What's Floarting Around Cloud 9? 11 December 2017

Welcome to another (rather chilly) week and we are starting with a trip to London today for Paula, who is attending a GDPR Workshop today to ensure the team here at Cloud 9 Towers understand the new European personal data regulations that come into force next May.

 The existing Data Protection Act (DPA) will be replaced by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and this is a framework with greater scope and tougher punishments for those who fail to comply with new rules around the storage and handling of personal data - so really important for us as a business to understand.

We email customers, stakeholders, delegates and all manner of people all of the time so understanding the new stance on the storage of personal data is vital as is protecting that data from the baddies online! 

Recent figures show that in 2016, companies in the UK lost more than £1billion to cybercrime and breaches in data have given criminals access to names, birth dates, addresses and even social security and pension information.

Additionally, a recent report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) claims that SMEs are now more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals than their large corporate counterparts, as we are  consider  easier targets that some of the big companies with well-defended corporate counterparts.

This is one of the reasons that GDPR is considered long overdue by many authorities, and ignorance will be no defence for SMEs who fail to comply, hence our enthusiasm for ensuring we understand the do's and don't for Cloud9 going forward. 

One of the biggest changes we will face is around consent, as under the new regulations, companies must keep a thorough record of how and when an individual gives consent to store and use their personal data. Consent also means active agreement so a pre-ticked box is no longer sufficient and we will all need to keep a formal audit trail. Those individuals on the mailing list have the right to withdraw consent at any time, easily and quickly and when they do, all of their details must be permanently deleted, not just removed from a mailing list.

Should we have a data breach, GDPR will force us to inform the relevant authorities within 72 hours, giving full details of the breach and proposals for mitigating its effects.These new conditions alone – and there are many more – show just how demanding the new regulations will be and how the data is stored whether on a PC, a server or on a cloud. 

There's probably a lot more to it so at least we are taking steps to understand the new laws nice and early as the last thing we want is to upset anyone on our mailing lists or to receive a fine. 

There are some advantages to the new laws though, in that if you worry about embarrassing social media posts online that have been around for years, you can now ask for them to removed and hopefully it will stop a lot of unnecessary phone calls and rubbish through the post. 

Have a great week and just remember, when you are ordering online this year, you can opt out if you need to!

Ho Ho Ho!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 20 November 2017

Welcome to another week and it's all Food & Drink this week as we get set for the Warwickshire Food & Drink Showcase this Wednesday. 

The event, which here at Cloud 9, we are running for Warwickshire County Council, is part of their Tourism Framework, enabling partnership work and the ‘Gateways to the Countryside’ scheme across the county of Warwickshire.

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Being held at the Warwickshire Golf & Country Club, the event aims to showcase the quality and vibrancy of the local produce and visitor experiences all in one easy-to reach venue. 

We have an array of amazing suppliers on board including breweries,  cheese makers, and chocolatiers  and we want to encourage businesses to discover and use local suppliers, and additionally attendees will have the opportunity to meet, listen to experts and peers and find out how the county council is engaging with their tourism and food industry.

It's been fascinating working with all of the local suppliers on the event, and we are sure the day will be a great success as our buyer registrations is creeping up daily from local stores, restaurants and hotels all looking for new and interesting product ranges. 

And, despite the fact that its November and already feeling chilly, we also have two Gelato Companies taking part, the first of which is Hooray’s British Gelato Kitchen.

Hooray’s style and inspiration can be classed as a fusion of influences ranging from Classic

Cotswolds and the Best of British, to Cosmopolitan Chic and Global Gourmet. So you can enjoy a ravishing range of cool gelato and fruity sorbet made onsite, in their Gelato Kitchen, hot crepes and waffles, yummy cakes and locally roasted gourmet coffee. Hooray's has got something for everyone, plenty of seating downstairs, as well as the Lounge and Granita Bar upstairs which double as event room. Not to mention the children's corner and the Secret Courtyard!

The other is Swirls, who bring a touch Italy to Leamington with its Neapolitan coffee & authentic gelato handcrafted on the premises in small batches thus creating a creamier & velvety texture. They have been delighted with their customer reviews and having been noted for what they do by winning two Artisan awards so quickly has been tremendous. Their offering includes Panini’s waffles, sweet & savoury crepes, handmade lollies, gelato and semi freddo cakes made to order. 

