The WAVE Awards returned to London last night to celebrate the destinations, operators and attractions that continue to make cruising one of the fastest growing and most popular holiday choices. Siren Communications sponsored the awards and managed to grab a table at the popular event.

Held at London’s Royal Garden Hotel and hosted by comedian Marcus Brigstocke, the second annual Wave Awards honoured the outstanding performances across five cruise-related categories and 34 awards. There were celebrations galore for many cruise lines, attractions and destinations in the room including Siren’s very own Celebrity Cruises and Voyages to Antiquity clients.

We all know that it’s the taking part and not the winning that counts, a sentiment that rings particularly true when it comes to industry events and awards. Don’t get us wrong, who doesn’t love a shiny, heavy – they are always incredibly heavy and inexplicably sharp edged – award to take back to the office and place lovingly on the ‘award shelf’ but it’s also key to remember that awards help with profile raising and profile maintenance. Award nominations and wins help highlight a company and the award winning work being done, differentiates one business form another and can provide a real advantage.

No matter what industry your business is in, there will be annual conferences and events where like-minded people congregate to discuss a whole host of topics related to your industry. You are going to bump into familiar faces, useful contacts and if you are lucky, old friends. They are a great opportunity to keep up to date on the latest news and trends and – let’s be honest – get the latest gossip. For those working in PR, finding our which journalist is leaving a title, who’s being promoted or who’s now covering that page in the weekend supplement that your client would sell their mother for to be featured in really does help us do our job better.

Take a look at the Siren Instagram feed (@sirencomms) for further pics and info from the 2017 WAVE Awards.