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? 7 July 2014

Welcome to another week and although we are incredibly busy with a variety of projects for clients, it would only be fitting to class this week as party central!

As part of The Meetings Show, which the majority of the team are attending, we have been inundated with invitations to attend some rather lovely events and although it's not physically possibly to attend everything, we are doing our best to hold up the Cloud 9 banner this next week.

As hosted buyers, we're jumping on an early train down on the Tuesday and by the time we get to London we are sure that some of our industry colleagues will be nursing sore heads from the rather fabulous Lime Venue Portfolio Party which is tonight. 

Held at the fantastic Science Museum without the daytime crowds, guests will enjoy a wonderful cocktail reception, win great prizes, and meet great people, suppliers and the UK's largest portfolio of unusual venues. With the award winning catering of Payne and Gunter and entertainment by Steampunk entertainers, it looks like a great do.

Tuesday evening will see us at the Jamaican Embassy with the lovely people from Sandals and Virgin Atlantic, as they host a night of Caribean fun. With rum punch and steel bands, we only hope that the weather is as good as it is in Jamaica!

Wednesday night is Accor Party and we are really looking forward to it as we will have the opportunity to brag about our footballing skills (see last weeks blog) in the marvellous High Road House, whilst enjoying cocktails and canapes with some amazing entertainment.

Thursday as we head home, Shannon and Paula are taking a diversion to Birmingham for not one, but two Summer BBQ's. The first at a regular venue of ours, Aston Villa and the second with a client at The Studio.

By Friday we might be all partied out, but the Cloud 9 show goes on and we are a hardened bunch here so work will continue all week. 

We recognise that we are very lucky to work in such an engaging and entertaining industry, and this got us thinking, with so many party invitations (and we don't accept that many we promise) which are the biggest and best parties in the world?

After a little light digging, its amazing at just what goes on in the world and starting with Thailand, there is the Full Moon Party. Held either the night before or after the full moon, these all-night ragers draw as many as 30,000 people. Revellers drop in to bars and clubs along the beach to dance and indulge in liquor sold in buckets. There are several huge sound systems along the beach, and partiers can hear a range of music from R&B to trance and house. Although these parties have been associated with drug use, authorities on the island are reportedly cleaning up the celebrations.

Tomato juice flows through the streets of Bunol on the last Wednesday of August as revellers take part in the world’s largest tomato fight. La Tomatina in Spain see's festivities begin in the town square where there is a huge pole covered in soap and with a leg of ham at the top. Participants try to scramble up the pole to retrieve the ham as onlookers throw buckets of water on the crowd from balconies above. After a gun is fired to signal the beginning of the fight, huge trucks carrying tomatoes appear. People grab their ammunition and pelt each other in the streets until the pistol sounds again, marking the end of the event.

This annual Carnival of Ivrea celebrates the city’s liberation from a baron who starved citizens during Medieval times. As the story goes, a miller’s daughter roused the town to revolt and drive out the baron. The event, which takes place the week before Lent, is perhaps best known for its raucous Battle of the Oranges. Teams gather in the city’s main squares to re-enact the citizen’s rebellion by lobbing oranges at one another. Anyone can join a team to participate, but you might want to wear your raincoat and Wellies.

Fasnacht, in Switzerland is the country's biggest party with roughly 20,000 masked revellers taking part. Festivities kick off at four in the morning on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, when all the lights in the city go out and groups of costumed pipers and drummers parade through the town with lanterns. Celebrations continue throughout the week with lots of drinking and singing. Some groups act out notable events from the previous year in what’s known as the Schnitzelbängg.

Burning Man, Nevada: This infamous festival began in 1986 with the burning of a large-scale effigy to mark the summer solstice. It’s since grown into a week-long annual event that draws more than 48,000 people to the Black Rock Dessert. Held during the week before Labour Day, participants set up camp in the desert to celebrate art, self-expression and self-reliance. Each year has a theme which artists are encouraged to interpret through installations and performances. “Mutant vehicles,” redesigned cars and trucks, are staples of the event, as is the burning of a 40-foot “Man” structure.

