What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 18 April 2016

Welcome to another week and without further ado, this week we'd like to mention our Ambassadors Programme - as we over half way there in appointing some incredible people to represent our brand - Cloud 9 - to the wider world.

We like to think we have a pretty good relationship and reputation with our existing clients, but who doesn't like new business - so we decided that rather than invest in a sales person, we would instead appoint Ambassadors in different regions around the UK to expand our network a little.

As a result, we have been meeting some great people from different parts of the UK to work alongside us and introduce our free venue finding service to a wider audience.

There are, we know, lots of other agencies offering the same service in the UK, but we like to think that we go that extra mile in that our FUSE Service is pretty unique and sets us aside from the competition. And, its all completely free, all of the time! 

 

So, just what is FUSE? Well, yes, it is FREE Venue Finding, so whether you want a small

meeting, a large congress, a gala dinner, an incentive, an awards ceremony, a conference, a golf trip or any event at all, then we have the experience, and tools to find you the perfect fit for your next event. We do this for free, and we’re fast and efficient and above all friendly, so even if you change the brief, we don’t mind!

It’s UNDERSTANDING Social Media for Events. If you’ve used our FREE Venue Finding Service, and you want to engage with your guests or delegates in advance of an event, then we can help. We can set up and monitor all of your social media channels, schedule and post so that you create awareness in advance, and we’ll even help post event with longevity to ensure your event stays memorable. We can even build you an App if you want one – free…

It’s STYLING for Events. Again, simply use our FREE Venue Finding Service and if you are running an event that requires stunning centre pieces or decor then we’re happy to help and we’ll even deliver it for free locally. If your event is national then we might ask that you make a small contribution towards postage and if your event is International then we can put you in touch with the right people – it doesn’t matter to us if you are holding an event in Nottingham or Nepal, with our experienced team, we can help! Unfortunately, we are unable to ship our items to Outer Mongolia and we have yet to have any requests for Outer Space, so kindly bear with us on this one!

It’s EVALUATION for Events. Sometimes it can be really important to know and recognise the R.O.I. on your event spend. How on topic were your speakers? How was the venue? Did your delegates come away with a positive impression following the conference or meeting? As part of our FREE Venue Finding, we can help you evaluate your event and collect the results, helping you easily and effectively evaluate each and every event.

So there you have it. FUSE from Cloud ⁹, it’s unique, it’s effective and more importantly, its free, zilch, zero, complimentary, gratis…and you can’t get better than that!

Our Ambassadors will be offering this great service to clients around the UK, but we still have opportunities available for the right people - and these are the people who are already in a professional environment, who like to network and meet new people.

If this sounds like you, please let us know as we are yet to appoint anyone in the North East or North West, or the South West of England. We'll even throw in a Ferrero Rocher for the right people!

Have a great week and don't forget its the Midlands Media Awards for Students on Thursday which you can follow live on Twitter using #MMAStudents16.

 

 

 
 

What's Floating Around? 14 July 2014

Our blog this week has been written by Harriet Taylor who is back with us for a third summer as an intern, as she completes her Event Management degree at Leeds

Metropolitan University.

Welcome to another week and did you know that today is  “Orangemen’s Day” a public holiday in Northern Ireland to commemorate the anniversary of The Battle of the Boyne on Ireland’s East Coast in 1690. If you’re in Northern Ireland you may come across various marching bands or large group walks of men wearing black bowler hats and white gloves holding orange flags.

What a jam-packed week we’ve had. Whilst we held the fort here in Nottingham, last week half of our team had the fabulous opportunity to attend The Meetings Show in London as hosted buyers.

After a well deserved coffee and a catch up in the board room we’ve heard tales of David Beckham lookalikes, Jamaican Parties with Sandals and even on-the-go afternoon teas’s on red London bus’s… Although I doubt the scones had a chance to roll of the plates before our hungry bunch had scoffed them! Carol is, of course, extremely jealous.

If you feel like you’d enjoy a BB Afternoon Tea Bus Tour experience as much as we did then why not have a go for yourself?
 

