Event Awards

Liz Dean

Recent Posts

5 Tips for Running a Successful Live Event, From a Stevie Awards Winner

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Nov 08, 2012 @ 12:22 PM

Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc., of Irvine, California, USA,  won a Gold Stevie® Award for Sales Meeting of the Year in the Sales Awards Achievement Categories of the 2012 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. (The entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top business awards for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals is November 14. Request your entry kit today.) Here we look at six tactics Toshiba used to run a successful live event.

Mark MathewsA record-breaking 650 people, including media, business professionals, and new and existing customers attended “Fast Forward,” Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc.’s National Dealer Meeting and End-User Conference held May 22-24, 2011 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.  Along with unveiling 20 innovative office technology products focusing on mobility, security, and managed-document services, Toshiba used the meeting as an opportunity to hear from independent dealers, direct-channel operators, and industry media and analysts.

  1. All-Access Passes for Press
    Toshiba granted members of the media all-access passes to the conference— something of a rarity in today’s corporate culture. The media were allowed to meet Toshiba’s top executives and to access company insights throughout the event. This opportunity was not just lip service, and did not go unnoticed by the trade media.

  1. Well-known Keynote Presenter
    One of the meeting’s biggest highlights was a keynote presentation delivered by Frank W. Abagnale—best known as the person whose life story was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can. There are few people on the planet better equipped than Abagnale to weigh in on the importance of what Toshiba does in terms of security and how it impacts day-to-day business. With 35-plus years of experience working with the FBI, Abagnale is an authority on forgery, embezzlement, and document security.


  1. Other Events
    An extensive product-and-solutions fair catering to vertical markets was open for two full days in conjunction with the meeting. The event was capped off by a live concert put on by the legendary rock band Cheap Trick.

  1. Useful Presentations
    Among the Toshiba executives on hand was CEO Masahiro “Matt” Yamada, who opened one of the meeting sessions with an overall business update, highlighting Toshiba’s recent success and growth. Yamada shared Toshiba’s business plans, as well as a report of the first quarter of 2011. In another session, Bill Melo, VP of marketing, services & solutions, touted the revolutionary next-generation Toshiba Encompass software that was slated to launch in the fourth quarter of 2011. Additionally, Joseph Contreras, director, product & solutions marketing for Toshiba, also was  available for interviews and presented 11 new color multifunction printer models Toshiba was about to launch.

  1. Drawing Back the Curtain
    Each reporter and/or editor attending the event took advantage of the opportunities offered to gain key intellectual capital and responded with nothing but positive feedback and coverage for Toshiba. The unique opportunity to gain face-to-face time with some of the managed print services industry’s most important figureheads left media members with newfound knowledge of the industry, and of Toshiba’s scope of business and goals for the future.

    All attendees walked away from the event with rave reviews and an appreciation for Toshiba’s willingness to draw the curtain back and share with them the way their business is operated.

    On winning the Stevie Award for Sales Event of the Year, Mark Mathews, president and current CEO, commented: "Toshiba as an organization is thankful for this recognition. The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service is one of our industry's highest honors, and we are again humbled by the recognition from our peers. Maintaining a healthy relationship with our customers and the trade press is clearly one of Toshiba's greatest priorities, and we will continue to improve these relationships in 2013."


About Mark Mathews:
Mark E. Mathews currently serves as president and chief executive officer (CEO) for Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. (TABS). With the company since 1993, Mathews served in various management roles within EID prior to reaching his current position. Mathews has also been a large proponent of the company’s green initiatives by being the first manufacturer to partner with Close the Loop, a world-class recycler of imaging consumables, a program he continues to expand.

Mathews earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from Columbia University and in business administration from Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. A recipient of numerous academic honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Mathews also holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering mechanics from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mathews is actively involved in his local community and currently serves as chairman of the board for Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, California

About Toshiba America Business Solutions:
Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. (TABS), is an independent operating company of Toshiba Corporation, the world's eighth-largest electronics/electrical equipment company. TABS is a leading managed document services provider, with experts that help organizations take control of document security, workflow, and print environments. With the award-winning EncompassTM managed print services program, e-STUDIOTM line of multifunction printers, toner products, and retail information/thermal printing systems, TABS is providing ways for businesses to print smarter, work safer, and conserve resources. For more information on Toshiba solutions and services available in the United States and Latin America, please visit www.business.toshiba.com.

