An Evening to Remember

On March 18, the Bonnier Sales Awards festivities commenced with an afternoon seminar at Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm. Berghs' CEO Pär Lager regaled some 150 guests from the Bonnier sales world with the latest in successful campaigns and top trends in advertising.

Then that evening, some 170 Bonnier sales representatives, sales managers and executives from around the world filled Stockholm City Hall's Golden Hall for the Bonnier Sales Awards ceremony and gala dinner. CEO Jonas Bonnier kicked off the evening with a song and guitar performance that excited the crowd and set the tone for the night. Tilde de Paula from Sweden's TV4 hosted the evening and Swedish musical sensation September performed two of her hit songs before the Nobel Prize dinner, which consisted of duck galantine and fried truffled turbot, was served.

The extravagant evening also included performances from singer and actor Joachim Bergstrom and Swedish Idol runner-up Minnah Karlsson. The two joined for a duet of "Time of My Life" and dancers from Base23 dance academy performed a Dirty Dancing-inspired routine that ended with the waiters carrying out the dessert on trays lit up by sparklers.

At 11 p.m., the awards ceremony began by recognizing the 12 finalists before the jury members lined the stage and the awards were given out by Jonas Bonnier and Jonas Eriksson, Vice President, Bonnier Broadcasting and Entertainment.

Rookie of the Year honors went to Julia Forsberg from Bonnier Publications, Sweden. "It feels incredible to win. I've never been here and it is so exciting to be inside City Hall. I've only seen it on TV. It is very special," she said. With wedding plans for the summer and a house renovation project, she said there are plenty of places for the EUR 3,000 prize money to go. "Or maybe I can convince my fiancé to put it toward a honeymoon!" she said.

Sales Manager of the Year winner Trond Juliussen from Bonnier Media, Norway, was humble and appreciative as he took the stage to accept the award. "It's a fantastic award and being in this fantastic hall is amazing," he said. "It was such a great evening and it means a lot to me. It gives me hope and inspiration to carry on this year and farther on." He said his EUR 10,000 prize money will be put toward a nice, relaxing vacation with his family this summer.

Field Sales Representative of the Year was awarded to Johan Hedquist from TV4, Sweden. After winning the largest category of the evening, Hedquist was overcome with emotion. "This is my 25th year in advertising," he said. "After 25 years, this is a great way to celebrate the anniversary. It has been a goal of mine to be on stage. It feels incredible to have achieved that. I really didn't expect it." Hedquist said he would use his EUR 10,000 prize money on his family. "I want to invest it in my family and do something nice for all of us," he said. "I have two small boys and a fiancée, so maybe a vacation somewhere!"

The celebration continued after the awards ceremony, and the Splendid Songs band played lounge music in the bar area to continue the party. "It was absolutely a splendid evening, just fantastic with beautiful people and worthy winners," said Jonas Eriksson. "The performers were wonderful and September was absolutely brilliant. It was a superstar evening."

Watch video clips here and check out photos from the evening here.