Here are the piping hot facts:
 

• The tour costs £45 per adult and £35 per child.
• Babies and very young kids aren't permitted on the tour.
• The bus currently departs from Belvedere Road, opposite the London Eye
• The BB bus is available for private hire and bespoke afternoon tea tours. Prices start at around £990 to hire the whole bus.
• The bus fits 22 people on the top deck, and 12 downstairs.
•  Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free afternoon teas are available on request.
• Alcohol isn't served, but you can bring your own bottle for a corkage fee. 
•  The tour is 1 hour 30 minutes long.

To book on, follow the link below:

http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/uk/london/south-bank/bb-bakery-bus/

Finally, re-united, the phones are non-stop and we’re all raring for another week of whatever we can sink our teeth into (and whatever you can throw at us.) So lets have a look at what's going on for Cloud 9 this week.

The Brand You Awards deadline is tomorrow, so as you can imagine it’s all speed ahead as we gather together those final entries that are flooding in. With one day left get your entries in, else you’ll be kicking yourself afterwards.

We’re looking forward to having a catch up over a cuppa with Jade Sill from Best Western Hotel group tomorrow. We pride ourselves here at Cloud 9 on our brilliant relationships we hold with reliable and trustworthy hotel chains. We better dig the posh biscuits out of the cupboard then!

Paula is pondering over which nail varnish will match her outfit ready to be up on stage presenting Cloud 9’s latest asset “FUSE” to The PA Club at Alea casino this Thursday. FUSE is a completely free service that we provide here at Cloud 9. Designed to make your next event go with a bang, but without blowing a fuse. We offer free venue finding, experienced advise for suitable means of social media, event styling and post-event evaluation techniques to help make your life easier.

(Please note that Paula has allowed this paragraph to remain the blog!)

So that's it for another week, enjoy! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 19 May 2014

Welcome to yet another week at Cloud 9 Towers, and after a fun and fulfilling week last week, attending familiaristion trips, shows and exhibitions, we'd just like to thank everyone for their kind hospitality and introducing us to some lovely people!

We discovered a number of new and interesting venues from Universities to Hotels on the trips and to give you an idea on some of the few great, funky venues that are out there, we thought we'd list the top 10 best themed hotels around the world! (As a chocoholic, I'm sure you'll know which is Shannon's favourite!)

Last month, plans were unveiled for the world's first Ferrari Hotel, inside a theme park dedicated to the car brand, which will open in Barcelona in 2016. The hotel promises five-star luxury, with 250 rooms, a number of restaurants and a driving simulator. We wonder if the beds will be shaped like Ferrari Formula One cars and the alarm clocks will sound like the exhaust note from a 458 Italia Speciale?!

If you fancy a journey into space, you could splurge on a journey with Virgin Galactic, but a considerably cheaper option would be a stay at Barcelona's Barceló Sants Hotel, which has been designed to resemble the inside of a space shuttle. Windows have been replaced with porthole-style bubbles containing images of outer space, the traditional reception area has been replaced by a 'boarding desk' and the two restaurants, Oxygen and Hydrogen, specialise in 'brain food' designed especially for astronauts.


However, most people go on break to relax, but if you're the kind of person who's rarely detached from their gadgets, the Sol Wave House might just be for you, because it's the world's first Twitter-themed hotel. There are two Twitter concierges whose services can be procured with a quick tweet, and by using the hashtag #SocialWave, guests can interact with each other and order room service. Just be aware that your nearest and dearest might quickly tire of tweets informing them how fab your hotel is while they're slogging it out back home!


If you're a chocoholic in need of a sugar fix, then you will love this quirky Hotel, where all of the rooms are inspired by different types of dessert! It's the only place where guests can doze off surrounded by murals depicting syrup sponge or spotted dick and custard, or recline on piles of chocolate-shaped cushions. Other perks include complimentary handmade chocolates and the chance to take part in dessert-themed cookery workshops, and chocolate is a staple of both the restaurant and bar menus.


 
Have you ever dreamed of sleeping on the forecourt of a petrol station or within the chassis of a supercar? If so, head to this car-themed Hotel in Germany, where guests will also find a large spa (or 'body tuning' department) and the enormous Motorworld car museum next door. 




