Business size is irrelevant; the judges will be looking for how mail producers have made a difference to a client’s mailing or a campaign. The size of the client is also immaterial, the SMP said, with only the performance of the mailing being taken into consideration.

The awards are open to all SMP members, and if a business is not already a member, they can sign up to become one for free and submit an entry. Entries can cover business mail, advertising mail, door drop, or partially addressed mailings and can be B2B or B2C focused.

Entries, which are also free, close on 31 August and the winners will be unveiled at the SMP Awards evening at the Mail Rail Museum in London on 28 September. Up to five Golden Envelope Awards are up for grabs with a Platinum Envelope Award for an outstanding entry with outstanding results.

Examples of entries include: where mail producers have helped a client save money or improve performance by changing a pack design and format, or by optimising postage charges, where they have helped a client achieve a better ROI by enhancing areas such as the use of data or targeting, or helped them enhance their customer journey by redesigning a campaign.

Also; where they have helped a client introduce mail into their marketing automation platforms providing enhanced targeting, segmentation and speed to market, or anything else that improved the mail performance for their client.

SMP chair Lucy Swanston said: “These awards, which we are delighted Canon is sponsoring this year, specifically look to celebrate and showcase exceptional work across our industry.

“Unlike other awards, what we want to see specifically, is what you, the mail producers, did that made the difference to a client’s mailing or campaign.

“The awards are open to all SMP members, so if a business isn’t one already, they can simply sign up for free and enter. This is irrespective of size of business, and the size of the client is also immaterial, from the local farm shop to a FTSE top 100 company.

“Size and volume are not important, with judges looking at how the mail producer has helped the client with the strategy, creative and use of data to drive evidenced performance. Our collaboration with Canon clearly demonstrates our alignment of strategies in supporting printers and mailing houses to retain or grow mail volume sustainably.”

Stuart Rising, head of commercial print for Canon UK, the headline sponsor of the awards, added: “We are delighted to sponsor this event as we have a similar ambition to drive growth in our industry. Looking at the capabilities of high-speed inkjet technology today, we see an exciting future for print service providers to integrate the power of personalised print into client campaigns.

“Our team are totally committed to building out this opportunity together with our customers enabling them to leverage their technology investments.”

The judges for this year’s awards are Philip Ricketts, wholesale commercial director at Royal Mail, Jack Gallon, the creative director of MBAstack, Rik Moore, strategy director for the Kite Factory, and Kevin Green, the partnering director at Read Group.

SMP members can enter the awards via the website by completing an online form, to be submitted by 31 August.