What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 26 March 2018

Welcome to another week and we'd like to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

Whatever your plans for the long weekend ahead, we hope its filled with joy and chocolate and just in case you are suddenly feeling flush, win the lottery or just want to go mad with generosity, then this might be the egg for you...

New York based chocolatiere, Jacques “Mr. Chocolate” Torres, as apparently set the new world record for the Most Expensive Chocolate Egg…

His magnificent creation is a chocolate egg, which weights 50 kilogrammes, is entirely made from milk chocolate and is decorated with the New York City skyline. The yummy looking  egg is now exhibited in his DUMBO store in the City. This chocolate master took 10 days to create his delicious masterpiece, which is 80 cm tall and needs to be kept in a space with 20 degrees Celsius to stop it melting, so if you do get chance to see it, wrap up warm!

This giant egg is a part of Faberge Big Egg Hunt event, which takes place in the whole of New York City, where 200 different eggs are presented by a range artist and then they are all sold at a charity auction.

We do like chocolate here at Cloud 9...just saying!

In other news this week please don't forget that the deadline for the CHS Awards has been extended to this Thursday 29 March. Recognising venues in a variety of categories, the awards which are now in their fourth year have really taken off and entries have been flying in but there is still time to get your venue in front of a relevant and receptive audience. The judges are all leading agents so the decisions are not based on who has the biggest marketing budget, but instead based on personal experience and day to day business.

It takes little more than five minutes to enter and it's free so if you have yet to submit your venue online, then now is the time.

Lastly, just a note to let everyone know that the office will be closed this Friday, Good Friday and will re-open on Tuesday 3 April.

Have a great week everyone....and if you need a venue finding quickly, don't forget to shout us!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9 Week Commencing 19 March 2018

Welcome to another week and we are pleased to unveil a new initiative here at Cloud 9 Towers with the launch of Famtastic. No, this is not a typo, it's the name of a new platform designed to connect agents with unprecedented opportunities to experience a whole host of invitations and fam trips - and to enable suppliers to connect with new agents and expand their guest lists with new and relevant buyers.

We are only a small agency, yet we receive around 50 invitations a month to attend events, relaunches, site visits and fam trips and whilst it's flattering to be on the guest list of so many suppliers, we do recognise that accepting invitations comes with both a responsibility to at least look at a reasonable opportunity to ensure the suppliers get an ROI on their investment - and - we also have to justify our time.

Recognising that suppliers go to a lot of time and trouble as well as making a significant financial investment in any invitations to agents is also a key factor behind the new initiative. It's often that we receive several invitations to attend events on the same date, many of them amazing opportunities and yet it must be frustrating for the suppliers to attempt to compete for similar audiences.

Having researched extensively, we couldn't find anywhere that offer a centralised point for both agents and suppliers to check the fam trips and invitations available, and to ensure that when planning a date, you are not going up against another event or indeed Industry Trade Show.

Whilst we love micebook and the industry titles that often list events, groups like the Delegate Wranglers and Elites often have last minute invitations listed, so Famastic will take the strain out of attracting last minute place with regular shout outs and an invitation hub.

Quality not quantity counts when it comes to fams and invitations, and most suppliers will be disappointed if its the same old audience for their events every time, so the site will be a great way to enable a new audience. Additionally, many agents will decline invitations if its the same old suppliers attending forums and one to one events, so Famtastic should encourage new conversations and more importantly new business relationships.

It is not designed to allow industry blaggers, and we all remember the news articles from last year which named and shamed some of the biggest interlopers, to attend more event in search of freebies, or to encourage agents to attend the opening of an envelope. Hopefully, it will instead provide opportunities for agents to make an informed choice to improve industry knowledge and education about venues - and - to provide suppliers with less empty guest lists - especially when investments have been made on expensive flights and travel.

Famtastic has a very thorough code of conduct when it come to etiquette related to agents attending events or fam trips and every suppliers will also be able to list some basic qualification criteria to make sure the right audiences are with them at events.

Will it work? Well that's down to the industry we guess, and whilst we are not charging a fortune for any listings we do need to cover some basic admin costs - however our main aim is to actually make the whole invitation process easier for everyone involved.

So meet Fred our Famtastic Flamingo and have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 12 March 2018

Welcome to another week and now that the Nottingham Media Festival is over for 2018 it's time for us to look at some of the other major projects and events we have on the go, including the CHS Awards.

We are pleased once again to be working with the team at the CHS Group on all aspects of the judging for the awards so that the results remain impartial and judged fairly.

Now in the fourth year, the Awards have been steadily growing and gaining momentum and if you are a venue who needs to connect with agents, then we encourage you to get your entries in now - as the deadline is 23 March 2018 - but why leave it to the last minute?!

Entries are free and with over 75 leading agents from around the UK, it's a great platform to get in front of a receptive and interested audience - and you could end up celebrating the success of your venue at the Awards Ceremony on 31 May at the McDonald Hotel in Manchester.

The awards will once again recognise individual elements of venues rather than the entire property in order to provide a level playing field for all entrants, irrespective of whether they are a national chain or a small independent venue. This proved really popular last year and we were really delighted by the support that the industry put behind the awards.

There are some great categories and some new ones for 2018 including recognition for both supplier and agency personalities and we are also looking to encourage more International entries this year.

We’re still looking for senior event agency professionals to join our panel of great judges and we promise it won’t be too onerous, as judging is done completely electronically, there are no site visits required. 

You can also do as much or as little as your time allows and many of our judges love getting involved and discovering new venues as part of the process, so if you'd like to get on board please let us know, or complete the form on the CHS Website.

If you feel that you can spare some time to be on the judging panel, we would be delighted to have you on-board and supporting the Awards.

The finalists will be announced just before the Conference & Hospitality Show in Leeds on the 24th April with a special drinks reception to mark the nominees with many of the judges in attendance, so a great networking opportunity as well as a reason to celebrate.

So good luck everyone, and have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 5 March 2018

Welcome to another week and after months of planning, we are delivering the Nottingham Media Festival from Thursday to Saturday so it's going to be a very busy week indeed.

Thursday sees the start of the Nottingham International Microfilm Festival with various speakers and screenings and features a special screening of the Festival Selection from the Ningbo Festival in China.

Taking place at the Nottingham Contemporary, the event will welcome Short Film makers from around the globe and is supported by the Nottingham Screen Partnership.






Also taking place on Thursday evening is the Fresh Creative Awards at the Mercure Hotel in Nottingham and a VR in Music Night at the Bodega.

The NIM Festival continues on Friday with the Awards Ceremony in the afternoon and headline appearances from Mabel Cheung and Alex Law from Hong Kong.

Friday also see's a dedicated one day VR Conference which focuses on Medical Applications in Immersive Technology and we are pleased to welcome the godfather of VR, Skip Rizzo, who joins us from California.

The VR Expo Awards takes place on Friday evening again at the Mercure, and on Saturday we start with the NIM Festival Workshops and conclude the day with the One Minute Film Competition.

Saturday also sees the International Short Film Show Awards Ceremony which is being filmed for broadcast on television as part of the series.


With lectures for Students and a whole host of stakeholders involved, it's going to be a very busy week and we'd love you to join us - tickets are still available so please check the website for details and we look forward to seeing you.


Have a great week and stay warm!