A Year of Milestones and Growth
Another unforgettable 12 months to reflect upon, as we near the end of 2025…
It’s been a year that saw a Coldplay fan-cam go viral for all the wrong reasons, the first all-female spaceflight in more than 60 years, global superstar Taylor Swift getting engaged to NFL player Travis Kelce, and the election of a new pope. In the sporting world we saw the Lionesses winning the Women’s Euros, the Red Roses storming to glory at the Rugby World Cup, and the Europe Ryder Cup team triumphed on US soil in a thrilling clash, culminating in Rory McIlroy winning BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award.
As 2026 rapidly comes into view, we’ve looked back on what has been achieved by our team – both in and out of the office.
Here’s how our year in numbers looks…
- 367,020 words written
- 2,000+ people reached from speaking events
- 1,500+ cups of tea and coffee
- 650+ books gifted
- 500+ PR placements
- 441 trees gifted
- 397 client projects
- 250 entries judged
- 33 inspirational speaking events
- 30 valuable partnerships
- 25 award dinners enjoyed
- 7 pet portraits painted
- 2 golden Ticket winners
- 2 team house moves
- 1 white paper published
- 1 new puppy
- 1 wedding
Client Wins – The Numbers That Matter
For our clients, our successes grow and grow!
- 2025 Win rate: 69%
- 2025 Shortlist Rate: 88%
- Most Award wins in a Month: October
- Most Shortlists in a Month: August
We’re beyond proud to be working with some of the world’s most influential and inspiring brands, and bringing their stories to life in a way the judges love and which delivers exceptional value back to their businesses.
We have supported businesses of all sizes, in all sectors, and we keep their results close to our heart. Some of our wins we can share include:
Global giant Sodexo, who won multiple prestigious learning and development awards for their achievements.
Domenico D’Ambruoso, Growth Academy Director, Sodexo said:
“August Recognition’s expertise in award entry writing has transcended our award wins, helping us refine our business strategy and marketing approach. Thanks to Donna and her team, we’ve won some of the most prestigious awards in the world!”
Iconic technology provider Samsung, delivering a bespoke Awards Impact Workshop to their international CSR teams to help identify and communicate their impact, resulting in a 36% uplift in wins in 2025.
Annalyz Fraser, Senior CSR & Sustainability Manager, Samsung Europe, said:
“The Awards Impact Workshop was an energising and insightful session for our international teams at Samsung Electronics. It helped us understand how to recognise the true impact of our work and gave us a clearer strategy for leveraging awards to drive future growth and team pride. A huge thank you to Donna for guiding us through such an inspiring session.
Donna, thank you so much for bringing such energy and highlight to our Regional CSR Workshop. All the insights that you shared were extremely valuable, and you have left a big group of CSR/CC Managers determined to find ways to go and get that recognition. We are already 36% up this year in awards”
We also supported many small businesses, entrepreneurs and charities to achieve their winning goals.
Chrysalis Courses, the outstanding counsellor training charity achieved outstanding success with the Stevie International Business Awards and more.
Ross Elliott, CEO, Chrysalis Courses said this on their Stevie Award wins,
“What a proud moment for me personally – today I had the honour to accept an International Business Award on behalf of my super team at Chrysalis Courses. It highlights the dedication that goes into our amazing company. A special shoutout to August Recognition who have made that difference by giving us the direction and advice to win this award.”
Whilst Mobile Medical took home the gold for their standout services across Trinidad and Tobago.
David Richards, Executive Chairman, Mobile Medical Global said,
“We publicly say THANK YOU to Donna O'Toole, Brooke Gwynne and the rest of the team at August Recognition. Not only did they walk us through the award selection process, prepare the submission and guided us to win three international awards, their supporting document placed us as a finalist in the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Champion of Business Awards in the category for Innovation.”
Receiving kind words like the above are all testament to our brilliant teamwork, industry leadership and guidance.
Here’s to more wins that help businesses to thrive in 2026!