One thing we will have to avoid is getting too involved in sampling though as we have a range of great distilleries, gin, beer and wine companies all taking part - and we are driving!

Registration for buyers is still open so if you fancy coming along, please see the website for more details and we hope to see you there.

Have a great week.

 

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What's Floating Around? 3 October 20016

Welcome to another week, and this week we wanted to share with you an amazing opportunity to visit India with Moulden Marketing.

We are well travelled here at Cloud 9 Towers, but this is a destination we have yet to explore!

Family and Friends Trip to Jaipur, India 4-11 December 2016

This is a programme which captures the famed textiles, jewellery, and artisan crafts around Jaipur, whilst sightseeing is not forgotten (yes, we can get to the Taj Mahal!).

We don’t often get one of these, this really isn’t a fam trip, not even a paid fam. No-one will ‘sell’ nor push you through a tightly packed programme of endless guided tours of monuments and hotels.   

A restful programme - your reward, and to unwind after yet another busy year.
This is a ‘family and friends‘ trip, you can bring your spouse, or other personal guests of choice, you can nominate colleague/s. 

This journey is weaved around Textile & Jewellery in Jaipur. The program starts in this capital of Rajasthan and all the activities are planned in & around this colourful city which has endless activities & highlights to offer. So the journey is blessed with no long drives and no frequent change of hotels!

Some activities:-

Elephant safari with exclusive breakfast, visit to Anokhi textile museum and meet the textiles artists in Anokhi Interactive session with artists in Bagroo along with hands on experience on block printing, meeting the jewellery artists in Amrapali & Surana Jewellery, spend a day in Rajasthani village & try your hands on Saree & turban tying sessions, explore the exquisite textile shops in Jaipur, attend a cooking class followed by a family dinner. 

This opportunity will admirably suit those curious about India but who may never have had the opportunity to visit, either as your core business doesn't or hasn't included this fascinating destination (yet!). Plus we offer a business reason for coming, should you materialise a group within the next 12 months. 

All costs, ground programme, flights, accommodation etc are listed on p7 of the itinerary here

We hope you have enjoyed this - have a great week!

 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 13 June 2016

Welcome to another week and there can be no other topic this week than The Meetings Show  which starts on Tuesday down in London. Whilst Olympia is a bit of a pain to get to, three of us from Cloud 9 Towers are going as hosted buyers, meaning at least we get our travel and hotels all covered.

 

So between us we will be doing in the region of 60 different appointments looking at different venues and destinations for clients. It's always nice to catch up with existing hotels, venues and suppliers that we know well and have a great working relationship with, but one of the core reasons for attending is to discover something new, something unusual and to educate ourselves.

 

It doesn't matter to us whether you have been in the business for five minutes, five years or even twenty five years, we are convinced that you never stop learning, and as a business it is really important to keep evolving and to keep on reviewing the ways in which you work.

 

One of the great things about The Meetings Show is that there are lots of very educational sessions covering everything from delegate engagement to social media skills and public speaking, so irrespective of the topic, there is bound to be something that is of interest no matter what level you are at within your career.

 

We're all appointment upped - and ready to party as between us we have some rather lovely events to attend as part of the social programme - Dinner at the Montcalm, BBQ at the Kensington Roof Gardens, Cocktails at the ME Radio Bar - we'll no doubt see you there!

 

In other news this week we're very keen to hear from you if you run, manage or oversee an awards brand or programme. We're conducting some research for a special event coming soon and we're keen to learn the various different ways in which awards events are put together.

 

Whilst most programmes have a tried and tested format, some of them are more transparent than others, some provide feedback from the judges, some charge for entries, some don't and some only deliver their results via a webinar or online announcement rather than holding a ceremony.

 

We're trying to gather as much data as we can and so any help or assistance you can give us would be most appreciated. Please email us and we'll pop you over a quick link to a survey we've created and you can win quite a great prize....

 

Have a great week and we hope to see you at The Meetings Show!

