Our most recent winners’ & Judges’ feedback

All winners can request feedback from the judges about why they won for use in press releases, marketing material, brochures, advertisements, on their website etc. This service is included in the entry fee so there is no additional cost. Here are a selection of comments for past winners:

Previous winners

The Allergy Badge

Commenting on Natalie Hopkins, founder of The Allergy Badge, the winner in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year (under 35 years) category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Natalie Hopkins, founder of The Allergy Badge, for working all hours to educate people about allergies in children. After her own child suffered an anaphylactic reaction, she had the idea for the business and initially sold badges, t-shirts and lunchbox stickers with warnings on them about children’s allergies. Today Natalie is a qualified trainer in allergic reactions and she teaches in schools and businesses, raising awareness of allergies in children and helping to keep them safe.”

Barclays

Commenting on Barclays, the winner in the Best Marketing category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Barclays has shaken up the banking industry with its new Big Picture Banking marketing campaign for its corporate banking service, helping it to stand out in the marketplace. It has thrown off its bland grey banking image and replaced it with a new slogan ‘Big Picture Banking - see things differently’, friendlier communications and it has even used the colour pink in marketing material to grab attention. The dazzling new campaign produced the desired results and generated 80% more clicks and more website visits.”

Belkins

Commenting on Belkins, the winner in the Best Small to Medium Sized Business category, the chairman of the judges said:

“US-based business-to-business lead generation agency Belkins has grown from being a home start up to a full-cycle global agency in only five years that operates in 60 industries across 30 countries and can boost more than 1,000 clients. Much of its success is down to its commitment to surpass clients’ expectations, helping it to achieve a 98% customer satisfaction rate. As a consequence of its strategy, Belkins has achieved stunning results for clients, producing spectacular turnover and created a portfolio of long-term clients.”

General Directorate of Residency & Foreigners Affairs

Commenting on the General Directorate of Residency & Foreigners Affairs, Dubai, the winner in the Best Innovative and Creative Use of Technology category, the chairman of the judges said::

“Congratulations to General Directorate of Residency & Foreigners Affairs for implementing an innovative smart control and command centre that increases security and provides new operational efficiencies at Dubai’s ports, airports and other terminals. Thanks to the control and command centre and use of artificial intelligence, it is now much easier to roll out new benefits to customers and staff. Travellers can now enjoy hassle-free visits to Dubai.”

Travcorp Holdings Ltd

Commenting on Andrew Botterill, CEO of Travcorp Holdings Ltd, the winner in the CEO of the Year category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Andrew Botterill, CEO of Travcorp Holdings, is a leading light in the travel industry who has helped the group achieve a meteoric rise in turnover in 2023. He leads Travcorp’s two tour operator brands - Destination2 Ltd and Holiday Gems Ltd – and has helped them achieve strong growth and high levels of customer satisfaction. Botterill has had an illustrious career in the travel industry and thanks to his discerning judgement, leadership skills and forward-thinking vision, he has built a reputation for delivering and boosting performance.”

Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment

Commenting on Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment, the winner in the Best New Product/Service (less than 2 years old) category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MBRHE) for introducing a ground-breaking digital service that allows customers to apply for a residential land grant to build a private home. The service is available via the Emirati section of the Dubai Now platform and was developed with other agencies including Dubai Digital Authority and the Land Department. The time-saving service has transformed the land service with one single automated channel and no physical visits to offices required.”

Previous winners

CMS JANT VE MAKINE SANAYII

Commenting on CMS, the winner in the Best Staff Training & Development Programme category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Well done to CMS, an aluminium alloy wheel manufacturer based in Turkey, for making staff development one of its most important strategic priorities and launching an online platform called the HR Portal and CMS Academy. The digital platform processes training requests, holds training records and evaluations in the one place. The HR Portal and CMS Academy is already having a profound impact on the organisation with more members of staff taking up training than expected and more completing courses.”

Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)

Commenting on the Road and Transport Authority, Dubai, the winner in the Best Product/Service Range category, the chairman of the judges said :

“Congratulations to the Road and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai, for introducing a streamlined right of way permit application system via a centralised platform, that is part of the Dubai Smart City initiative. Those applying for permits, such as contractors, service providers and government agencies, can obtain them quickly and easily. Previously, the process was paper based, long-winded and complicated. The new platform speeds up the process, improves communication, ensures all applications comply with regulations and optimises road usage in Dubai.”

KocSistem

Commenting on KocSistem, the winner in the Best Sustainable Product/Process category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Well done to KocSistem for showing great commitment to the environment with its green sustainability programme. As a major technology provider in Turkey, it believes that digitisation and sustainably need to operate hand in hand to have an impact on the environment and its works with clients to ensure their operations are more productive and ecologically friendly. Proving that it means what it says, KocSistem has got its own house in order and made a huge effort to increase water and energy efficiency, recycle waste, reduce paper usage and use clean energy.”

Gabrielle Preston-Banks

Commenting on Gabrielle Preston-Banks, the winner in the Best Communication category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Ms Gabrielle Preston-Banks is a powerful communicator who uses her skills to help others achieve success. Fully qualified as a coach, a rapid transformational therapist and hypnotherapist, Gabrielle has a talent for unlocking the potential in others and a proven track record of transforming lives. She was handpicked by Mindvalley, a transformational platform, out of thousands of coaches to provide guidance to CEOs, founders and top executives. The glowing testimonials from clients about Gabrielle’s ability to transform lives speaks volumes.”

