We had the absolute joy of supporting and guiding two brilliant third-year work experience students from the University of Chichester, giving them first-hand experience of working in a global agency and insights to complete their dissertations. Between them they have achieved all sorts of ambitious tasks including analysing the complete customer journey, creating SEO website posts, social media reels, and more. And they didn’t just learn from us, they taught us a lot too. Before they left, we asked them to share their experience and learnings; James Mepham: Building Confidence Through Real Responsibility After 20 exciting, informative, and delightful weeks, my placement at August Recognition is coming to its end. I have had the best possible time learning from the best in the industry, improving not only how I see the awards industry and all of the work that has to be put into it to make everything work in the end, but improving how I see the business world as a whole. I have had the joy of working behind the scenes on all the data functions to get complex systems working, witnessing and partaking in client meetings to get the full experience of an awards journey, analysing and providing feedback on an entire customer journey and managing partner pages on August's website using WordPress. This experience has helped me feel more confident in how I approach work, allowing myself to be confident in my industry knowledge and apply it with more precision, more relaxed in unfamiliar work environments and tasks, as well as enabling me to learn about new industries and new areas of these industries to take forward into my future career. Additionally, the experience itself has broadened my horizons on what I would like to do in my future career giving me invaluable insight into industries that I didn't know existed let alone had an interest in. But I cannot talk about my experience without thanking the team at August for all of their help at not only showing me the ins and outs of the awards world as an equal rather than an intern, allowing me to experience the working world while feeling like a valued member of the team.

Every year, Earth Day serves as a powerful reminder that the future of our planet is shaped by the choices we all make today. It’s easy to see sustainability as something separate from business, and out of our hands. But the reality is that businesses and organisations of every size, in every sector, can play a vital role. Whether that be in reducing plastic pollution, conservation of wildlife and biodiversity, or innovating in manufacturing and business operations to be more sustainable. We’re passionate about making a difference and one area we’re supporting is reforestation of the world’s forests. Why Forests Matter More Than Ever Forests are one of the most powerful, natural systems we have. They support life, regulate our climate, and sustain communities across the world. Yet despite their importance, they continue to disappear at an alarming rate due to deforestation. - Forest cover is shrinking by 4.7 million hectares every year - 2,000 years ago, 80% of Western Europe was forested. Today, it’s just 34% - Forests are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial species - Over 28,000 plant species from forests are used in medicine - They play a critical role in water cycles and soil health Reforestation isn’t just an environmental initiative, forests are extremely important to our health and wellbeing. They provide tens of millions of jobs around the world, and are a vital part of the food chain too. What “Who Wins When You Win” Really Means We believe success should create something bigger than itself. Which is exactly why we created our “Who Wins When You Win” initiative: Every time one of our clients wins an award, we plant a tree in their honour. Through our partnership with Evertreen, we’re building our very own Evergreen Recognition Forest. A living, growing symbol of achievement, where business success contributes directly to environmental progress.

March is always an exciting (and busy!) month for the team here at August Recognition. Business awards season begins to ramp up, the financial year draws to a close, and the first quarter of the year comes to an end. And it’s a time of year for both taking action but also taking a moment to take stock, re-evaluate goals set at the beginning of the year, and reflect on results. From record-breaking client results to shaping the future of the awards industry, take a look at what we’ve been up to and how we’re driving success for our clients, team and industry. Client Results Driving Real Impact We’re super proud to share that in the past 12 months, we’ve achieved a 5% higher win rate than last year, making this our most award-winning year yet. And we’re also achieving an industry-leading shortlist rate for our clients; 91% Shortlist Rate 68% Win Rate The reason we can achieve these impressive results for clients is not just because our clients deserve recognition for their achievements, but because each and every award we enter, we enter strategically. Every client has a bespoke strategy, built on evidence, expert positioning, and a deep understanding of what judges are really looking for in a winner. But the real story isn’t in the numbers, it’s the impact the wins have on our clients. From Recognition to Real Impact We’ve always stood by the belief that awards aren’t just about trophies. The value in entering and winning awards is all about what happens because of the win, or shortlist result. Winning awards can have an impact on a personal level, on a whole-business level, and on a team level, as well as for your customers, employees and community. For our clients, that impact is tangible; “I'm just over the moon and wanted to thank you so much. The last couple of years haven't been easy and I'm trying to celebrate each milestone. This is a huge one. Thank you for making such a meaningful difference to myself, my business and hopefully to countless children and young people as we try to scale. I am eternally grateful”

The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards are open for 2026. And this year they have an exciting new media partner! ITV is the official media partner for The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards 2026. The partnership brings with it a brand new category, the ITV Growth Accelerator Award, and the winner of this category will receive a massive £500,000 of television advertising on ITV. “The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards has always been about celebrating the very best of British enterprise. This partnership with ITV marks an exciting new chapter, moving beyond recognition to active commercial support for the businesses shaping the next phase of UK growth.“ Sarah Austin, Managing Director, Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards The awards celebrate the resilience, innovation, and creativity of British businesses. They are one of the most prestigious and largest business awards in the UK and are considered by most ‘the ones to win.' And we are delighted to be a partner to the awards for yet another year. Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards Categories There are 20 categories available this year; - The Lloyds Leading SME Business of the Year - The Lloyds Outstanding Mid Market Business of the Year - The Lloyds AI Gamechanger of the Year Award - The Lloyds Scale Up Trailblazer Business of the Year Award - The ITV Growth Accelerator Award - The Cazenove Capital Femal Founder of the Year Award - The Blick Rathenberg Mid-Market Growth Business of the Year Award - The Gerald Edelman Family Business of the Year - The Vistage Small Business Growth Award - The Department for Business & Trade International Expansion of the Year Award - The Inclusion Award - The Small Business of the Year Award - The Business Enabler of the Year Award - The Entrepreneur of the Year Award - The Technology Business of the Year - The Innovation Award - The Customer Loyalty Award - The Employer of the Year Award - The Purpose Beyond Profit Award - The Sustainable Impact Award

When most people think about building a personal brand strategy, they think about growing their visibility by posting more on social media, attending industry events and sharing their thought leader pieces online. And while all that matters, there’s a big part that’s missing: building credibility. When you have visibility without credibility, you typically lack authority, and you have to rely on hoping that people will trust what you say. The entrepreneurs and industry leaders who stand out, who are invited into bigger rooms, respected, and well-known are all doing something different… They’re not just telling people they’re good, they’re proving it. Shifting your Strategy from Telling to Showing If you look back over the last few years of your work, you’ll likely have delivered results, led change, or created some kind of impact. But for most of us, that value sits quietly in your business or in your team, never to be seen or heard of by the outside world. The way to change that? By winning credible awards. When you enter and win an award, you take your achievements and turn it into recognised, third-party validation, validation that carries far more weight than self-promotion ever could. That’s where your personal brand strategy will start to accelerate. The moment you move from “this is what I do” to “this is what I do and have won awards for”, more people will sit up and take notice of you. Why Recognition Multiplies Your Reach Winning an award will add instant credibility to your personal profile, but winning the awards is only the starting point, how you use that win is what makes all the difference. When you become award-winning, you unlock unique opportunities, for example: - PR opportunities that position you as an expert - Backlinks and media coverage that strengthen your digital presence - Content that carries more authority and credibility - Conversations that open more easily because trust is already established