 

 

 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 16 May 2016

Welcome to another week and if you didn't know, today is the start of National Smile Month. Now, we like to think we are pretty smiley people here at Cloud 9 Towers anyway, but this month we have vowed to go that extra mile and smile all the time.

It can be pretty tough to keep upbeat and on form when you have a million deadlines, you are inundated with emails and phone calls, and the events you are planning are increasingly close with a thousand and one details to tie up. However, to celebrate National Smile Month, this week's blog is dedicated to making you smile and keeping you positive. It might be a bit off topic from our usual content, but hey, a happy smiling person is far more productive so think of this as your official Cloud 9 therapy - all for free, a bit like our venue finding service (ahem!).

So first up is to smile at everyone you see. It costs nothing, its so easy to do and if it comes from the heart and is a genuine smile, its unlikely anyone will think you have lost the plot or you are being creepy. Make eye contact with people and smile, smile at them with sincerity and its very likely you will get one back. Even smiling when you are on the phone can have a positive impact on your tone and even if its a difficult call, then smiling can make all of the difference to the outcome of the call.

Next, tell a really bad joke or deliver a terrible pun. Some people are naturally funny and some are not we know, but nearly everyone has at least one joke that they know off by heart. Even if you don't, then spend five minutes at lunch online and find one that makes you smile. Odds are if it makes you smile, you will make someone else smile, and if you simply don't have time to search, then how about this one from the late, great Ronnie Corbett "We've just heard that in the English Channel, a ship carrying red paint has collided with a ship carrying purple paint. It is believed that both crews have been marooned." Well, it made us smile!

Third is to give someone a compliment. Everyone has at least one good quality, maybe its physical, maybe its something they are wearing or maybe its that you admire their quick wit or ability to tell jokes (see above!) but there is nothing wrong with letting people know that you think they look or are great. Make someone proud! Again sincerity counts here!

Number four on our list is very simple. It's food. Maybe treat your colleagues, neighbours or friends to lunch, homemade cakes or simple tasty treats. You don't need to break the bank or go over the top to do this, and even if you have a die hard dieter in your circle, chop up some carrot sticks and show you care.

Our fifth suggestion is to offer your help or your time. In today's busy world its very easy to get so wrapped up in our work loads, schedules, families and commitments that we often forget others around us are maybe not coping as well as we are. So offer to write that report, help a colleague meet a deadline, water a friends plants whilst they are away or simply offer to shout one of your pals a coffee and the chance for a catch up. A little can go a long way.

At six is the idea to do something to help someone you don't know. Yes, it is fairly unfortunate that our society as it is, means that if you offer to carry an old ladies shopping bags for her, she'll probably think you are going to do a runner with her dinner, but there are lots of small acts that all add up. Hold doors open for people, give up your seat, be nice to waiting staff and shop assistants. Give to charity and find a worthy project that means something to you and make a point to find out more about it.

Seven is to send a card, gift or flowers to someone special in your life for no other reason than to show that they are special. Constant communication with emails and text messages are great and at birthdays and Christmas you get them a card and present already yes? How great would you feel if out of the blue you received a little reminder of why you are special, so pass that feeling on!

When we are constantly bombarded with images of super slim, super rich, super lifestyle celebrities living glamorous lives in fabulous houses all around the world, number eight is maybe a bit tricky for some, but be grateful. For your own life, health, and happiness and the people around you. The saying that there are people a lot worse off than you is over used but is incredibly true, so what ever your problems, be happy with your self. Also do remember that even the rich and famous still need the loo, and have to put their pants on one leg at a time.

Finally, to ensure a smiling and successful month ahead, if you planning and event, looking for a venue or incentive, then the happy, smiley team here at Cloud 9 is on hand to help. Whoops - maybe not off topic after all! 

Have a great week everyone and don't forget to smile.

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 8 February 2016

Welcome to another week and we're a bit late this week as its been so manic, we are a bit behind so whilst we play catch up here at Cloud 9 Towers, we thought we celebrate Pancake Day with you instead....

