It’s really is not long now until The Henries greeting card awards – the industry’s ‘mega night in’ – which takes place a week on Thursday, December 10…and everyone’s invited to the virtual and free event! The most important thing now though is to register for the event, by going to: https://hopin.to/events/henries2020
“This year is unbelievably the 25th ever Henries, which is an extra reason for us all celebrate together a week on Thursday. There have been so many memories made over the years at The Henries, but we want this year’s to be one to remember – in a good way,” says Warren Lomax, joint managing director of Max Publishing, which owns and organizes The Henries. “Taking place digitally this year, and free to attend, everyone in the global greeting card community can join together albeit virtually to share in the industry’s creative triumphs. So, look out your gladrags, or in keeping with the theme, don your California Dreamin’ garb or at least iron your best pyjamas, and log on to see and hear everyone,” added Warren.
Here are some more details about The Henries event this year, how to prepare for it and what to expect…
The Henries 2020 Awards event will be hosted on an interactive platform called Hopin. It is really simple to use and works best with Chrome – so, if you don’t already Google Chrome as your browser, you are urged to download that in advance.
The Hopin platform has been developed specifically for events such as The Henries, with interactive elements to enable everyone to connect and engage with other attendees, as well of course watch the awards ceremony itself.
As an attendee, you will be able to move in and out of areas just like you would do at a physical event. The platform includes:
- A main STAGE area (where the pre-awards speeches and awards ceremony will be hosted).
- The RECEPTION area with the evening’s details, official event brochure link, timings etc.
- SESSION ROOMS (for sponsors as well as those booked by other companies and individuals). Each of these Rooms accommodate up to 15 individual attendees/individual screens at any one time.
- A live text-based ‘Chat’ function where attendees can share messages.
- A One-to-one live video meet-up ‘People’ option for catching up with colleagues and industry friends – simply search by name and select video call or send message.
How do you register for The Henries Awards?
It is free to attend, but everyone attending needs to register in advance in order to attend on the night. To register go to: https://hopin.to/events/henries2020
If you haven’t previously created a Hopin account, the registration process will prompt you to do so. This is free, very easy to do, only takes a minute – and from our experience doesn’t send any unwanted mail etc. Try to complete your profile section so people can see you/find you.
How do I join the Awards on the night? Using the very same link: https://hopin.to/events/henries2020
So, what will happen at the event?
From 6.15pm on the day of the event (Thursday 10 December) you will be able to move around the full virtual platform. On the left-hand side of the screen you will see the Event Areas: Reception, Stage, Session Rooms.
How do the Session Rooms work?
These are the virtual equivalents of ‘tables’ at the event and where we will be hanging out. It’s just like a Zoom meeting, but much more fun! Session Rooms can be accessed by clicking on the icon on the left-hand side of the site. All those who have Session Rooms are listed (both by logo as well as being searchable by company name). All sponsors rooms feature at the top with other companies’/individual rooms underneath. All you have to do to join a Room is click on the logo of who you would like to pop in and see. You can flit in and out of as many Session Rooms as you wish both pre-awards as well as after the main ceremony.
What happens when the awards ceremony is on?
The main Awards ceremony will take place in the Stage area. This will include the welcome speeches and some surprises! This programme will commence 7.30pm prompt. Prior to this time everyone should leave the Session Rooms and click on the Stage icon in the Event Area box of the platform.
After the awards ceremony finishes, everyone can go back into the Session Rooms until lateish, so pop back in, ideally with a glass in hand!
I heard there was a keepsake ticket, how do I get one?
Although you do not need an official ticket to attend The Henries this year, a tangible official invitation has been created and was distributed with every single copy of Progressive Greetings’ November edition which was published recently. This beautiful invitation was designed by Lucie Whitehead, lead designer of The Art File, kindly produced Windles on board donated by Fedrigoni.
Here Lucie shares the inspiration behind the design: “The 2020 Henries ticket was instantly inspired by the phrase ‘California Dreamin’ – an evocative saying, which straight away created a sound and vision in my mind of 1960’s psychedelic pop rock and sunny hazy days. Taking inspiration from retro colour palettes and fonts, zany album covers and my own experience of travelling in the sun in my vintage VW campervan, I created a design that has a nostalgic and vibrant feel, reminiscent of carefree summers and all things retro!”
Anyone in the UK who would like a copy of their own official ticket should email PG’s Jakki Brown on jakkib@max-publishing.co.uk
How are the winners going to be announced?
The Henries is well blessed with a strong roster of sponsors who have wholeheartedly supported the necessity of moving event to a digital platform. In keeping with The Henries’ tradition, the sponsors will be ‘opening the gold envelope’ to announce the winners of all the product and best service categories. As in other years, the sponsors do not have prior knowledge of the winners, which has meant they have had to record a ‘winner’s announcement’ video for each of the finalists.
This year’s Henries sponsors are Abbotprint, Alpha Colour Printers, Aspin, EBB Paper, Enveco, Fedrigoni, Foilco, GCA, Gould Paper Sales UK, Herbert Walkers, The Imaging Centre, Jehane, Loxleys, Loxleys Digital, LB Warehousing, Progressive Greetings Live, The Sherwood Group, Skylight Media, Spring Fair and Autumn Fair, UK Envelope Centre and Windles Group.
To remind yourself who are The Henries 2020 finalists click here, or see them in all their glory in PG’s October edition.
For more info on The Henries go to www.thehenriesawards.co.uk
