2021 CATEGORIES & CRITERIA

To view a category, simply click on it below. If you'd like to know where your company fits but aren't sure, send an email to mike.moore@futurenet.com 

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES

Without great people, the UK mobile industry would not be the success it is. This year’s winner, nominated by their peers and colleagues, is truly at the heartbeat of our amazing industry, and unquestionably deserves to have their contribution celebrated.

CRITERIA

  • Must have worked in the industry for 10 years more
  • Someone who has inspired and innovated the company and industry
  • Why does this person deserve to receive our coveted outstanding contribution award?

The only award of its kind, the Power 50 ranks the UK mobile industry’s most influential individuals. Our expert editorial team decide the Power 50 list with the help of nominations in May.

CRITERIA

To make the Power 50 list, an executive needs to be bold in their leadership and vision, and have exceeded expectations in the different categories we have chosen. We look for those who have influence beyond their existing roles, in addition to imbuing their businesses with their values.

Shop Idol is the ultimate search for the nation's best mobile salesperson. Please view the shop idol website to find out more.

CRITERIA

Be the best the UK mobile industry has to offer!

COMPANY CATEGORIES

This award is open to a start-up business that is under two years old . The award is open to businesses operating within the the Mobile Industry. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

CRITERIA POINTS

  • Tell us about the market size you have launched into
  • Showcase a clear, innovative business idea backed by a sound business and marketing plan
  • Showcase an on-target business and financial performance to date, and a healthy forward order book

Continuous innovation is essential for any business wanting to keep customers excited and adapt to market trends. This category recognises the innovation that stands out across the entire industry. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

CRITERIA POINTS

  • What makes this product innovative and why is it unique to the market?
  • Showcase and demonstrate the number of partners who have benefited from this product and how it has allowed them to grow their business
  • Demonstrate commercial and financial success over the last 12 months
  • Showcase how you have diversified revenue streams through this innovation

Bringing products and or services to life is one of the most important things a vendor chooses to do - the job that an agency does can genuinely make or break the success of the technology in hand. This category recognises a collaborative effort between agencies and brands. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

CRITERIA POINTS

  • Tell us about your brief, and what the KPIs were
  • What did you propose? Tell us about the services and solutions you recommended
  • Tell us the cost - showcase how this was financially successful for both you and the customer
  • What makes this campaign special? Provide customer testimonials
The CSR and Sustainability Initiative award is designed to honour companies in the mobile industry which make the most important contributions to those in need. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Define the project or initiative scope: include timelines, goals and team members. It is acceptable for the entry to focus on a particular stage of a long-term project
  • How successful was the implementation of this project or initiative? Was it within budget and delivered in time?
  • What have been its benefits? Provide hard evidence that goals have – or are being – achieved.
  • Feedback. Provide an appropriate written reference that illustrates the success of this project
Across the Mobile Industry, the creation of a company culture is essential but it is far from easy. It’s more than just a vision, it’s something the collective can unite behind and give purpose to their employment. How has your company created an engaging and inclusive, diverse culture that’s brought staff together, improved their experience and the company’s performance as a result? Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • How does your company define “Culture and Purpose” and its importance? What steps have you taken to define your culture and purpose for employees?
  • How does your company define “Diversity and Inclusion” and its importance? What steps have you taken to define your diversity and inclusion for employees?
  • Please describe your strategy and programs you have implemented to give your employees a sense of inclusion and purpose
  • Please describe how employee input and feedback has been used in your culture-building efforts. Please share specific examples of how this feedback shaped your approach
  • Please share examples that illustrate the positive impact your culture-building efforts have had on your company

B2B & CHANNEL

For businesses to keep a competitive edge, it’s critical they are provided with the best services and solutions for their specific needs. This category combines unified comms dealers, mobile dealers and managed services to recognise the leaders in these fields. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.  