Pancake Day has been celebrated by Britons for centuries. Also known also as Shrove Tuesday, its exact date changes every year, because it is dictated by when Easter falls. But it is always the day preceding Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), and always falls in February or March. This year, you'll need to get your pans ready for tomorrow,  Tuesday 9 February.

So why Pancakes? Well traditionally, pancakes were eaten on this day to use up foods like eggs and milk before the 40-day fast of Lent began. But although its a Christian tradition, many also believe Pancake Day might originate in a pagan holiday, when eating round pancakes symbolising the sun were a way of celebrating the arrival of spring. 

It's not very Spring like here to be honest, it's not stopped raining for days but we'll still be giving our flipping skills a try here, but just why do we flip pancakes and enjoy it so much?

As well as making and eating pancakes, we Brits love to hold pancake races, where people run while flipping their pancakes in a pan. Legend has it that the tradition was born in the 15th century when a particularly disorganised woman in Buckinghamshire rushed to church to confess her sins while mid-way through making pancakes. We hope she gave one to the priest?!

So enjoy your pancakes and if you decide to try a creative spin on the usual flat round boring ones with a little lemon or sugar, you might decide to give these a try instead - with thanks to the very talented Jim at Jim's Pancakes for his amazing inspirational ideas and great photographs...

Have a great week and normal service will resume next week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 28 September 2015

Welcome to another week and its another manic one here at Cloud 9 Towers. We've two big awards events looming and launching another three whilst we also have various other events on the go, plus our free venue finding service is also a little popular at present but we'd rather be like this and busy and buzzy than wondering what to do next!

With training courses, new business meetings, websites to update, social media and the endless stream of emails (and yes we are still being invited on endless fams despite Paula's Blog on the CHS Group website last week), it can be tricky to squeeze everything in.

So we could use this week's blog to wax lyrical about time management and also to save a bit of time we could just blatantly pinch the online offering of some training company. But instead and to keep it personal, we thought we would share our tips for keeping all of those plates spinning! 

Our first rule here is about emails. There was life before emails and electronic communication which our younger team don't seem to fully appreciate, but we spoke to people, we telephoned them, we visited them and if needs be, we then wrote to them afterwards to confirm exactly what we had spoken about. This process could have taken a couple of days and factor in postage and weekends and sometimes it could be almost a week. Whilst we appreciate we live in a society where everyone, including clients, wants everything now, but the world really won't end if you leave your emails a little while. That's why we ban anyone looking at emails until 9.30am in the morning. 

That first half an hour in a morning allows you to focus on what you need to do that day and catch up on anything you may have missed. We also use this time to look at our social media and make sure everything that should be up to date, is up to date. If anything really is that urgent, then call us. Or text us, or message us. Just don't email us unless you really need to, and whatever you do, don't fax us. We're not sure how the fax even works any more!

Next up is sharing. No matter how experienced or knowledgeable you think you are, it's important to remember that you are still always continually learning and whatever you think you know, there is probably someone else who knows as much if not more. It doesn't matter if you have always done something in the same way for years and years. Getting a fresh perspective on how to work differently and more efficiently can be a really useful thing especially when you have a lot on.It may be sound obvious, but it's something that many managers often forget, especially when it comes to how they manage their time. In fact, some of our biggest time management mistakes are simply caused because you don't know any better?

Also sharing skills can be a massive help. Assign tasks to those who are pretty good at that particular aspect of a project and ensure those that need some help with certain tasks or some additional training in that area, understand why things are done in certain ways. That way everyone benefits...and even though every project at Cloud 9 has someone to lead it, every project, event and client we have are collectively discussed to make sure we are using each of our own particular skill set.

This is photograph A 1699 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

Communication is also vital and it doesn't matter how great your external communication is with clients, if people don't understand what is happening internally, then you have no or little excuse when things go wrong.

Whilst we all might complain about the sheer number of emails we all get everyday, BCC has become our friend here at Cloud 9. Forget Blind Carbon Copy the original glossary of BCC, as here it stands for Better Clouds Connected. On a large proportion of our daily emails we BCC in at least another person or a couple of people in the team.

The couple of seconds it takes to do this, and to briefly scan an email that's been sent out, can firstly stop having to have unnecessary meetings but also means that if one of the team is suddenly kidnapped by aliens or worse still, run over by the No.47 bus, then as sad as we would be, at least one other person on the team has a fighting chance of picking up a project to ensures its successful continuation!