For nine days in October, Cape Breton is alive with Celtic culture from all over the world. This annual festival draws more than 10,000 visitors to celebrate with music, dance and events in communities across the island. Craft workshops, lectures on Celtic history and square dances are all on offer, as are community meals where visitors and community members come together over home-cooked food. Artists get together for an informal jam session at the Festival Club, located at the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, where the bar is open until 3 am.

Songkran in Thailand marks the Thai New Year, which is celebrated in the second week of April. This is the hottest time of the year in Thailand, so it makes sense that the biggest Songkran tradition is to throw water on people. A soaking is considered a blessing and it’s a sacred practice. Traditionally, people would bestow blessings by pouring scented water on each other’s hands. But today, Thais of all ages engage in full-blown water fights, using buckets, hoses and water guns to celebrate the event. Now we like a good water fight at Cloud 9 but then again, we would have to invest in some serious water proof mascara we feel!

With Bay to Breakers, in San Francisco This is a 12k race and party rolled into one. Held annually in late May, it’s one of the oldest foot races in the world and draws more than 50,000 participants. What makes Bay to Breakers so much fun is that many people run in wacky costumes. There’s a costume contest offering prizes for categories including Most Original, Best Group and Best Musical Theme. Several live bands provide a lively soundtrack along the route. One of the worrying things about this particular party is the amount of people who choose to run completely naked! Just Google it if you don't believe us!

So party central indeed, have a great week and enjoy!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 30 June 2014

Welcome to another week and whilst there are a hundred and one things we could mention for the weeks ahead, there is only one thing to report this week and that is the outstanding performance of the Cloud 9 team at the Accor Agent Five-a-Side Knockout Tournament which took place on Saturday at the Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel & Spa and the Lancashire Football Association in Leyland.

Forget the World Cup, this was a much bigger deal and whilst some of the teams were seriously taking the competition, well very seriously, it was fair to say that the Cloud 9 team, were more about the enjoyable experience than the skill of the game, and we even took along our cardboard Elvis (who normally lives in our boardroom) as a sub in case one of the team needed a break - well 15 minutes is a long time to run around when you are not used to it (and boss lady Paula is certainly not).

Following a pre-match meal in The Pendle Room along with teams from BSI in Cheadle and Manchester, CWT, Executive Status, Calder, Capita Taunton, Mercure & Accorr, we arrived at the ground raring to go.

Having already arranged with our lovely Accor contact Chris Ford that we could cheat (being the only all ladies team) we instantly cling filmed our goal as we were up first against BSI Cheadle. Despite our best tactics we managed to loose this game 7-1 with only the lovely Jane Clement about to save what little big of dignity we could manage with a single goal.

Also, entering the spirirt of the event, we did manage to post up some appropriate signs which read "Own Goals Rewarded with Alcohol" and other suitably motivational messages in both our own goal area and our opposition.

Now we don't know whether our first match prompted sympathy from the other teams, or whether the BSI Cheadle chaps felt guilty for beating us so spectacularly, but what should have been five a side turned into more like 10 a side with them helping us against our next match, against Accor. It wasn't to be though and although Mr Ford tried his best to help us with a draw (which would have meant penalties), the game was once against lost but this time only to 3-2. It would, we are sure, have been far worse had Cheadle BSI not stepped in to help.

CWT annihilated us in the final match and even dirty tricks, hand balls, help from just about every other team and Paula tickling the goalie, it just didn't work and we lost again. To be honest we were too busy laughing by this time to even remember the final score.

After the exercise it was back to the Hotel for some much needed refreshment and whilst most headed to the bar to watch the Brazil versus Chile game at 5pm, the Cloud 9 girls decided that a much needed trip to the Spa was in order to recover!

After a quick change it was time for drinks in The Pendle Room followed by dinner and a presentation of the trophy to the winners, which were the England Amputee Football Association and an absolutely amazing bunch of guys. We urge everyone to support these guys in their bid for the World Cup later this year.

