What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 9 October 2017

Welcome to another week and if you are a regular reader, you will recall that last week we mentioned the UK Awards Conference which is taking place on 7 November at the Cavendish Conference Centre in London.

Well this last week we attended the launch of the CHS Awards at the Independent Venue Showcase in Birmingham and once again, we are helping Emma and the team structure the awards with judging so the invitations to agents have been issued and to date we have a pretty good jury in place! If you are an agent and want to take part in the judging, then please let either Janet or Paula know and we'll get you on the list.

The AIEA is also launching some new awards which are basically designed to give suppliers an opportunity to vote for agents with some rather irreverent categories such as the Willy Wonka Award for the best reaction to chocolate or treats - so you get the picture!

Taking place on 19 January in Peterborough, I am not sure whether we will warrant any votes here at Cloud 9 Towers,but you never know!  I don't think there is a category for the best venue finders but we will live in hope.

Away from Awards we are delighted to welcome a new member of the team to Cloud 9.

Susan is from Milton Keynes and she makes broken look beautiful especially when it comes to events! With a background in all things marketing from working at U.S. based agencies to publishers across Europe and beyond - she has a tonne of experience.

It has been said: "Susan is a talented individual capable of bringing many good things to any project." Family is her passion, second only to creating the best possible life for them. Running a supper club in her spare time, as well as being a health and fitness fan – there’s never a dull moment. Travelling for events has played a big part in career, but it’s not all work when the meetings are over and the champagne starts popping.

Finally this week, we are super excited to be a part of the World Superdrone Racing Championships which are taking place in Nottingham next March. 32 International Teams are taking part and this week long event will culminate at the Motorpoint Arena on Sunday 11 March.

Have a great week and don't forget to let us know about judging!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 2October 2017

Welcome to another week and we can't quite believe it's October already - wow - where is the year going? This week we'd like to feature the UK Awards Conference which is our next scheduled event and is set for 7 November at the Cavendish Conference Centre in London.

You might not know this but there are in excess of 4,000 Awards Ceremonies taking place in the UK each year covering everything from Advertising to Aeronautics, Textiles to Toilets and for the entrants and winners, this awards are a big deal.

What many don't see though is the hard work and energy that goes on behind the scenes for the organisers so the conference is designed to bring together all of the topics that are relevant to the people who deliver awards, from generating sponsorship, to ensuring you have a credible and communicative jury - and we have an exceptional programme in place with some top rate speakers. 

We are running the event in conjunction with Boost Marketing Chris Robinson will chair the event. Chris is the Managing Director of Boost Marketing and his company not only details the most comprehensive list of Awards currently running the UK, but his organisation is also the largest specialist in the world at helping businesses to win awards. With operations in the UK, Ireland, USA, France and New Zealand, Boost have to date helped over 200 companies win in excess of 1,000 Awards - not a bad tally! 

Richard John who is the chair of the judges for us on the CHS Awards is then going to look at the history of awards, including some of the more memorable moments from awards in the last decade - and who can forget the blunder at the Oscars this year?

Setting up an awards programme is the easy bit, but what constitutes a good awards scheme and how do you know you are getting it right - well this is the topic that Don Hales for Awards International will address, but we move on to Creativity in Production with Richard Tierney.

We are also looking at Diversity in Awards: Achieving & Maintaining an Audience with Sarah Garrett MBE, as well as looking at establishing objectives for your potential entrants, – and maintaining open and honest working relationships with your target audience irrespective of their success levels, with Sarah Garrett.

Events aren’t just about what and who is in the room: they are also about the wider community. Simon Burton is a passionate evangelist for event amplification. Using real world case studies of awards he’ll demonstrate why social media shouldn’t be an add-on but an integral part of your awards strategy.

Just one of many highlights for the event is a session with Mark Borkowski who will be asking does Celebrity Matter? Does attaching a name to your brand have any impact on its standing with your audience? Getting the right fit for your programme is paramount and the suitability and expense does not always deliver an R.O.I. - or does it? Mark will look at guests expectations and the highs and lows of celebrity involvement in your awards.

We will also be dishing up the details with Anthony Marshall, Executive Head Chef, Hilton Park Lane who is reminding us that food remains an important element of any event and can make or break an awards ceremony. Food trends have changed significantly over the years at awards, and dietary requirements, the diversity of menus and demands from guests and events organisers are more complex. How does this impact a venue and how do they maintain their levels of quality and service to meet and exceed expectations? This invaluable session offers an insight from behind the scenes from one of the UK's leading executive chefs from the Hilton Park Lane.

Our last session is with Martin Lewis who is the Managing Editor at CAT Publications. The M&IT Awards are the most prestigious and most established recognition programme in the Events Industry and celebrated their 30th Anniversary this year. In an evolving industry, what has worked with the brand and what hasn't? In a look back a the history of M&IT, Martin will share some of the great lessons the brand has experienced over the years and how embracing change has positively impacted the awards.