So knowledge is power and sharing key. We're also list maniacs here. One a week which we are collectively responsible for. It's amazing what you can do with the power of a few bodies all pitching in!

 
Just ask any of our clients! So, have a great week, see you soon!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 24 March 2014

Welcome to another week and if its not yet in your diary, then don't forget this coming weekend is Mothers Day.We are all getting geared up here at Cloud 9 towers so this week we thought we'd prompt you to make this Mothers Day the most special one yet!

Mother's Day is not the same day all over the world, and the actual date varies from year to year too, just to confuse things. In the United States, and a large number of other countries, Mothers Day is the second Sunday in May whilst here in the UK, its always the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Usually on Mothers Day its a good excuse to treat your Mum to flowers, chocolates or a nice Sunday lunch in a local restaurant or pub. However getting a table can be tricky and these things are often overpriced, so just what are the alternatives to show your Mum you love her?

You could try a gift experience to do together. Maybe afternoon tea at a posh hotel or a wine tasting session (which we know our collective Mums would enjoy!) or even a chocolate making workshop. For the more adventurous Mums, a Hot Air Balloon ride or Racing Car experience might work.

Tickets to a show, a concert or even a sporting event are also always popular and if you buy the tickets you can maybe make a day of it with lunch or a couple of drinks out.

Green fingered Mums will always like a plant and at least they last longer than flowers but

if this is too safe an option and is getting a little traditional and boring, then you could try something a little more personal, like a personalised photo present where you take an image and make into a mug, a mouse mat, a keyring or whatever. The options are endless!

One of the nicest ideas is a trip down memory lane. Revive some of those memories, maybe of your mother's childhood, or when you were young. Good ideas including taking her out for a meal to an old restaurant or cafe from her past, buy an old film or TV series that she enjoyed many years before, or pick up a bargain on Ebay from when she was younger. 

A facial, massage or spa day are always a great idea and any form of pampering is normally very welcome, especially if your Mum is usually surrounded by lots of washing and ironing - whisk her away from it all! 

Even the least talented chefs around will appreciate this, but if you cook her a meal - she probably cooked you hundreds, even thousands of meals, and maybe still does - then she will probably appreciate the thought even if your skills in the kitchen leave a lot to be desire. With so many supermarket deals around, it shouldn't be that hard to stick some thing tasty in the oven! And don't let you Mum wash up irrespective of how many dishes you create! 

Finally, tell your mother how important she is to you and how grateful you are for all she has done for you over the years. There is probably no better present that this!

On another note this week, there is just a week left now to enter the Midlands Media Awards 2014 so make sure you get your entries in toot suite to the team here at Cloud 9. 

The categories. criteria and full details are all on the Midlands Media Awards website so as its free, don't miss the deadline!

Lastly this week, we thought we would share with you a few tales about our visitors book that Carol was most insistent was needed when we moved in to our new offices just prior to Christmas, even though it took  us until February to actually get round to buying one!

No sooner has some unsuspecting hotel or venue representative sat down, and before they have even managed to sip their tea, she pounces with pen in hand to make sure no one escapes from signing the book! Luckily we don't have any room for comments in our book, but we do love some of the great stories from visitor books, especially those left by tourists.

Complaints about the level of frog noise and possessed hotel rooms are among some of the most bizarre comments people have left behind in Australian guest books. When most travellers leave a message behind in a visitor’s book, it’s usually a comment of appreciation or a practical suggestion for improvement. But not everyone sees it this way.

Some tourists use the opportunity to have a last laugh, while others are perhaps unaware of just how much is under the control of their hosts. One visitor staying on a property located on 32 acres of bushland had trouble getting to sleep and left a comment behind to express his frustration.

“I like the sound of the frogs but they are only on one side of the building and it was very difficult to sleep when I could only hear them out of one ear," they wrote on lastminute.com.au. “I really would have appreciated someone moving some of the frogs to the other side of the building so they are even on both sides of the bed."
Another complained the room was a little overcrowded: “I didn’t sleep a wink all night due to the demon in my room.” and one customer was clearly unimpressed, saying she’d seen and done it all before - in a previous life.