We were not expecting to win anything and as a result, we were not disappointed, although we did come joint last apparently but only 7th out of 8 on goal difference.

The Cloud 9 team then spent a lovely chilling out time in the bar whilst the real football die hards retreated to watch Columbia versus Uruguay, without Luis Suarez of course!

With vino a plenty and our new friends at BSI Cheadle to entertain us, it was a late night but very enjoyable.Then after a lovely stay, and a hearty breakfast it was back home to Cloud 9 Towers to face another week.

One things for sure, we might not be a good at football, but we are up for anything!

Have a super week, and if anyone asks about the Rugby World Cup and Agents Tournament next year, count us in!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 23 June 2014

Welcome to yet another week at Cloud 9 Towers! 

Last week we told you that the Bristol Media Brand You Awards will be closing for entries on Friday 20 June. There's a good quality of entries into the Awards again this year, but know that there are more of you out there who deserve to be recognised for your work. So they have extended the deadline to Friday 4 July, there's no excuse to miss it now!

Friday 4 July is proving to be a rather popular date for deadlines as The Fresh PR and The Fresh Creative Awards entries are also closing then. Fresh is an independently owned organisation that works in conjunction with a variety of leading industry titles, delivering awards programmes designed to recognise and reward creativity, effectiveness and innovation in the Creative, Digital, Media and Public Relations arena's in the UK and Ireland. Established in 2003, Fresh has quickly become a recognised brand and important highlight in the industry calender, with an original approach to awards delivery and a policy of keeping the process of entering awards as transparent as possible. 

Fresh is committed to ensuring the appointments of only the very best people to judge the awards across all three of the programmes as well as making the events themselves, not only spectacular but also a real chance to network. You will never find plastic chicken and soggy veg at Fresh - they take their awards and entrants work very seriously, but want to offer great value and more importantly make the ceremonies as fun as possible. So can you sock it to 'em and get Fresh in 2014?!

Cloud 9 are quite heavily involved with both of the Awards programmes, so as you can see we will have a rather busy next couple of weeks. Moving on to this week though, we have a couple of exciting events that we're attending starting with the Visual Media Conference on Wednesday. 

Visual Media are the diverse technologies of the communications industry: print, broadcast, email, websites. The conference is in the North because the industry is buzzing and the appetite for informed debate is strong – the concentration of media companies, digital agencies and printers is a magnet for the leading experts, industry resources and suppliers.

This conference is a direct response to demand for a follow-on conference from Media Market Place’s 500+ attendees. Bringing together leading figures across the spectrum of media to inform a debate of how integration will continue to disrupt the current thinking on comms. This is a first to take Visual Media from the brand owners’ perspective right through to the consumers’ emotional response with all the links. 

The speaker line up is pretty impressive with interesting talks from VPress, Sky Adsmart, Prolific North, Bloom, Proco, Media-Plaza, HP and many more. 

Also this week, we have been invited to take part in The Accor Agent Football Tournament on Saturday. It has to be said that the team at Cloud 9 have no experience in football but we're all for the taking part! The five a side football tournament will take place at Lancashire Football Association, Leyland with an overnight stay at the Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel & Spa, so its sure to be a fun day. We even have an official Cloud 9 uniform....!

This football tournament is part of Accor's new 2014 incentive Footballers Lives. The campaign will allow venue finding agents, meeting planners and event agents to earn "goals" for every meeting they book at any of Accor's UK and/or Overseas hotels. As 2014 is the year of football with Brazil being the very heart of the action. Accor would like to give you a taste of that with their exclusive prize draw, giving you the chance to with the life of a soccer superstar! 

That's all for this week folks, enjoy!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 16 June 2014

Welcome to another week at Cloud 9 Towers and again, we are pleased to inform you that another event has passed and went extremely well. 