CRITERIA POINTS

  • Showcase outstanding customer service
  • Highlight business and technical innovation - walk us through your portfolio of services and solutions
  • Demonstrate financial stability and growth - include your most recent financial results
  • Show how you deal with embracing diversification and adaptability
  • Showcase how you have developed new business opportunities
  • Tell us about your people and your culture

 

DISTRIBUTION & SERVICES CATEGORIES

This award recognises new and innovative opportunities for the channel and is designed to reward the company which has opened up and developed markets through a combination of activities. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Outstanding customer service
  • Business and technical innovation: walk us through your portfolio or services and solutions 
  • Financial stability and growth - include your most recent financial results
  • Diversification and adaptability
  • Showcase how you've developed new business opportunities
  • Tell us about your people and your culture
Previously Distributor of the Year: This award recognises the company that has acted as a helpful and supportive partner to customers and clients alike, celebrating close working and ingenuity that pushes all sides forward. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Partnership client relations- testimonials
  • Clear financial growth and success
  • Innovation in marketing, education and training
  • Adaptability to changing market conditions
  • A clear strategy for UK growth
With so many device insurance providers dealing with mobile devices and gadgets we are looking for the company that really stands out from the rest, and one that customers return to year after year. Please limit your entry to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Tell us about your innovative products / services within the mobile/gadget insurance sector
  • Outline any unique selling points of your product and services offered
  • What revenue opportunities do you offer to carriers and dealers
  • How do you excel for customers; provide customer reviews and customer retention figures
  • We want to hear about your success, showcase your sales and revenue performance

RETAIL CATEGORIES

To be successful in a competitive online market, today’s retailers must not only secure the best deals, they must market them in innovative ways to grab the brief attention span of consumers. This award recognises the key role online retailers play in the mobile industry, and rewards the company which has performed to its fullest over the course of the year. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Offering customers the best products and services
  • A clear and easy to use online store
  • Offering the best customer service, including after care services
  • Proving to be the best at generating hits with products, marketing and deals
  • Showcasing all-round innovation
  • Highlighting innovative marketing initiatives
  • Showing strong commercial performance
The most powerful sales channel in the UK mobile space demands seamless integration of sales, logistics, marketing and purchasing to survive, and excellence and ingenuity in these areas to thrive. This award goes to the high street retailer that has done more than any other to provide the very best in retail experience and results. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Demonstrate commercial performance
  • Provide the best in-store experience for customers
  • Explain how the retail strategy relates to key industry trends and challenges
  • Show initiatives aimed at growing customer relationships and selling additional services
  • Promote best practice in customer service
The most tech-savvy customer can find themselves going in-store or online when needing to repair their handset. This can often be a stressful or expensive experience, and this category recognises the best repair service, whether online or in-store.

Tell us why you should we should crown your product the Best Repair Service. Show us how you stand out from the competition and provide examples , accolades, testimonials and award wins to support this. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • A clear mobile proposition suited to the brand’s approach to retail and clientele
  • Products and services encompassing a spectrum of user demands
  • A support process which helps users from first contact to post-sale
  • Demonstrable strength in supply, securing the best products at the best prices
  • Quantifiable business success within the mobile space
  • A successful and consistent approach to marketing
With so many great devices available today, customers need to have the option to trade in older products to help upgrade or simply earn a little cash. This category recognises retail services both across online or in store. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • A clear mobile proposition suited to the brand’s approach to retail and clientele
  • Products and services encompassing a spectrum of user demands
  • A support process which helps users from first contact to post-sale
  • Demonstrable strength in supply, securing the best products at the best prices
  • Quantifiable business success within the mobile space
  • Demonstrate your commitment to the environment and to customer security and privacy
  • A successful and consistent approach to marketing

NETWORK CATEGORIES

This category is designed to reward the very best the industry has to offer when it comes to champion and support the networks dependent on their services. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Partnership client relations- testimonials
  • Clear financial growth and success
  • Adaptability to changing market conditions
  • A clear strategy for UK growth
  • Provide examples and case studies to support