Delegates can also enjoy some specific workshops, such as Balancing Stakeholder Communications with Andy Green, and a very hot topic at present around IP & Content with Ed Wright from Shakespeare Martineau. Just what are the legalities of what you can do with an entrants submission and content? Irrespective of your own rules and guidelines as part of your awards criteria, copyright is a form of intellectual property that protects original work and gives the creator of the work the exclusive rights so are you infringing this as part of your programme and what are you legal obligations? What steps can you take to protect your brand when promoting entrants online and reproducing their images, photos or copy? How clear is your legal position? The answer will probably surprise you! 

Workshop Three is with Donal Keenan from D&AD who will look at judging solutions whilst 

Anne Nolan from Awards Force will demonstrate some new technology to help organisers streamline their awards.

And if that wasn't a suitably packed programmme already, there is also an exhibition of suppliers and venues that can host awards, which are we running with our friends at CHS.

So if awards are your thing, then it's not too late to book - reserve your place now online and make sure your next awards event is a winner!

Have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 4 September 2017

Welcome to another week and after our Summer Break (although we use the word lightly as August was a bit of a wash out - let's be fair!), we are back and raring to go.

Lots to report event wise and we have a pretty packed agenda looming which starts next week with the National Acute Pain Symposium in Harrogate for 300 medical professionals at the Harrogate Convention Centre.This truly international event also features a trade exhibition and a large display of abstracts so lots going on!

This is followed by the UK Awards Conference in November which is an educational eventfor Awards Organisers in the UK, and is supported by an exhibition of suitable venues for holding awards ceremonies. Our friends at CHS are organising this element for us - and next week is almost the planning for the CHS Awards 2018. We have some amazing speakers taking part so if you have yet to book, now is the time!

November also features a great event for Warwick County Council which is designed to connect local suppliers with national buyers and is part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Business Festival. Warwickshire Food & Drink is set for 22 November at the Warwickshire Gold & Country Club and to date we have over 20 exhibitors signed up and a raft of buyers coming from all different sectors.

Planning wise, we are coordinating the Nottingham Media Festival which includes the Nottingham International Microfilm Festival, The Fresh Creative Awards, The VR Expo & Awards, The International Drone Awards, SLICE which is Student Lives in Creative Enterprises, a fun competition for Lego fans called Lego Legends and finally (so far at least) the World Supedrone Racing Championships - phew!

Our venue finding arm has also been very busy over the summer helping clients sort all manner of events from small intimate one off meetings to annual schedules and Fiona in our team has also been busy restructuring our Ambassadors Programme and on a recruitment drive.

Fresh Adventures is also very much on the go, and we have now partnered with Aviator World to ensure all of our adventurers are fully protected and the team here are busy scheduling some amazing and engaging trips for the creative industry.

Our Corporate Hospitality division has also been active and our amazing partners, Optimise Hospitality has been busy ensuring we have a great schedule to offer clients - and Nick has secured Rugby tickets for clients that are rarer than gold dust! 

We have also been helping with the AIEA events which included the AGM and we are now looing at the AIEA New Years Honours, which are set to be hilarious if nothing else.

So, never a  dull moment and today Paula is off to join the M&I Forum at the Compleat Angler in Marlow and later in the week is off to The Izaak Walton Hotel in Dovedale which is a new addition to the Trident Hospitality Portfolio.  

We hope everyone has had an equally productive Summer and that you did manage to at least grab a little bit of sunshine wherever you were!

Have a great week! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? Week Commencing 17 July 2017

Welcome to another week and it remains crackers here at Cloud 9 Towers with numerous projects on the go including the National Acute Pain Symposium, The Fresh Creative Awards, Fresh Adventures, Warwickshire Food & Drink, the UK Awards Conference, the Nottingham Media Festival, which will include the Nottingham International Microfilm Festival, and a VR Awards and Expo.

Blimey! 

This is in addition to our work for existing clients venue finding so it's a little frantic here to say the least, so for the first time in our history, we've put a halt to supplier appointments and despite having some lovely invitations, a stop to all fams and events.

With so much going on its really easy to fall in to the trap of exclaiming "I am just so busy" every two minutes, but that in itself can be a negative rather than a positive so instead, we've tried to adopt  a more productive approach to our somewhat manic schedule.

The word busy means actively engaged which to us doesn't sound too bad at all, but if you add in the definition of not at leisure and not accessible it becomes less attractive, and we hate the phrases overloaded and swamped as well - so how is it best to describe our schedules at the moment - without appearing to have adopted a load of rubbish corporate speak?!

Rich and varied might be an option, if it weren't for the fact that we are unlikely ever to make a fortune doing what we are doing, so abundant might work.