Meanwhile, another was unhappy with his fellow lodgers, complaining of hearing an “adult photo shoot” in a nearby room.
But despite the odd messages, some travellers did leave behind quite logical suggestions including “We suggest you put the bath towels & soap in the bathroom - not on the bed!”

Some of our other favourites from "down under" include “Love the white cabinet with mirror in our room! We were thinking of a way to take it back home with us but thought that would be too obvious, plus we have no space due to buying lots of wine.” 

We also like, “We had to check out early as there was a ghost in the hotel that didn’t want us here.” and “Provide shorter flight times from Scotland”.


It's clear that there is just no pleasing people in some hotels! 

So that's it for this week, enjoy! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 17 March 2014

Welcome to another week and after our recent excursions, fams and attending this, that and the other, its a fairly sedate week ahead here at Cloud 9 Towers.

However, we are sending half of the team off on Wednesday to something called Digital 360 which is organised by McCann in Birmingham, as we are very committed to training and development.  

Today, digital communications, digital devices and digital platforms have become totally interwoven into the fabric of consumers to such an extent that they no longer require specific consideration on where or how to engage with a brand or service online. The natural relationships between traditional media, physical experiences and digital interaction have blurred the boundaries beyond what marketers have known for many years.

Digital 360 is an event aimed at exploring how brands are fully integrating digital into the fabric of their organisations, communication strategies, customer experiences and service propositions to help inform the way we all must think about true digital – 360 degree integration.

As many of our clients are within the media and marketing sectors, we always think that continually improving our knowledge about the digital sector is vital to our continued success so it will be interesting to see how Shannon and Rubina get on.

Social media continues to play a big part in everything we do from promoting the projects and awards we are actively involved with, to tweeting about our various hotels and venue reps that pop in to see us.

With our FUSE by Cloud 9 service, we also offer complimentary social media as part of the free venue finding and styling service so you can be sure your event will get the maximum amount of exposure. Understanding that Social Media is very probably something that already features within your event agenda and we’re not here to teach you anything new (unless you ask in which case we’d be pleased to help) but what we can do is enhance any of your social media activity. Just let us know the hash-tag and we’ll shout about you and engage to increase your Klout.

We’ve a high profile following here at Cloud 9 and regularly engage with the Media and journalists throughout the UK so if you are looking to increase the awareness of your event, then we can help.

FUSE starts with our free venue finding service. Simply send us the brief and we’ll not only source a variety of venues for you, we’ll also ensure you get the very best rates and full details of availability and all of those little added extras that really make a difference to your event. Don’t waste your time spending hours online, or making endless calls, when we can do it all for you and get back to you quickly and efficiently with everything you need to know all in one easy to read report.

We’ll even book on your behalf and make sure you get the best service possible from your chosen venue. What’s more, as we strive to continually improve our service, and the service that our clients receive at events, we’ll also evaluate the event afterwards to ensure that any feedback, positive or otherwise is fed back to the venue in question.

Styling at events can create the mood or kill the room and with over 10 years of running successful events here at Cloud 9 you can imagine we have a pretty good inventory at our disposal. From Glittering Lava Lamps to Giant Martini Glasses, Peacock Feathers to all manner of Props, we’ll gladly offer complimentary hire of any of our suitable stock to in-house event organisers as part of FUSE.

We can also ensure that we work with you to secure lots of little extras at your event that you may not have previously considered. Whether getting the venue to throw in some complimentary drinks, or donate a raffle prize, then our FUSE styling service will certainly help to give you that extra special edge.

Event Website Leverage is vital. Your target market or client base might be small for your particular activity, but that doesn’t or shouldn’t mean that you shouldn’t be making a big noise about your event. Sharing and swapping links with your event site can not only help it shoot up the search engines, but it’s also more likely to be easily found and accessed by the right people.

We’ll ensure your event is listed and the links are shared with at least five suitable sites, including ours if appropriate. The last thing you ever want to hear is “I didn’t know about the event”. FUSE can and will help.