Put on your sunglasses, because this Belgian Pantone Hotel is an explosion of colour. Here, it's all about the contrast: white walls provide a blank canvas against which the colours pop, and there are colour cards on the walls which provide an added insight into the trends relating to the shade in question. Everything from the coffee cups to the stationery has been colour-co-ordinated and even the toiletries are eye-wateringly bright!


One of the world's most bizarre theme hotels is the Cabbages and Condoms safe sex-themed resort in Thailand. There's an important message behind the unusual decor, which includes lampshades made from condoms and uniforms bearing safe sex slogans. The founders are keen to kerb the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and reduce unwanted pregnancies by hammering home the importance of safe sex, and a large chunk of the profits are donated to the Mechai Viravaidya Foundation, which supports underprivileged children from some of Thailand's poorest areas.


Rock and rollers will love Brighton's Hotel Pelirocco, which has 19 rooms dedicated to music greatness, including Let's Get It On, which has Motown murals on the wall, gold lamé curtains and a vintage record player (complete with a section of classic Motown records), and the Pressure Sounds room, which has Lee 'Scratch' Perry wallpaper, Rastafarian-themed decor and funky egg chairs.

Manga fans can pay homage to the literary art form at San Francisco's Hotel Tomo, the inspiration for which is Japanese comics. Quirky plastic characters can be found on bedside tables and desks, and framed manga prints adorn the walls. Guests will find bottles of sake in their rooms and the hotel is located in the middle of San Francisco's Japantown area, just a short walk from the city's main sights. 


Ancient Rome is the theme for this spectacular hotel, which has been modelled on the Colosseum. Expect beautiful mosaic flooring in the bathrooms, bedrooms with enormous walls murals depicting fighting gladiators, and a spa inspired by Roman baths. Guests arriving at the hotel are greeted by the sight of enormous marble horses and the hotel restaurant resembles an enormous medieval banqueting hall, the highlight of which is a beautiful wall mosaic depicting the last supper.

So that's it, some great themed Hotels, I'm sure you'd agree! Also, please don't forget to give us a shout about FUSE by Cloud 9, which is our FREE Venue Finding Service that goes an extra mile with other elements included at no cost, if you need help looking for that perfect venue! 

Have a great week folks!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 28 April 2014

Welcome to another week and after two short weeks, normal service is resumed here at Cloud 9 Towers!

Peter Lowe

Last week was pretty much taken over with second stage judging for the Midlands Media Awards which we run on behalf of the Birmingham Press Club. Willoughby PR kindly hosted the judging for us, which was chaired by Peter Lowe who is the Executive Editor at Sky News.

The nominations for the awards will be announced this coming Friday, 2 May and tickets for the ceremony which is taking place on Thursday 5 June at Aston Villa, are available online now for anyone wanting to snap up a seat near the front! We always allocate seating on a first come first served basis, so you have been warned!

Progress for the 2014 CIPR Northern Conference is also shaping up nicely and this year’s conference will focus on the digital PR landscape and the skills needed to spread news further, faster and more directly than ever before. The day will look at how PR, Social, SEO and Content Marketing all complement each other to engage, influence and manage reputations. 

Industry leaders will discuss the blurring lines between these channels the importance of digital PRs having a varied skill set to create digital PR strategies.There will be a packed schedule this year with a diverse range of keynote speakers and the opportunity to network with exhibitors so delegates will be able to make the most of their time and really benefit from attending.

 

Now in its 13^th year the objectives of this high profile event are to provide outstanding learning and networking opportunities for PR professionals through a mixture of challenging keynote speeches and practical master classes and workshops. The event is open to members and non-members alike.

The event is set for 12 June, so just a week after Midlands Media, so June is shaping up to be a busy month for us here at Cloud 9 Event Management.