Taking to the Stage and Supporting the Industry
Our ethos is to not just support our own clients to win, but to support the whole awards industry to improve accessibility, remove barriers and strive for fairness.
This year, we had the privilege to partner with some of the world’s leading organisations and to share our expertise and connect with the wider community.
Highlights included;
- Sponsoring the brilliant BizX event and awards, organised by ActionCoach which brought together some of the biggest names in business.
- Hosting the Dent Zone alongside Dent Global, Rethink Press, and BookMagicAI at Ideas Fest and taking to the stage to talk all things credibility
- Sharing the room as a partner and judge at the Enterprise Vision Awards
- Contributing to the The Business of Awards 2026 Industry Insights Report and speaking on the changing landscape of awards at EventTech Live
- Speaking and exhibiting at The Business Show at the ExCel in London, networking with 1000s of professionals
- Revelling with the winners as strategic awards partner at the very first National Sales Awards
“Donna and the whole August team have been an absolute pleasure to work with this year. Their unrivalled knowledge, support and guidance helped make a roaring success of the inaugural National Sales Awards and we look forward to developing our partnership over the coming years. Any businesses looking to reward their teams and ensure they have the best chance to gain recognition via industry awards need the support of August in their corner!”
Dave and Steve – The National Sales Awards Team
And we can’t forget the many award finalists judged and ceremonies enjoyed with The Learning Awards, Marketing Society Awards, UK Customer Experience Awards, Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards, and Great British Entrepreneur Awards – to name a few.
“The British Business Excellence Awards (BBEA) team have absolutely loved partnering with August again for 2025. As a Lead Judge, Donna brings outstanding expertise and insight, playing a key role in shaping and strengthening the BBEA community we’re so proud of. Alongside her fantastic team, they are passionate supporters of the awards and go above & beyond to help some of our entrants bring their best stories to life within their entries, ensuring truly award-worthy businesses can confidently showcase what makes them exceptional. We’re already looking forward to partnering with Donna and her brilliant team again in 2026.”
Jessica Carter, Events Manager , The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards
We’re so lucky to be working with some amazing organisations, you can find out more about our partners by heading to our partner page here.
Who Wins When You Win – Our Commitment to Green Impact
At August Recognition, we believe in giving back when we win. That’s why we share our success with our ‘Who Wins When You Win’ campaign;
Every time a client wins an award, we plant a tree for them in a dedicated Evergreen Recognition Forest, a growing tribute to their success that also benefits the planet.
Our client successes this year have helped to fund 414 trees in 7 countries across the world, with 384.9 tonnes of C02 being offset thanks to those trees planted.
That means each award win is contributing to a greener future, with our trees helping absorb CO₂ and improve air quality, whilst creating habitats for wildlife and restoring ecosystems.
You can see our growing recognition forest here.
Looking Forward to 2026
So as 2025 draws to a close, we move our focus to 2026 and a new awards season full of opportunity.
And to kickstart your new year we’re hosting a free awards masterclass Wednesday 21st January; How to Build a Strategic Awards Roadmap for 12 Months of Growth
Join this masterclass to learn the secrets behind the most award-winning brands in the world and how they use awards to achieve their business goals and grow.
Donna has also been working on something very exciting this year… AwardsApp is coming!
AwardsApp is the innovative smart awards solution designed to make entering business awards faster, simpler, and safer for all.
We cannot tell you how excited we are, if you want to be one of the first to hear about the official launch, you can sign up to the waiting list here.
For now, it only remains to say, thank you once again for supporting our drive to recognise and reward great people and great businesses, so that they can go on to create more of an impact in 2026 and beyond.
If you’d love to win awards and want to have a chat with our experts, book your January awards discovery call here.
We’ll be closing the office from 5pm Tuesday 23rd December, returning Monday 5th January ready and raring to go for another award-winning year.
From all of us here at Team August, we wish you health and happiness this festive season.
See you in the New Year!