Additionally, online post event activity is a great way to ensure the sustainability of any events and really engage with your audience long after event has ended.

Alternatively, we can offer you an Evaluation of your event, in order to determine the R.O.I. or to establish trends for your next event. FUSE is free so take your pick! 

Finally this week, and its been a long time coming, the new Cloud 9 Event Management Ltd website should be up and running so check it our and let us know what you think.

Have a great week, and don't forget its not long to the deadline of the 2014 Midlands Media Awards!

Toodle Pip! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 24 February 2014

Welcome to another week and we cannot believe how quickly the time is flying by - it doesn't seem two minutes since Christmas!

With the various events we have on the go, and lots of venue visits for client activity, the team are all a little like ships that pass in the night and never more so than last week.

Half of the team were at the BNC Show which is an exciting exhibition based in the heart of the City of London. The Show is designed to bring top event planners together with leading UK and international event suppliers in a refreshingly relaxed environment. 

As an incentive to get visitors along, every guest to the show was offered the choice of a gift which included luxury make-up from MAC, Chanel, Clarins, Clinique and more. 

Or if that was a little bit too girly for them, they had the choice to pick a free bottle of Champagne, restaurant vouchers or luxury products from Jo Malone London.

As well as these amazing registration gifts, they also received a luxury goodie bag from Fortnum & Mason which included luxury Tea Bags, Jam, Biscuits, Chocolate etc. On top of all of this, the team also came back with more business cards, brochures and gifts from exhibitors than they knew what to do with! 

Excluding all of the goodies the team received, they thought it was a truly spectacular event, with interesting, educational seminars and met with some lovely people as well as the cat from Harry Potter!

Meanwhile last week Paula enjoyed the fantastic hospitality of Accor with a Champagne Taster evening at the Sofitel Heathrow Hotel (never one to turn down a free drink!). In addition to lots of bubbly, the event was also a unique meet and greet event for the Sofitel Group as  most of European Hotels all had representatives there. Sofitel remains a real luxury brand within Accor and the service is always excellent with the facililties.

 

For conferences and meetings, it's a really wonderful property and with a walkaway access to Heathrow T5, incredibly useful so if anyone has any international events looming we would recommend it without a doubt.

 

Little touches always make a big different to an event and we couldn't agree more!

 

 

 So the team at Cloud 9 would like to give a huge thank you to the team at BNC, The Brewery, Accor and the Sofitel Heathrow Hotel for a great event and wonderful hospitality!

 

That's all for this week folks, have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 17 February 2014

Welcome to another week and we hope you're feeling revitalised from this Valentine's Weekend!

Talking of love... a couple of weeks ago we mentioned that we're working on behalf of the Birmingham Press Club and have launched their Midlands Media Awards. With 21 different categories, we're expecting a great standard of entries again this year.

Included within the categories is Public Choice, this is our only category which is not judged by the jury, but by the general public. The public will vote for their favourite media from the region through twitter using the #MidlandsMediaAwards hashtag.

All the entrants have to do, is download a 'Vote for Us' logo and attach it to their emails, website or any promotional activity. Votes from the public will be calculated based on the number of tweets received until 30 April 2014 and the award will be announced on the night. This is their chance to see how much the public love them and how engaged they are with their readers, viewers and listeners. 

You'll find full details on this via www.midlandsmediaawards.co.uk and you'll be able to see who is currently taking part and maybe put in a little vote yourselves!

Of course, The Midlands Media Awards are not the only programme which invites the Public to determine the success in certain awards style events.

Film fans from across Europe can elect their favourite European film. When the European Film Academy invites its members, Europe’s greatest film stars, directors, actors and actresses, to attend the European Film Awards, the People’s Choice Award sheds a spotlight on the people that films are made for, the audience!

Winners in the past have included films like Pedro Almodóvar’s VOLVER, Roberto Benigni’s LA VITA E BELLA, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s AMÉLIE, Fatih Akin’s HEAD-ON, and Danny Boyle’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. In 2012, the EFA People's Choice Award went to HASTA LA VISTA by Geoffrey Enthoven from Belgium.