Engaged and wholehearted are also options but we like captivated less, as this  conjours up visions of us being chained to our desks which in events is hardly the case!

There is of course the old adage that if you want something done, and done correctly, ask a busy person so we guess we will settle for productive with a dash of dynamic and a pinch of excited!

Sounds like a cocktail we know and we could go on, but of course being so productive, dynamic and excited, we're simply too busy to write more this week!

Have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? Week Commencing 5 June 2017

Welcome to another week and our focus is very much Awards, Awards, Awards this week as we'd like to mention the inaugural UK Awards Conference which we've launched in conjunction with Boost Marketing. 

The forum of education, energy & exploration for awards & events organisers in all key sectors. Refresh, renew and revitalise your brand, learn how to improve your core delivery programme and the steps to increase both market awareness and the bottom line.

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With an array of incredible speakers, the opportunity to attend workshops that are relevant to you and your awards, a wealth of useful new suppliers, the UK Awards Conference is also introducing a revolutionary new bench marking scheme for awards organisers, based on the core principals of the event.

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Increase the credibility of your event, improve your education and innovate your next programme all in one day.

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Delegates also have the opportunity to shape future content of the event as this conference is designed to share best practice and improve industry standards.

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One of the initiatives we are aiming to unveil at the Conference is a new code of conduct, best practice policy and accreditation for anyone running or managing awards events and programmes. 

This national recognition will demonstrate your ethics, commitment and your professional approach to delivery. Above all, the charter will show your brand is alinged with trust, with transparency & technology which will benefit your business, your audience and your awards.

We're delighted to be working with a host of professional and passionate organisations all of whom share the vision and values of both a new charter for awards organisers and the inaugural conference. We welcome any comments, suggestions or feedback you may have and with your support we look forward to growing and improving the event each year.

Scheduled for 7 November, the event is sure to create a buzz around the industry so if you work in the Awards sector, please make sure you register online for this event, being held at the Cavendish Conference Centre in London. 

Whilst we are on the subject of Awards we are also pleased to be involved in a new initiative for for one of our clients which is the National Acute Pain Awards, part of the National Acute Pain Symposium, scheduled for September in Harrogate.

Recognising the great work of the Pain Departments around the UK, the awards will be an important part of the event this year, so for additional details please take a look at the website.

Lastly, a little call for help please. As part of the Awards initiative, we're asking anyone involved in Awards to take part in a little survey please, just to let us get a better idea of the industry and it's structure. You could win a place at the Conference by completing the survey, so if you can spare us five minutes, well maybe ten, that would be great!

Have a fabulous week!

What's Floating Around Cloud? 17 April 2017

Welcome to another week and it's a short week this week so we hope everyone had a great Easter break, filled with family, friends and more Easter Eggs than you can shake a stick at! 

We would like this week to focus on a new initiative that we have been debating for a while here at Cloud 9 Towers, and as a result, working with some great stake holders, we are launching the first UK Awards Conference. This will be a forum of education, energy & exploration for awards & events organisers in all key sectors. Refresh, renew and revitalise your brand, learn how to improve your core delivery programme and the steps to increase both market awareness and the bottom line.

​With an array of incredible speakers, the opportunity to attend workshops that are relevant to you and your awards, a wealth of useful new suppliers, the UK Awards Conference is also introducing a revolutionary new bench marking scheme for awards organisers, based on the core principals of the event. This is designed to increase the credibility of your event, improve your education and innovate your next programme all in one day.

One of the objectives of the event is to establish a code of conduct, best practice policy and accreditation for anyone running or managing awards events and programmes. This national recognition will demonstrate your ethics, commitment and your professional approach to delivery. Above all, the charter will show your brand is aligned with trust, with transparency & technology which will benefit your business, your audience and your awards. Delegates attending the Conference will automatically qualify for this recognition which we aim to become an industry standard.

There are thousands of awards programmes taking place in the UK each year recognising every sector from Advertising to Aerospace, Travel to Transportation and each of these events involves hundreds of hours of planning, administration and delivery - as well as the success and achievements of the winners.

​This inaugural one day conference offers a unique opportunity for those who work behind the scenes to learn new skills, improve their working practises and increase their knowledge with new tools, trends and techniques. From financial viability and revenue opportunities to avoiding the pitfalls on a critical path, this very important conference will address all aspects of the successful steps you need to take to refresh and revitalise your awards brand.

​Awards matter to the entrants, so their trust, your operational transparency and the technology platforms that you can use to streamline your programme are the core objectives of the event and we want everyone to leave the event with a new sense of purpose and an appetite for amazing awards events.

​The website to accompany this new initiative will be available towards the end of the month and the event is planned for November, so please let us know if you would like any additional details at this stage!

Have a great week!