shortlist is also testament to the strength in depth of the industry. The standard and volume of work entered to the BT Sport Industry Awards this year means being named on this shortlist is an absolutely stellar achievement.” 

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The Official Shortlist was selected through an extensive Steering Process involving 50 key industry figures and more than 60 hours of intensive judging, fully overseen by Deloitte, the Official Independent Scrutineers of the BT Sport Industry Awards. The Official Shortlist will now go forward for consideration by the main Judging Panel, who will decide the winners in each category. Made up of leaders from across the sport industry and the wider business world, each Judge brings to bear years of expertise in a particular field, as well as their wider industry perspective. More information on the Judging Panel and the overall judging process can be found here.

John Petter, CEO, BT Consumer commented: “Sport has always played a huge part in British society and has particular importance for BT – from our sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games through to the launch of BT Sport. We’re delighted to be celebrating and supporting the successes of the British sport industry.”

• Check out the full Official Shortlist below, or click here

BT are the Headline Partners of the BT Sport Industry Awards. The Official Partners of the BT Sport Industry Awards are Barclays, Deloitte and Eurosport.

Official BT Sport Industry Awards 2014 Shortlist

Brand of the Year, sponsored by Pinsent Masons 

• adidas
• Manchester United
• The Championships, Wimbledon
• UEFA Champions League 

Best Sponsorship of a Team or Individual, sponsored by Kantar Media 

• adidas – Andy Murray – Hit The Winner
• adidas – Chelsea FC – ‘It’s Blue, What Else Matters?’ 
• BMW – England Rugby – The Ultimate Performance
• Microsoft UK – British & Irish Lions
• Thomas Pink – British & Irish Lions
• Wonga.com – Newcastle United Football Club

Best Use of PR, sponsored by Action Images

• adidas – ‘It’s Blue, What Else Matters?’ 
• Bupa – My First Run 
• bwin – Telepathic Football
• Everton Football Club – Make Their Day 
• The Jockey Club – Retail Bond
• Vero Communications – Campaign for Brian Cookson to become UCI President 

Governing Body of the Year, sponsored by the Daily Telegraph

• British Athletics
• British Cycling
• ECB
• England Netball
• RFL
• The FA

Participation Event of the Year, sponsored by Robertson Taylor W&P Longreach

• Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run 
• Brownlee Tri 
• Prudential RideLondon 
• PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final 
• Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon and Ultra 2013

Best Sponsorship of an Event or Competition, sponsored by ICON

• Aviva – Aviva Premiership Rugby 
• Budweiser – The FA Cup with Budweiser 
• Energizer – Energizer Night Run 2013 
• Glenmorangie – ‘The Spirit of the Open’ 
• QBE – QBE Internationals 2013 
• Sainsbury’s – Sainsbury’s Summer Series  

Best International Marketing Campaign, sponsored by London & Partners

• adidas – Team Messi 
• Global Launch of CR7 by Cristiano Ronaldo 
• Infiniti – Red Bull Racing Sponsorship – Formula One
• Oakley/Eurosport – The Ride
• SAP – SAP at the WTA Championships 
• Standard Chartered Bank – ‘The Standard Chartered Trophy – Road to Anfield 2013’

Community Programme of the Year 

• Interactive – Inclusive and Active 2  
• Join In Trust – The Join In Summer
• NatWest and England Rugby – NatWest RugbyForce 2013
• Sky and British Cycling – Sky Ride 2013 
• Tesco Bank – Tesco Bank Football Challenge 
• Tottenham Hotspur Foundation – E18HTEEN 

Digital Platform of the Year

• Lewishamilton.com 
• Pitchero 
• Sky Sports Digital Media 
• Teamer 
• The Official Everton App 
• The Official Wimbledon iPad App 

Best Use of Social Media

• adidas – ‘Hit The Winner’ 
• AELTC – Wimbledon 2013: Don’t Miss a Moment 
• Aviva – #1every5 
• Liverpool FC – International Engagement Project 
• Lucozade Powerleague – Press Centre 
• QPR – A League of Their Own 

Best Live Experience

• adidas – #jumpwithdrose 
• adidas Golf – Weather The Storm  
• adidas global – adidas lab
• NFL – NFL on Regent Street 
• UEFA – Champions Festival 2013 

Best Integrated Marketing Campaign

• adidas – ‘It’s Blue, What Else Matters?’ 
• Barclays – Premier League Thank You 
• HSBC – British & Irish Lions – A Legendary Journey 
• Microsoft UK – British & Irish Lions 2013
• Paddy Power – Right Behind Gay Footballers 
• Surrey County Cricket Club – ‘We Love Fridays’ 

Best Management of a Sportsperson 

• Alastair Cook – Paragon Sports Management
• Anthony Ogogo – Wasserman Media Group
• Carl Froch – Matchroom Sport
• James Anderson – Activate Sport Management
• Leigh Halfpenny – Essentially 

Agency of the Year

• Fast Track
• Iris Worldwide 
• M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Pitch
• Synergy
• Two Circles