Applied Gratitude Business Awards
Where gratitude becomes good business.
Every year, on World Gratitude Day, we recognize the people and companies who turn appreciation into real business results. The Applied Gratitude™ in Business Awards celebrate gratitude as a strategy — the kind that wins relationships, earns referrals, and renews the deal.
Small gestures. Big results.
How the Winners Are Determined
Anyone can nominate an individual or company using the link on the Thnks website. Each submitter may nominate up to five individuals and five companies for award consideration and can edit entries until nominations close.
After the submission period ends, a Thnks executive panel will review all entries and select the individual and company finalists.
The winners will then be determined by a public vote. Each person may cast one vote per day during the voting period.
Award Timeline
Past Winners
2026 Individual
Gratitude Award Winner
Brittany Keovorabouth listens to the part of the call that isn't on the agenda. Clients mention things around the edges of the performance and budget talk, a wedding coming up, a nonprofit they care about, a pet, a passing complaint about the weather, and Brittany remembers. Then she does something small about it. Not to get something out of the relationship, but to put something into one.
It shows up in the business, and the business shows it back.
On an e-commerce account that started out scrutinizing every small move in ROAS, Brittany went further than the numbers. She toured the client's warehouse and installed the company's product herself, so she'd understand the customer experience firsthand. That kind of investment earned a kind of trust most vendors never get. Approving a budget increase, the client's contact wrote directly to ATRA's CEO: "I trust you guys, you have surely proven yourselves with your talent. Please never take Brittany and Heather off our account." That account went on to add landing page and CRO work, hand ATRA part of its outbound sales, and grow its retainer by 54 percent.
It's a pattern, not a one-off. With a professional services client, the same earned trust led to an expansion into new marketing platforms and drove a nearly 12 percent increase in monthly agency revenue, an all-time high.
The gestures she's known for are just proof she was paying attention. A donation to the nonprofit a client named when Brittany asked which ones mattered to them. A treat that arrives at a client's office on a morning the team can't fly out to see them in person. Small things, but never random ones. They're what listening looks like when you act on it.
Brittany doesn't use gratitude to win business. She uses it to earn trust, and the business follows.
On an e-commerce account that started out scrutinizing every small move in ROAS, Brittany went further than the numbers. She toured the client's warehouse and installed the company's product herself, so she'd understand the customer experience firsthand. That kind of investment earned a kind of trust most vendors never get. Approving a budget increase, the client's contact wrote directly to ATRA's CEO: "I trust you guys, you have surely proven yourselves with your talent. Please never take Brittany and Heather off our account." That account went on to add landing page and CRO work, hand ATRA part of its outbound sales, and grow its retainer by 54 percent.
It's a pattern, not a one-off. With a professional services client, the same earned trust led to an expansion into new marketing platforms and drove a nearly 12 percent increase in monthly agency revenue, an all-time high.
The gestures she's known for are just proof she was paying attention. A donation to the nonprofit a client named when Brittany asked which ones mattered to them. A treat that arrives at a client's office on a morning the team can't fly out to see them in person. Small things, but never random ones. They're what listening looks like when you act on it.
Brittany doesn't use gratitude to win business. She uses it to earn trust, and the business follows.
2026 Organizational Performance Award Winner
Chicory is a leading contextual advertising platform for CPG & grocery. We specialize in reaching consumers in active mindsets and marketing moments that matter. By combining engaging media with contextually relevant, brand-safe content, we help brands and retailers connect with consumers in intentional moments—whether they're discovering new recipes, planning meals, or building grocery lists.
From curiosity to consideration and conversion, Chicory enables brands to show up at critical points in the buying journey and delivers full-funnel results. Our platform reaches 150 million unique shoppers each month across a network of 7,000+ food-related publishers, including The Kitchn, Food Network, and MyFitnessPal, and powers 70+ leading retailers through direct integrations and strategic retail media partnerships.
At Chicory, gratitude isn't a December line item. It's how the team runs sales and marketing all year.
Sales and marketing build coordinated Thnks sends several times a year, each tied to a specific moment rather than one holiday push — a summer send, a fall coffee-and-pastry campaign that lets recipients pick their own local coffee shop. Every seller chooses which clients receive one and writes the message themselves.
Sellers also send on their own instinct, outside any campaign. A client's new baby. A promotion, an engagement, a wedding. Something before a big meeting, or right after running into a contact at a conference. None of it is scripted. It comes from sellers paying attention to their clients' actual lives and finding a small way to mark the moment.
The clearest result: a Thnks turns a quiet account back into an active one. After Jaclyn, one of Chicory's Sales Team Leads, sent a Thnks to a contact who had gone dark after two deals fell through, the reply was immediate. Four new opportunities followed.
"Proof that our emails aren't getting through," says Meghan, Chicory's Chief Revenue Officer. "Thnks saves the day by getting us into their inboxes."
Across the company, Chicory sees an 88% open rate and a 72% redemption rate. Fourteen sellers have sent nearly 6,000 Thnks between them — which is what it looks like when gratitude stops being one person's habit and starts being how a team works.
At Chicory, gratitude isn't a December line item. It's how the team runs sales and marketing all year.
Sales and marketing build coordinated Thnks sends several times a year, each tied to a specific moment rather than one holiday push — a summer send, a fall coffee-and-pastry campaign that lets recipients pick their own local coffee shop. Every seller chooses which clients receive one and writes the message themselves.
Sellers also send on their own instinct, outside any campaign. A client's new baby. A promotion, an engagement, a wedding. Something before a big meeting, or right after running into a contact at a conference. None of it is scripted. It comes from sellers paying attention to their clients' actual lives and finding a small way to mark the moment.
The clearest result: a Thnks turns a quiet account back into an active one. After Jaclyn, one of Chicory's Sales Team Leads, sent a Thnks to a contact who had gone dark after two deals fell through, the reply was immediate. Four new opportunities followed.
"Proof that our emails aren't getting through," says Meghan, Chicory's Chief Revenue Officer. "Thnks saves the day by getting us into their inboxes."
Across the company, Chicory sees an 88% open rate and a 72% redemption rate. Fourteen sellers have sent nearly 6,000 Thnks between them — which is what it looks like when gratitude stops being one person's habit and starts being how a team works.
Prize Details
Company Category Winner
$5,000
in Thnks credits
Individual
Winner
$500
donation to charity of your choice$500
in Thnks partner credits$1,000
in Thnks creditsIndividual
Finalists
$100
in Thnks credits