Tags: customer service awards, live event awards, Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, Mark Mathews, Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc., sales meeting of the year, sales awards

11 Live Event Awards Categories Honored at The American Business Awards

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Nov 07, 2012 @ 01:28 PM

The first early-bird entry deadline for 2013 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is Friday, November 16 and we thought it would be helpful for organizations if we highlighted our live event awards categories. (If you haven't yet done so, you can download your entry kit here.) Our categories recognize excellence in live events staged since January, 1 2012.

Our best event categories include:

  1. Gold Stevie AwardBest Brand Experience Event (New category for 2013)
  2. Best Consumer Event (e.g. auto show, boat show, health & fitness expo, etc.)
  3. Best Exhibition Display, Stand or Feature (New category for 2013)
  4. Best Tradeshow or Convention
  5. Best Association Event or Meeting
  6. Best Corporate Image Event
  7. Best New Product Introduction Event
  8. Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event
  9. Best Sales Meeting
  10. Best Sales Presentation
  11. Best Public Relations Event (New category for 2013)

Your event awards submissions should include:

  1. An essay of up to 525 words describing the event: its genesis, goals, development, and results. You may include detailed production notes, audience demographics, etc.
  2.  Any number of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. These may include video clips, photographs, press reviews, news articles, and so on.
  3. Optionally, you may list creative and production credits for your event - a list of the people and organizations that contributed to its development.

Our 2012 Gold ABA event of the year winners included:

2013 ABA Finalists will be announced mid-May and the 11th Annual award winners will be announced at our traditional banquet in Chicago on June 17.

If you have any questions about which category your should enter, please email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

Tags: business awards, live event awards, American business awards, event awards, best event, event of the year

Two New Live Event Awards Added to The 2012 International Business Awards

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Jul 03, 2012 @ 09:07 AM

We have just added two new live event awards categories in The 2012 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition to help you showcase your organization's successes. (The extended entry deadline for the 2012 IBAs is 18 July; you can request your entry kit here.)

Our newly added live event award categories include:

  • Best Public Service/Public Affairs The International Business AwardsEvent
  • Best Public Relations Event

Our other event awards categories include:

  • Best Consumer Event (e.g. auto show, boat show, health & fitness expo, etc.)
  • Best Tradeshow or Convention
  • Best Association Event or Meeting
  • Best Corporate Image Event
  • Best New Product Introduction Event
  • Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event
  • Best Sales Meeting
  • Best Sales Presentation

Your event of the year submissions should include the following information:

  • An essay of up to 500 words describing the event: its genesis, goals, development, and results. You may include detailed production notes, audience demographics, etc.
  • Any number of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. These may include video clips, photographs, press reviews, news articles, and so on.
  • Optionally, you may list creative and production credits for your event - a list of the people and organizations that contributed to its development

The 8th Annual International Business Awards were presented in October 2011 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Best event honorees included GLOBAL EVENTS ID Corporation SL, GSMA, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, Jack Morton Worldwide, Turk Telekom, and Opus, among others. 2012 honorees will be celebrated at the 9th annual awards banquet on Monday, 15 October in Seoul, South Korea.

How will our new corporate awards categories help you highlight your organization?

Tags: business awards, live event awards, International business awards, event awards, best event, event of the year

6 Ways Live Event Awards Winner Fostered Management Team Leadership

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, May 01, 2012 @ 11:25 AM

Turk Telekom of Istanbul, Turkey won a Stevie® Award for Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event in the live event awards categories of The 2011 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards program. (The 2012 IBAs are now accepting entries. Download your entry kit here and begin submitting entries by the 16 May entry deadline.) Here we look at the how Turk Telekom strengthened their management team's leadership through their event of the year.

The 2011 event awards winner is a leading communication and convergence technology group in Turkey which provides its customers with integrated telecommunication services from PSTN and GSM to broadband internet. With nearly 30,000 employees all over Turkey, the organization was challenged to motivate their leadership when the company transitioned from being a public company to being a private company. To help ease the transition, Telekom's internal communications department organized an internal motivation event. Hosted at Turkey’s tropical Mediterranean paradise, Antalya, the event focused on ‘game playing’ to foster high level team building and strengthen leadership.