To recover, Becky & Rubina are then off to enjoy the hospitality of the studio venues on Friday 13 June, with a promise to get lucky with both the studio and Staybridge Suites…



We have no idea exactly what that means, but  to celebrate the launch of their new 24 hour delegate packages, they are hosting an evening of fun and entertainment at thestudio, followed by overnight stay and breakfast at the recently opened Staybridge Suites, Birmingham. We have clients who are big fans of the studio and we are too, so it will be great to explore their new space.
  
Then, no sooner than the CIPR Northern Conference is over, our attention with turn to Bristol Media and the Brand You Awards as the entry deadline is 20 June.  

With such a busy schedule ahead, client venue finding and planning, we are trying to keep as organised as we can and whilst Paula has finally given up, reluctantly, her Filofax, she still complains that her online diary is far too complicated for daily use!

So in tribute to all of those who still enjoy their Filofaxes (without the ridicule of younger members of staff), a little potted history of this marvellous invention!

The popularity of Filofax over the past decade has naturally led many people to believe it is a relatively new concept. Yet its origins go back as far as the First World War. In 1921, a London based company was formed to market personal organisation systems in the UK by mail order. In 1930 they registered the trademark "Filofax", the name having derived from the description "file of facts".

The business continued to grow and by 1987 had a retail network of 1250 outlets in the UK alone. Prestigious stores around the world stocked Filofax, Harrods and Harvey Nichols in London, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales in the US, Bon Genie in Switzerland, Galleries Lafayette in Paris and Seibu in Japan amongst others.

The Filofax personal organiser had developed from a simple loose-leaf diary and notebook into an indispensable organiser and status symbol for the 80s.In 2001 the Letts Filofax Group was formed after Charles Letts and Company Limited aquired the Filofax Group. In 2012 the company was acquired by HSGP Investments.

Paula maintains she is reviving hers next year, the Cloud 9 team remain unconvinced! Her response however, is that if Grace at 83 could pull off using a Filofax, then she can too! 
We'll see....and in the meantime, have a great week!

PS. Don't forget to ask us about FUSE by Cloud 9....

What's Floating Aroud Cloud 9? 31 March 2014

Welcome to another week and its the official deadline day today for the 2014 Midlands Media Awards. The Midlands Media Awards is the Birmingham Press Club’s largest and most prestigious annual event, attended by over 300 of the region’s media professionals and key guests from the business community.

This exciting awards scheme will recognise and reward the very best local and regional journalists, broadcasters and photographers and will deliver an outstanding event celebrating the diversity of the media throughout the Midlands.

With an impressive and impeccable two stage judging process and categories created to reflect and reward the rich heritage and modern innovation within the media, this is an event not to be missed. The Midlands Media Awards are open to entrants from Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry, Wolverhampton and Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Entries are welcome from anyone working within the local media, journalists, broadcasters and online news contributors and there are over 20 categories to choose from including one which will enable the public to vote for their favourite source of news and information.

Cloud 9 is delighted to be working on the awards for the Press Club again this year and tickets will be available very soon for the actual ceremony which is set for Thursday 5 June at Aston Villa.

In other news this week we are pleased to welcome a new addition to the Cloud 9 Event Management team, as Becky starts today!

Becky will be working closely on our increasingly busy venue team and helping to develop FUSE by Cloud 9 to our clients, new and existing. 

Additionally, Becky will also be helping out with the Fresh Awards which is all set to launch in April for 2014, so please look out for details and don't forget to say hello to Becky!

To end the week Shannon, who is normally the first to snap up any invitation to anywhere that contains the word "spa", is instead heading for Space. Well, the National Space Centre in Leicester anyway!

The National Space Centre is the UK’s largest attraction dedicated to space exploration and space science. As such we have an amazing building filled with rockets, satellites, Martian surfaces and other amazing artefacts. The building also houses experts and a full Space Communications team.

In the past the Centre has worked with BBC, CNN, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, National Geographic and many other media outlets to provide content and location for news and educational pieces.

Of course the Centre must remain focused on its core objectives and ensure that visitors have the full experience of the Centre, so none of this activity is done to the determent of the public.

 Shannon has a pretty packed schedule for her tour that includes a look round the nearby Marriott Hotel before moving on to the Space Centre for an introduction in the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium – followed by one of their 360 degree amazing shows.

