Gifts & Greetings Review was delighted to help judge entries for the Gift of the Year competition for the third year running, this time in the categories of Greetings & Stationery Collection, Licensed Product and Festive & Occasional Product.
Looking first at the Greetings & Stationery we were overwhelmed with the quality of entries, many of which pushed the innovation boat out and demonstrated fabulous design-flair and illustrative talent.
We were also very pleased to see a healthy smattering of eco-conscious and smaller art-house publishers who design and produce their greeting cards in the UK.
This was by far the best set of entries we’ve seen in this category and deciding upon the winner will be even more challenging than usual come the final judging day in January.
TV impressionist and comedian Rory Bremner will host the awards ceremony being held on Sunday February 4 at The Vox, part of the Resorts World entertainment complex, located adjacent to The NEC.
There are a total of 15 hotly-contended product categories and – for the first time this year – four retailer categories incorporated into the awards. The GA is seeking more entries from retailers and anyone who fancies a shot at this prestigious accolade can visit the awards website for more information.
The four retailer categories are: Retail Department Store Buyer/Team; Multiple Retailer Store Buyer/Team; Independent Retailer Buyer/Team and Pure Play Online Buyer /Team. The deadline for entries is Friday November 24.
Award winners will receive a range of sales-boosting benefits, ranging from exclusive display of winning products in the Spring Fair’s Gift of the Year showcase to promotion in a full-colour catalogue that is distributed both across the UK and overseas, plus profile-raising media coverage.
This year’s award sponsors include: John Lewis for the Body, Bath & Home Fragrance category, Libra for the Multiple Retailer category, Max Publishing for the Independent Retailer category, and a few others (to be announced!). Spring Fair organiser, Ascential, is the headline sponsor of the event.