This category looks to celebrate virtual networks and sub brands, as well as those simply driving innovation on a network. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • What makes this network innovation unique to the market?
  • Showcase and demonstrate the number of customers who have benefited from this product and how it has allowed them to grow their business.
  • Demonstrate commercial and financial success over the last 12 months.
  • Showcase how you have diversified revenue streams through this innovation.
With flexible working and productivity at the forefront of everyone's mind in our modern world, the importance of reliable, high speed mobile connectivity is higher than ever continue to grow. This award celebrate the operator which meets these demands while delivering first class support and a service tailored to individual business needs. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Showcase and demonstrate your current business offering and why this is worthy of being crowned the best business network - include marketing initiatives
  • Show how you provided excellent customer service and support, including case studies and testimonials to support
  • What investment and or developments have you made to the network core, mobile edge, and services you offer over the last 12 months?
  • Tell us about the number of business customers you serve vs. your total network customer headcount
  • Demonstrate financial growth and any accolades across the last 12 months , also explain what steps were taken to protect ARPU
With 5G networks now firmly established across the UK, attention now turns to the multiple benefits the technology can bring to the wider world. This award looks to celebrate true innovation utilising 5G networks, in whatever field benefits most. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Showcase your 5G project and demonstrate clear innovation in the field
  • Elaborate how 5G technology is essential for your project
  • Demonstrate how your project solves a business need either in the telecoms sector or another industry
  • How close is your project to a commercial reality?

This award looks to celebrate the UK mobile operator that goes above and beyond to provide its customers with a top-class network experience, celebrating innovation, customer care, and technical excellence. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

CRITERIA POINTS

  • How have you improve your network at a technical level over the past 12 months,? How has this improved service?
  • How have you innovated or differentiated your service portfolio over the past 12 months?
  • How have you improved customer service and support over the past 12 months?
  • What steps have you taken to improve financial performance over the past year and can you provide evidence of commercial growth?

 

MANUFACTURER CATEGORIES

This category is designed to recognise the impact field marketing teams have on the success of the business as a whole, thanks to their work in educating and training high street and contact centre retail staff. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Showcase outstanding impact in the retail community
  • Showcase outstanding impact in call centres
  • Highlight innovation in marketing, education and training
  • Show exceptional results and significant stand out for the manufacturer
  • Highlight adaptability to changing market conditions
  • Give examples of high impact launch campaigns with excellent ROI
  • Execute a strategy reflecting the manufacturer’s brand image

This award recognises the accessory manufacturer which has best utilised its products, market position and relationships to drive its overall strategy and reputation within the industry and beyond. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

 

CRITERIA POINTS
  • Showcase exciting products that have captivated customers and partners
  • Highlight innovation in design and features
  • Offer a balanced range of products
  • Demonstrate market leading execution of sales and marketing
  • Show how you have been a reliable partner for trade buyers in terms of forecasting, finance, returns and aftercare
Ruggedised devices, whether smartphones, laptops, tablets or 2-in-1 models (commonly known as convertibles or hybrids), have been one of the brighter points in the mobile computing market. This award celebrate the manufacturer that has done the most to spur on innovation in this space. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.
 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Showcase exciting products that have captivated customers and partners
  • Highlight innovation in design and features
  • Offer a balanced range of products
  • Demonstrate market leading execution of sales and marketing
  • Show how you have been a reliable partner for trade buyers in terms of forecasting, finance, returns and aftercare

This award recognises the smartphone manufacturer which has best utilised its products, market position and relationships to drive its overall strategy and reputation within the industry and beyond. Please limit your answers to a maximum of 350 words per criteria point.

 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Showcase exciting products that have captivated customers and partners
  • Highlight innovation in design and features
  • Offer a balanced range of products
  • Demonstrate market leading execution of sales and marketing
  • Show how you have been a reliable partner for trade buyers in terms of forecasting, finance, returns and aftercare

This category recognised the device worthy of being crowned the best phone of the year. We are looking for technology launched and on sale between 1 September 2020 and 30 April 2021. Please note this category cannot be entered; it is decided by our editorial panel. 

 
CRITERIA POINTS
  • Demonstrate standout specifications for the price (based on SIM-free price)
  • Best for usability
  • Best for looks
  • Best for features and services
  • Excite customers and retail partners alike
  • Demonstrate commercial and financial success