The key communications objectives were to:

  1. Turk TelekomBond the managers from all 81 cities in Turkey as a team in and of itself,
  2. Create a family feeling, like a big team,
  3. Stimulate enthusiasm for the new company structure, and
  4. Foster harmony amongst various departmental managers and geographies.

To meet the communications objectives, the best event award winner's internal communications team created a series of “games” lasting over the 3 day event. The highlights included:

  1. Turkey’s Biggest Stage:
    An impressive 480 square meter was constructed as the centerpiece of the event, mimicking a game board. The participants themselves would become the “pattern” at certain times, which were the “stuff” of compelling photo opportunities.
  2. Smart Street:
    A lounge area was built where participants could interact with state-of-the-art communications and entertainment products under development.
  3. Games Arena:  
    A lively place where managers could play an amazing variety of games – traditional and new - in pairs or teams, such as table tennis, bowling, backgammon, soccer, basketball, go karts, PS3, WII, Xbox Kinetic, ginger, zorp ball, IQ Cup and more. There was even a caricaturist who drew humorous pictures of the managers. There were various workshops and activity areas where participants could interact, develop skills through game playing.
  4. Strategy Sessions:  
    Several sessions were conducted in which managers presented strategic objectives and how to bring the key message to life: “People make companies, people are our biggest asset.” In workshops, executives shared tools and techniques about how to strengthen leadership. In soft skill sessions between workshops, participants engaged in entertaining hands-on activities, role-playing, and anonymous ideation pursuits to discover ways to communicate more effectively.
  5. Entertainment:
    Weaving the “Games People Play” mood throughout the sessions, there were performances on the main stage by popular Turkish singers and stand up comics.
  6. Branding:
    There was no shortage of motivating signage and accessories to keep the theme alive: new logo “We exist to add value to life,” luggage tags, bus signs, welcome and farewell banners, desk flags, name tags, flyers, field flags, T-shirts, pens, shirts, and more. These were displayed at the airport for the majority who traveled from Turkey’s 81 cities, in the hotels where they stayed, and at the venue reception areas, activity rooms, stages and fields.

Telekom executives disclosed top marks for content, value, accommodation, and team spirit from the attendees in a post event survey.

About Turk Telekom
Türk Telekom Group is a leading communication and convergence technology group in Turkey which provides integrated telecommunication services including PSTN and GSM to broadband internet. Turk Telekom has nearly 30,000 employees all over Turkey. Türk Telekom group companies have 16 mn Fixed Access Lines, 6.7 mn ADSL Connections and 11.6 mn Mobile Subscribers. To learn more information, visit www.turktelekom.com.

Tags: business awards, live event awards, International business awards, event awards, best event, Turk Telekom, event f the year

8 Live Event Awards Categories in The 2012 International Business Awards

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Apr 18, 2012 @ 03:02 PM

There are 8 live event awards categories in The 2012 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, to help you showcase your organization's successes. (All organizations and individuals worldwide may submit nominations to the IBAs. The entry deadline is 16 May; request your entry kit here.) Our categories recognize excellence in live events staged since January 1 2011.

Our event awards categories include:

  • International Business AwardsBest Consumer Event (e.g. auto show, boat show, health & fitness expo, etc.)
  • Best Tradeshow or Convention
  • Best Association Event or Meeting
  • Best Corporate Image Event
  • Best New Product Introduction Event
  • Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event
  • Best Sales Meeting
  • Best Sales Presentation

Your event of the year submissions should include:

  • An essay of up to 500 words describing the event: its genesis, goals, development, and results. You may include detailed production notes, audience demographics, etc.
  • Any number of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. These may include video clips, photographs, press reviews, news articles, and so on.
  • Optionally, you may list creative and production credits for your event - a list of the people and organizations that contributed to its development

The 8th Annual International Business Awards were presented in October 2011 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Best event honorees included GLOBAL EVENTS ID Corporation SL, GSMA, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, Jack Morton Worldwide, Turk Telekom, and Opus, among others. 2012 honorees will be celebrated at the 9th annual awards banquet on Monday, 15 October in Seoul, South Korea.

How will our international corporate awards categories help you highlight your organization?

Tags: business awards, live event awards, International business awards, event awards, best event, event of the year

8 Live Event Awards Categories Honored at The American Business Awards

Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Apr 12, 2012 @ 12:41 PM

The entry deadline for The 2012 (10th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is fast approaching on Wednesday, April 25 and we thought it would be helpful for organizations if we highlighted our live event awards categories. (If you haven't yet done so, you can download your entry kit here.) Our categories recognize excellence in live events staged since January 1 2011.

