The September 1 deadline is looming and the competition is heating up, with forward thinking agencies deperate to breeze through the competition to first place.

Such has been the response to the International Challenge, that for the first time ever, PharmaTimes Media has had to introduce a second stream, to allow twice as many agencies to compete on the day.

And even that's not enough - with only a couple of places left, it's expected these too will be gone within days.
The same is true of the NHS Challenge; with spaces filling up fast.

The new Charity Charity Challenge, organised in partnership with Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer is also proving popular.

"We look forward to working with PharmaTimes Media to put together a brief that challenges agencies to raise the profile of the charity and awareness of bowel cancer – the UK’s second biggest cancer killer,” says Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive at Bowel Cancer UK.

Commenting on the competition's profile, PharmaTimes business manager & competition lead Anna Yeardley says: "Success in the competition is a game changer. There is a huge amount of talent out there and for pharma companies and pharma companies use it to identifying only the very best for future collaborations."

What to expect

- Each brief is newly crafted every year to keep the awards fresh and appropriately challenging.

- These briefs are developed by a team consisting of people with agency, client (and frequently both) experience, ensuring that it looks and feels like a genuine brief.

- Both the disease area and treatments in the NHS and International Challenges are fictional to ensure that no agency can bring an advantage due to experience in the area, giving an even playing field.

- This means that your proposals are based solely on the knowledge of your craft and your innovative thinking.

- It’s a bit like having to pitch under the shortest timelines you are ever likely to experience!
- Not only is it a great opportunity to receive an award for your efforts, but feedback to us has shown that it’s also a great team-building exercise for you.
- Of course, after the event, you can also choose to have one of the judges talk to your team about your presentation for a more in-depth review of your performance.
- Plus, all finalists are invited to attend the gala awards and dinner to be held in London on 9 November, alongside the PharmaTimes Marketer of the Year and the all-new Sales Awards, providing a bumper networking opportunity for all.

Visit www.pharmatimes.com/CTOY for more information