Don't Panic Projects Renames UK Paid Media Awards to UK Paid & Performance Media Awards

Don't Panic Projects has renamed the UK Paid Media Awards to the UK Paid & Performance Media Awards, adding categories such as Standout Paid Media Performance and Standout Social Performance. The awards, delivered by the international events company, are in their 11th year. Aktien published the announcement on October 21, 2026.

Don't Panic Projects Adds Eight Performance Categories

The UK Paid Media Awards, originally the Biddable Media Awards before the transition to Paid Media, now carries a name and category set built around how the paid media industry operates. Don't Panic Projects said the rename responds to where the market has moved after a year that included META's integration with Claude, ad-level placement controls, conversion ads arriving on ChatGPT, and Google's Business Agent for leads.

The organisers said performance has become the defining measure of paid media work. Where return on investment was once assessed at the end of a campaign, it now sits at the start of every pitch and brief, with SMART outcomes and conversion-led thinking shaping how agencies, brand teams and freelancers approach the work.

The new categories include Standout Paid Media Performance, Standout Social Performance, Standout Shopping Ads Performance, D2C Campaign of the Year, Retail/FMCG Campaign of the Year, Digital OOH Campaign of the Year, Standout YouTube Performance and Standout META Ads Performance. Don't Panic Projects said the categories were developed in consultation with the awards' panel of active industry judges.

The awards have historically been agency-led, and the organisers said brand-side, in-house teams and freelance specialists working across paid search, social, shopping, OOH and performance media can also win. Nicky Wake, founder of Don't Panic Projects, said: "Some of the most innovative paid and performance work right now is coming from agencies, in-house teams and freelancers who've built deep expertise in a single channel. We wanted the categories, and the name, to catch up with that."

Bupa Global and Publicis Groupe Marketing Moves

Bupa Global's marketing team, led by Pardeep Duggal since January 2023, delivered an 84% increase in sales and leads over three years, EIN Presswire reported on October 20, 2026. The turnaround included a team restructuring, a 'We Can' global campaign, and alignment with commercial goals, earning Duggal a seat on the executive leadership team.

Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun said artificial intelligence is driving increased involvement from chief executives in agency partnerships, Storyboard18 reported on October 13, 2026. Sadoun said successful AI transformation must be led from the top, positioning agencies to advise on broad organizational changes rather than just executing marketing plans.

Awards Timeline and Entry Details

The awards are in their 11th year, and the organisers said the categories were developed with the awards' panel of active industry judges. Don't Panic Projects said the awards remain open to agencies, in-house teams and freelancers.