Capturing the buzz: behind the scenes of M&IT Awards 2025
For the second year running, Big Top was proud to deliver the social media and PR campaign for the M&IT Awards - the meeting and events industry’s biggest celebration of excellence - to drive entries, votes, able and sponsorship sales, engagement and, of course, capture all the buzz, sparkle and energy of the night.
Running from March to September 2025, the campaign was delivered on a tight budget yet achieved outstanding results, combining strategic planning with creative flair to maximise impact across social and traditional media.
What we did – Social Media
Pre-event
We kicked things off early with the Holly and Paul content filmed at IMEX, which we created while off contract but used later to reignite interest and start the conversation around the 2025 awards. Unlike many industry awards, the M&IT Awards are voted for by peers, making every nomination and win a genuine reflection of community recognition. We encouraged the industry to get behind their favourite nominees, while reminding entrants to canvass for votes.
Our pre-event content focused on excitement, anticipation, FOMO (what else!?) and a sense of community, with shoutouts to previous winners and throwbacks to 2024’s most memorable moments. Across LinkedIn and Instagram, we combined smart scheduling with eye-catching branded assets and playful, inclusive copy that got people talking (and tagging) long before the doors opened.
On the night
On the night itself, we switched up our format to focus purely on atmosphere and authenticity. With cameras in hand - and our trademark energy - we roamed the room to capture interviews, reactions and red-carpet-worthy moments from guests and winners alike. We gathered live footage of winners as they came off stage, created real-time Instagram Stories and encouraged guests, finalists and winners to tag us and share their own content for maximum UGC impact.
To ensure the winner announcements were seamless, we introduced a pre-drafted carousel format - allowing us to share results instantly at the end of the night while freeing us to capture the heart of the event as it unfolded.
Post-event
The post-event period was all about keeping the momentum alive. Our feeds filled with user-generated content, reshared Stories and glowing congratulations, extending the excitement far beyond the ballroom. We stayed active in the comments, replied to every tag and ensured that every attendee felt seen, celebrated and part of the conversation.
Results
From the campaign kick-off in March through to the awards night, our content built steady momentum and grew the M&IT Awards community across every platform.
On LinkedIn, posts generated 42,378 impressions, 1,221 engagements, and attracted 339 new followers. On Instagram, we saw 124,925 views, 1,409 interactions, and a 150-follower increase - all organic.
These early results laid the foundation for the spike in engagement that followed during the awards month itself.
Social Media Results (Awards Month)
13,681 impressions (+156.8% on the previous month)
328 engagements (+132.6% on the previous month)
3,448 followers (+3.5%, +117 new in September - all organic)
62,515 views (+835.9% on the previous month)
320 engagements (+166.7% on the previous month)
3,511 followers (+1.3%, +44 new in September)
What we did – PR
Pre-event
Our objectives with PR were twofold - create a sense of FOMO among guests to support table sales and among suppliers to nudge sponsorship sales – so the majority of activity was focused pre-event including the following elements across July, August and September for an intense burst of brand awareness raising:
A FOMO press release highlighting the award finalists
A "One Month Out" article written by us for M&IT to communicate a sense of urgency. The article featured a series of positive quotes harnessed from interviews with some of our 2024 winners earlier in the year. We focused on how important the event is to them and their business.
The awards marketing team also used this article to create email copy; it received the highest click through rate of the whole campaign.
Two of this year’s sponsors – Hotel Schiphol and Center Parcs - were featured in incredibly positive, long form interviews published on the M&IT and awards websites with pull-out quotes including:
“The M&IT Awards are the Oscars of the event industry. If you’re serious about events – whether you’re and agent, event manager or hotelier – this is where you want to be. So, when you get the chance to sponsor, you don’t hesitate. It’s like being a rising actor asked to present Best Leading Actress at the Academy Awards. Who would say no?”
Quickfire industry pulse survey conducted, asking for 2026 predictions with the results drafted into an article given exclusively to M&IT.
Interview with M&IT Awards charity partner Meeting Needs
Pre-drafting winner release, with quotes from winners added on the night and distributed to the press post-event.
Overall?
It was another unforgettable year celebrating the best in meetings and events - and we’re already thinking ahead to how we can make 2026 even bigger.
If you’ve got an event that deserves to shine on social or be shouted about in the media, we’d love to help you make it happen - drop us a line at charlie@bigtop-pr.co.uk.