After Space Cocktails (non-alcoholic) in the iconic Rocket Tower and a tour of the facilities, there will be lunch in the Shuttle Suites, and then an experience on a team building mission - and as long as it wont mess up her hair, Shannon will be up for it!

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? 3 March 2014

Welcome to another week and its a busy one again with all sorts of exciting stuff ahead, including quite a bit of activity with the Birmingham Press Club for the upcoming Midlands Media Awards and the launch of the second inaugural Brand You Awards for Bristol Media. 

We start this week, with the Editors Launch Lunch which recognises the official launch of the 2014 Midlands Media Awards. Chaired by the Birmingham Press Club's Chairman, Ed James, the event will be attended by the West Midlands Editors and headline sponsors, Birmingham Airport. 

Bournville College, principal sponsors of the Birmingham Press Club are very kindly hosting the Lunch for us. They were established in 1913 by George Cadbury, as a continuation school for Cadbury workforce. A hundred years later, the College now caters for around 15,000 students, offering a wide variety of courses for school leavers, adult learners and employers. It’s a truly international college with offices in Malaysia and India and a strong presence across all continents, welcoming around 1,000 international students every year.

In September 2011, Bournville College moved to a new £66 million purpose built campus in Longbridge, kick-starting wider regeneration of the area after the collapse of MG-Rover in 2005. The new campus features state-of-the-art facilities which include Mac suites, motor vehicle maintenance workshops, music studios, training kitchens, over 1,000 computers, Wi-Fi internet access, 3D cinema room, online learning material and much more.

Many facilities are also open to the general public including: a purpose built conference centre for up to 200 delegates, Urban Elegance hair salon, Urban Serenity beauty salon, Urban Flavours restaurant, Urban Fitness gym and sports hall and The Garage, offering MOTs and services for cars and motorbikes.

The College has sponsored the Press Club since 2011. Norman Cave, Principal of Bournville College, commented: “We are pleased to continue our association with Birmingham Press Club, which will have a positive impact on our courses in media and related areas, thereby strengthening students’ experience at Bournville.”

We're very much looking forward to lunch at their new Urban Flavours restaurant which is a contemporary training restaurant situated inside Bournville College, Longbridge. The restaurant offers high quality dining, using fresh locally sourced produce. It seats over 70 diners and is also open to general public as well as Bournville students. It also offers an extended range of services, including afternoon tea, twilight sessions, festive food and more.

We're also in the process of organising an East Midlands Conference on behalf of the Birmingham Press Club, open to all Journalists, Photographers, Broadcasters & Students which will focus on the Emergency Services. We already have a great line up of speakers from East Midlands Ambulance, Police and Fire Services, so it should be another interesting and successful event! More details to follow soon.....

Brand You is back this week which we help Bristol Media to organise. With categories that cover everything from Advertising to Design, Photography to PR, this unique awards programme is one of the few schemes in the UK that recognises individuals, hence the title, Brand You!

You have loads of time to enter as the deadline is not until 20 June, but plan ahead and don't leave it until the last minute. You can follow news and updates about Brand You on Twitter using #BMBrandYou.


Twiter remains a powerful outlet for Cloud 9 so if you are in events and want some help with understanding how social media can benefit your next event, then you might like to give our new FUSE service a try.

Its completely free and is already proving to be a hit with many in house event organisers.

FUSE is a new and completely free service available to anyone working within events for an in-house organisation. Here at Cloud 9 Event Management Ltd, we’re not after pinching or indeed pitching for your business, but instead, helping you to enhance your events in a subtle and unobtrusive manner, leaving you to do what you do best for your clients, staff

and stakeholders.

What exactly is FUSE? It’s four simple elements all bundled together to help event organisers make the most of their events, without any additional work – in fact using our FUSE service will actually save you time, increase awareness about your events and could also save you money.

With Free Venue Finding, Understanding Social Media, Styling for Events and Evaluation, all packed together for free, then FUSE could be the answer to your event headaches!

That's all for this week, so have a good one - enjoy!