The Allergy Badge

Commenting on The Allergy Badge, the winner in the Best Community Engagement Initiative category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to The Allergy Badge for providing a much-needed educational service about allergies in children. Launched in January 2019, the company originally offered a range of colourful and bold t-shirts, badges and lunchbox stickers with alerts about a child’s allergies. But after the founder obtained qualifications to train others about living with allergies, The Allergy Badge is now an accredited training centre. Providing training to schools, businesses and communities, The Allergy Badge is helping to raise awareness about allergies and save lives.”

Belkins

Commenting on Belkins, the winner in the Best Marketing category, the chairman of the judges said::

“Congratulations to the marketing team at Belkins, US-based business-to-business lead generation agency, for being the dynamic powerhouse behind the brand. Each member of the team is a specialist and using predictive analytics, creativity and strategic thinking, the company has produced high-impact campaigns for clients. One campaign produced a stunning 1,000% increase in return on investment, while another achieved a 300% growth rate in a year. Only five years old, Belkins is now a full-cycle global agency with more than1,000 customers worldwide and an enviable retention rate of 95%.”

winning this last award has got me an invitation to join the Institute of Master Trainers Association. I’m really pleased

Neil Wightman

Founder - Y2 Learn Driver Training

Winning a Best Business Award has provided us with a platform to raise our profile via the media. Since winning we have secured press coverage in key national and regional publications regarding the great work we are doing and we have attracted students to the college that may not have otherwise heard about us.

I would recommend the Best Business Awards to any dynamic organisation that wants to prove to stakeholders that it is delivering.

Dave Cooper

Director of Marketing, Solihull College

If you are a young business without much marketing spend, then entering awards can be a cost-effective way of generating positive marketing and PR, because you are thrown into the spotlight. It also offers a seal of approval.

Potential customers can look at that and think “I’m happy to do business with this company”, because they have that recognition.

Adam Goodyer

co-founder of Concert Live

Previous winners

Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)

Commenting on the Roads and Transport Authority, the winner in the Best Business Transformation category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai for being the first in the Middle East and North Africa to implement an enterprise, control and command department. Known as EC3, it covers systems, statistics, data analysis and back up in case of an emergency. EC3 was designed to be a centre of excellence that manages the mass transit system and traffic in Dubai in a safe and seamless way. The development of EC3 makes Dubai a global leader in the use of the latest technologies.”

The Others Brand Experience Agency

Commenting on The Others Brand Experience Agency, the winner in the Best Communication category, the chairman of the judges said? :

“The Other Brand Experience Agency has created a knock-out cultural event for young people with its Fanta Fest 2023 carnival that was run in 10 cities across Turkey. During the event, aimed at promoting soft drink Fanta, participants enjoyed live music, snacks and fun. Promoted through the Daha Daha app, numbers attending was substantially higher than the year before and awareness topped 93% from 86%. Well done to The Other Brand Experience Agency for boosting sales, market share and awareness of Fanta.”

Ministry of Health and Prevention

Commenting on the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai, the winner in the Best Innovative and Creative use of Technology category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai, for making brilliant use of cutting-edge technologies to help it better understand its customers. Centre to gathering information on customers’ behavioural and cultural patterns is the ministry’s new user experience lab (UX Lab), the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates. Ministry of Health and Prevention is a pioneer in the use of ground-break technologies, helping it to develop smart new applications that meet the needs of customers.”

SVAM AGROFOODEX PVT LTD AURANGABAD

Commenting on Manoj Ravsaheb Kadam, founder of SV Group, the winner in the Outstanding Entrepreneur category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Mr Manoj Ravsaheb Kadam is a man of many talents who has chosen to help his fellow nationals in India rather than pursue a career overseas. Despite a difficult start in life, Mr Kadam gained excellent qualifications and had a brilliant career in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. After choosing to help farmers, support budding engineers and others, he set up several companies in engineering, farming and filming to employ local people. Congratulations to Mr Kadam for making a major contribution to society in India.”

Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment

Commenting on Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment the winner in the Best Business Transformation category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MBRHE) for implementing an ambitious business transformation across the organisation to improve communication, productivity and to meet housing demand. The far-reaching programme has produced brilliant results with every one of the planning changes successfully introduced. The use of new technologies played an important role in creating new efficiencies and value for customers. The transformation met all its key objectives and helped MBRHE secure top satisfaction rates from both customers and employees of almost 100%.”

KocSistem

Commenting on KocSistem, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said:

“Congratulations to KocSistem for coupling sustainability with digitisation and bringing out its own green intelligence sustainability initiative as part of its commitment to its 2050 carbon neutral target. As Turkey’s leading technology provider, KocSistem has taken the lead and adopted a circular economy strategy to the benefit of the environment, society, customers, partners and stakeholders. As well as working with clients to help them reduce their environmental impact, KocSistem has cut back on energy, water and papers at its own premises.”

Get in touch to learn more

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