Our best event categories include:

  • Best Consumer Event (e.g. auto show, boat show, health & fitness expo, etc.)
  • Best Tradeshow or Convention
  • Best Association Event or MeetingAmerican Business Awards
  • Best Corporate Image Event
  • Best New Product Introduction Event
  • Best Internal Recognition/Motivational Event
  • Best Sales Meeting
  • Best Sales Presentation

Your event awards submissions should include:

  • An essay of up to 500 words describing the event: its genesis, goals, development, and results. You may include detailed production notes, audience demographics, etc.
  • Any number of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges. These may include video clips, photographs, press reviews, news articles, and so on.
  • Optionally, you may list creative and production credits for your event - a list of the people and organizations that contributed to its development

Our 2011 ABA event of the year winners included:

2012 ABA Finalists will be announced mid-May and the 10th Annual event award winners will be announced at our traditional banquet on June 18th at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

If you have any questions about which category your should enter, please email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.

Tags: business awards, live event awards, American business awards, event awards, best event, event of the year

8 Strategies for Event Success, From a Live Event Awards Winner

Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Mar 20, 2012 @ 11:28 AM

Vemma Nutrition Company of Scottsdale, Arizona, USA won a Stevie® Award in the live event awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., for Best Tradeshow or Convention. (The deadline for entering the 2012 ABAs is March 28. You can start submitting entries by downloading your entry kit here.)

Vemma Nutrition CompanyFounded in 2004, Vemma Nutrition Company specializes in a premium liquid nutrition formula that makes it easy for consumers to get vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants needed to form a solid nutritional foundation. The company sells their product directly to individuals, and offers an income stream to people and organizations who introduce their product line to others.

In February 2011, Vemma held their annual "Power of Why" Convention at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada to share new products, enhance selling techniques, and motivate their Brand Partners. The live event award winner hosted a successful convention by using the following strategies:

  1. Pay Close Attention to Marketing & Promotion
    The event awards winner's commitment to convention enrollment was illustrated through their marketing and promotion efforts. The company created a dedicated convention website, produced several YouTube videos, and created buzz through social media outreach.
  2. Connect with Attendees
    Vemma Founder & CEO, BK Boreyko, hosted a lavish reception as a way to include all attendees and create excitement about the convention.
  3. Attention to Detail is Everything
    No detail was too small at the convention. Vemma staff transformed the MGM into their own little world with everything including interactive floor graphics to Power of Why branded escalators and posted personal Why statements.
  4. Have Distinguished Keynote Speakers
    The convention included an array of motivating speakers including: heart surgeon and award-winning syndicated talk show host, Dr. Mehmet Oz; Dr. Michael Roizen; The Sleep Doctor™, and publisher and editor of SUCCESS magazine Darren Hardy.
  5. Offer Insightful Training Sessions
    In addition to networking, best event attendees received training sessions on how to grow their businesses.
  6. Introduce New Tools
    Convention attendees got an inside look at new Vemma tools including Success Profiles for personal websites and new iPad apps for download.
  7. Highlight Success Stories
    Convention leaders developed “The Power of You. The Power of Why,” a series of approximately 20 videos capturing top leaders’ family and friends secretly interviewed about their journeys to success which were shown throughout the event to inspire attendees.
  8. Award and Recognize
    Top income-earners were distinguished throughout the event with onstage acknowledgement and prizes. Through these celebrations, all attendees were motivated to succeed.

The Power of Why Convention attendees left Las Vegas with more Vemma knowledge, savvier business techniques, and extra motivation for success. As a result of their efforts, Vemma staff saw an increase of enrollments by 30%, record-breaking March 2011 sales, and immediate sale of 1/3 of 2012 convention tickets.

About Vemma Nutrition Company
Founded in 2004, Vemma Nutrition Company specializes in premium liquid nutrition providing formula in several unique products, making it easy to get for individuals to get the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants they need. The company's mission is to help others by enhancing their well being and offering an income stream to those who share the product with others. Vemma is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and Vemma products are distributed in over 50 countries. For more information, visit http://www.vemma.com/.

Tags: live event awards, American business awards, event awards, best event, Live Event Award, Vemma Nutrition Company