Probably the best well known of all Public Choice voting events outside of the UK though, has to be The People’s Choice Awards in the USA. Aired back in January, honouring excellence in movie, TV and film as determined by the entertainment-loving public.
Big winners included Sandra Bullock, who took away a number of awards, including Favourite Movie Actress, and “Iron Man 3,” which scored Favourite Movie and Favourite Action Movie honours.

Then of course for anyone with a youngster at home there is the Nickleodeon Kids Choice Awards which is reliant on the votes of the viewers. 

So just who is gonna got SLIMED? 

Just about everybody apparently — at the 28th annual Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards where the green goo-fest continues all night long...

In 2014, watch for Kid's Choice Awards nominees to be announced anytime now when fans will have the chance to vote for their favorite stars beginning at Nick.com in addition to a special Facebook application and Twitter custom hash tags. 
Then, get ready for the big night when a brand new edition of the Kid's Choice Awards airs live on Nickelodeon on Saturday, March 29, 2014 beginning at 8PM ET! 

Your host this year? It's none other than action star Mark Wahlberg -- promising the most kick-butt KCAs yet! 

So there, that told you!

We think we’ll stick to the Public Choices for the Midlands Media Awards thank you – and give the slime a miss!

Have a great week, enjoy!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 10 February 2014

Welcome to another week and with Valentines Day ahead, love is in the air...or is it?

According to the last census of the 44.9 million adults usually resident in England & Wales in mid-2010, 48.2 per cent were married, 35.6 per cent were single, 9.3 per cent were divorced and 7.0 per cent were widowed.

But changes in the population by marital status in the year to mid-2010 continue the long term trends seen since mid-1971; the proportions of the adult population who are married and widowed continue to decline and the proportions who are single and divorced continue to rise.

So singles or singletons are a growing trend but just where do they look for love?

Apparently, a third of new relationships begin online and on average, nine million Britons log on to dating sites in their quest to find a significant other, an industry which research firm Mintel estimates will be worth £150 million this coming year.

So when consumers hit the web for romance, what are some of the most common words typed in when searching?

Leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight, analysed September search data last year,  to identify the most popular online dating-related keywords consumers used when they went to Google UK to begin their search, and in turn, to discern the most visible online dating sites to them.

The agency’s ‘Online Dating Report – Issue 2’ found there were over 871,000 dating-related searches made online in September 2013. The majority of consumer queries (15%) were for free internet dating sites, the terms ‘free dating sites’, ‘free dating’ and ‘free online dating’ amounting to 132,600 searches in total.

The report also looked in depth at age ranges, nationality, and all sorts of other specifics info about how people search for love, and assuming you might want to register online, we thought we would offer our own little Cloud 9 Event Management guide to Love Online....

Do take the time to get your profile right. Spend some time making sure your profile is as good as possible and that it reflects your personality. Also make sure anything you put online correctly spelt - it could put people off otherwise!
Do make your first message count and make sure it reads like a personal message. Mention things from the person’s profile and interests that caught your eye and made you want to get in touch, whatever the reason. Part two of this is also, don't be afraid to make the first move, it's only a message!

Don’t misrepresent yourself on your profile. You might have looked great in that picture 20 years ago but if you don't still look like that, it's not very honest is it? It's also not a good idea to use a selfie as your profile photo! It looks like you don't have any friends!

Don't let a bad dating experience get to you. Just because the last one was awful it doesn't mean the next one will be.

Do accept dates with people who aren't your “type” and also make sure your first dates are in a public place and always let a friend or family member know where you'll be.

Do make online dating a priority.It's all very well registering but if you never go on the site, you are never going to meet anyone!

 

Don't go for dinner on the first date. Once you're sitting at a table with this stranger, you're trapped until the bill comes – and they could be a very slow eater and dull as ditch water.

Don't be late, its rude and unless its unavoidable, it can set a bad precedent. Also its not a good idea to arrive drunk or come from somewhere else where you've been drinking.

 

And finally, Do actually date. Get out and meet in real life! 

 

So whether you are single, married, loved up or not, we wish you all lots of love for this Valentines Day and a fab week ahead.

 

Cloud 9 towers over and out for this week, see you next....

 

PS. Our new website coming soon!