The Drum very much believes that ‘There is a life outside London’, and are on a mission to remind our global readership that some of the best talent in the UK resides outside the M25.

To help us get this message across as strongly as possible, we have decided to incorporate the Cream Awards into the Roses Creative Awards.  This sends a signal that the UK regions are not parochial. They include dynamic centers like the Midlands and cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Bristol.

This move will not only allow you to benchmark yourself against your fellow agencies in the Cream regions but across the UK as a whole – and will allow The Drum to give you increased exposure to our international audience.

Of course, it is sad that the Cream Awards is no more. But I hope you agree that The Drum and the industry has evolved, and this will allow us to do a better job in promoting and supporting excellence worldwide.

If you have any queries, please feel free to let us know. But in the meantime, I look forward to seeing your entries into the Roses Creative Awards.

I would like to say thanks again for supporting the Cream Awards and The Drum generally over the years. Although we have now grown into one of the world’s largest marketing platforms, we will never forget the support of agencies in the Midlands and South West which was huge part of our early success.