Communiqué Communications Consultancy of the Year

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This category is open to any communications consultancy (traditional or virtual), agency or group working in the UK or European healthcare environment with more than 20 members of staff employed/virtual working as account handlers within the healthcare team, who are focused in the field of healthcare communications.

Emphasis should be placed on the consultancy achievements within the period covered by this year’s awards. You must have entered at least one Healthcare Communications Awards category. You should highlight your entries for the year in your submission and include them within your supporting materials.

If your consultancy is a standalone entity but sits within a larger communications network, it is essential for complete transparency that you disclose this. In your entry, you must also be clear about the extent of shared services within the group; what additional resources are made available to you, either with or without charge by either the parent company or another operating company within the network, for example, HR services including learning, development and training, finance, IT, proprietary technologies e.g. analytics; subscriptions and marketing; business development including client referrals; culture benefits e.g. wellness benefits or tuition costs.

2025 PROCESS:

There will be two stages for this award in 2025

  • Stage 1 will consist of a written entry, which should be completed using the criteria below. The written entry does not include any marks for an oral presentation, as this will be judged separately from the written presentation. The judges will review the written entries in Stage 1 and those teams whose written entries have been shortlisted will be invited to present to the judging panel during Stage 2.
  • Stage 2 will consist of a live presentation to the judging panel, as previously for this category. This will take place on Friday 23 May 2025. Stage 1 scores will not be carried forward into Stage 2. The shortlisted team will be required to give a short presentation on their entry and will then be asked questions by the judges relating to their content and team performance. The judges will select the award winner based on this presentation and its alignment, and validation of, the original written entry. In your presentation, the judges want to see evidence that supports your entry; adaptability, resilience and innovation within the consultancy; and approach to evolving market dynamics and demands.. If you have made use of shared communications network resources, please make this year when demonstrating how your agency has optimised these tools.

The organisers will send invitations by 9 May 2025, therefore it is advisable for up to four members of your team to hold the date open. You may use slides or other materials in your presentation, which should last no longer than 10 minutes and enhance your entry. Full information on what will be required will be sent to you when notified by Friday 9 May. Following your presentation the judges will ask questions relating to your submission, business performance and the healthcare industry.

Suggestion from the judges: In order to best support your financial statements, bring along a member of your finance team and include revenue or funding streams with clear transparency regarding financial and operational independence

JUDGING CRITERIA AND ENTRY FORMAT:

CONSULTANCY AWARD KEY INFORMATION FORM

Must be fully completed and submitted. All financial information MUST be signed off by an accountant or Finance Director.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (max 200 words) – 0 (zero) Marks

If you are nominated for an award, PMGroup may publish extracts from this summary, so ensure that it contains no confidential or sensitive information. No other part of your entry will be reproduced and the main content of your entry will remain confidential at all times.

PHOTO

Please upload a high resolution, print quality photograph or collage of the team.

Main Entry

Main Entry

1. SITUATION ANALYSIS AND BENCHMARKING – 10 Marks (400 words)

  • In this section you should show the judges how well you understood the situation for your consultancy at the start of 2024, clearly laying out the challenges and opportunities that you were facing at the start of the year
  • Include information on any new challenges or opportunities that arose during the year
  • Where appropriate, lay out benchmark data that directly supports your strategic and operational choice and that will be referred to in you evaluation of effectiveness later
  • Tell the judges very briefly about the culture and vision and values for your consultancy.

 

Judges’ top tips

• This information provides vital context for judging everything else that follows in your entry

• Avoid data or information that is not relevant to your strategies or outcomes.

2. PROPOSITION AND MARKETPLACE NEED – 15 Marks (400 words)

  • Clearly articulate your consultancy’s proposition, describing what makes your agency unique or distinctive
  • Demonstrate how this proposition is tailored to address specific marketplace dynamics or unmet client needs
  • Provide evidence of how your proposition has been refined or developed to stay relevant in response to client feedback, healthcare industry trends, or market pressures
  • Show how your proposition aligns with your consultancy’s vision, values, and long-term goals.

Judges’ top tips:

  • Be concise and focused. Judges are looking for a compelling articulation of your consultancy’s core offering and its relevance
  • Use specific examples or data to illustrate how your proposition solves client problems or meets industry challenges
  • Avoid generic claims – make it clear why your consultancy stands out in the healthcare communications landscape.

3. BUSINESS STRATEGY AND EVIDENCE OF DELIVERY – 25 Marks (500 words)

  • Explain what your business strategy was for 2024, referring to the data and insights in the situation analysis section
  • Describe why this was the right strategy, e.g. how it maximised opportunities, addressed challenges and aligned with the consultancy’s longer-term vision and values
  • Explain how your strategy effectively positioned your business within the market and provide clear evidence demonstrating the successful delivery of this strategy

Judges’ top tips

The judges will:

  • Bullet points are often clearer than long prose
  • Provide clear evidence of outcomes that include financial, client, and operational metrics
  • Show measurable results from innovation or resilience strategies.

4. OPERATIONAL/INTERNAL EXPERTISE AND SUCCESS – 25 Marks (500 words)

  • You should clearly show how you succeeded in the key operational aspects of running the consultancy, specifically how you have:
    • Approached people management and development, including your record in attracting, retaining and training staff
    • Designed and deployed innovative operational changes
  • Please outline goals, initiatives and successes in addressing key industry issues, specifically including promoting:
  • diversity and inclusion within the agency
  • environmental sustainability and minimising the impact of the business on climate change
  • hiring and retaining the best talent.

 

Judges’ top tips

  • You should only include initiatives or activities from 2024 or initiatives where significant new activity has occurred in 2024. Be clear about what is new activity for 2024 and keep mentions of activity from previous years to a minimum
  • The judges will consider the resources available to your consultancy when assessing the results achieved and awarding marks
  • The judges are looking to reward genuine success and real change so make sure your evidence is based on appropriate and robust measurement
  • This is the third year we have specifically asked for your consultancy’s activities and achievements in relation to environmental sustainability and climate change, and we recognise that as an industry, we are only just embarking on this journey. As such, our expectations will be realistic.

5. CLIENT SUCCESS AND SATISFACTION IN 2024 – 40 Marks (750 words)

  • Describe three key pieces of client work you have delivered during 2024 and provide evidence of their business and industry impact
  • Provide evidence of client and brand retention and satisfaction, including quotes or testimonials that align directly with measurable outcomes, not just broad commentary on the work
  • Include comments from clients or other third-party stakeholders in this section but ONLY if they clearly help to demonstrate the impact of the work
  • If any of the projects or programmes implemented by your team have been entered for other Communiqué Awards this year, please state that in this section.

Judge’s top tips

  • You should bear in mind that more marks are available for this section than any other, and make sure your entry reflects this
  • Include client feedback or quotes within this section
  • When describing the impact of client projects or programmes focus on outcomes than just outputs or out-takes.
  • Clearly explain the methods used to measure success.

Don’t forget: if you have submitted any work into other categories this year, please include these entries within your supporting documents for this category.