The CIPR Northern Conference that took place last Thursday at Manchester Metropolitan University was really successful. We would like to thank everyone who attended the event and to everyone who was tweeting about the event, as the hashtag #CIPRNC14 was trending in Manchester!

Towards the end of this week though, we have the Bristol Media, Brand You Awards Deadline looming! Brand You, is produced by Bristol Media and Social Heads and supported by ourselves, and this year they are looking for individuals working right across the creative sectors in the South West. It doesn't matter whether you are just beginning your career or you have already established yourself in your field. 

The Awards are celebrating the outstanding contribution that in house, agency staff and freelancers make to campaigns, projects and productions. So it's now time to make a stand and shout about your success, or indeed the success of someone you know!

As we all know, the credibility of any awards programme is measured by the calibre of the judges there is an excellent judging panel for each of the categories from length and breadth of the country. With a leading professional from the South West plus three or four additional judges from outside the region to add balance, you can be assured that the results will be completely fair and unbiased. 

The popular awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday 16 September at Bordeaux Quay this year, so make sure you enter before Friday 20 June or you really will be missing out!

Also this week, in fact this evening, half of the Cloud 9 team will be attending the Independent Venue Showcase at The Nottingham Belfry, organised by the CHS Group. 

The showcase which is one of 6 held across the UK is an event for Meeting and Event Planners who wish to find out more about some of the UK's most exclusive and unique venues. 

The showcase will feature over 20 venues including Champneys Health Spa, historic Weston Park Hotel and a selection of boutique country house properties from Pride of Britain Hotels. Meeting Planners will be able to mingle with venues at a mini exhibition before enjoying drinks and a Summer BBQ and also have the opportunity to win some superb prizes in an exclusive prize draw. 

Emma Cartmell, Director of CHS Group explained: "We have a growing reputation for delivering great Showcases, this is now the 12th one that we have done over the last 2 years and they just get better and better. We know that Agents like being able to see some many independent venues in one place at one time and particularly enjoy the relaxed, informal format of our events." She continued: "We know also that access is really important to our guests, so wanted a stylish venue with a city centre feel but with great access to the motorway networks, The Nottingham Belfry offered a perfect fit".

So we're looking forward to attending that this evening and to everything else that is thrown at us this week! 

Have a great week folks!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 9 June 2014

Welcome to another week and we're pleased to report that last weeks Midlands Media Awards went extremely well, with 300 guests at Aston Villa, celebrating the success of journalists and broadcasters from throughout the region.

We had lots of nice comments following the event which is also a positive and judging by the photos from the night we think everyone looked pretty happy with the event (including Qasa Alom from BBC Radio in Stoke who seems pretty pleased!) so we think it was a job well done.

No time to rest on our laurels though as this week our attention is all on the CIPR Northern Conference which is taking place in Manchester this Thursday.

This year’s Northern Conference will provide insight and learning into the skills required to operate in a digital PR landscape. Industry leaders will demonstrate how PR, Content Marketing, SEO and Social Media all work together to create fully integrated and measurable earned media campaigns.

Delegates will learn from the best in our industry about optimising copy for SEO, how paid, earned, owned and shared channels work together, content strategies for social and PR, as well as digital reputation management and monitoring. 

The Northern Conference is perfect for PRs at any stage in their career and is filled with insight, learning and no doubt a good debate! So whether you are in- house or agency, in the voluntary or charity sector, or thinking about a career in PR, this is the conference for you.

Stephen Waddington

The Speaker Line Up is pretty impressive with Earned Media Specialist from the BBC, James English, CIPR President Stephen Waddington, Drew Benvie, founder of Battenhall (Drew is the UK’s #1 most respected practitioner in New Media Age’s 2011).

 Additionally we have the Global Social Media Manager for LateRooms, The Communications Director for the Met Office, Representatives from the Co-operative Group, Harkable and McCanns as well as Google and YouTube so it should be an incredibly interesting day.

You can follow some of the activity live on the day using #CIPRNC

In other news this week it would be churlish of us not to mention the World Cup as football fever will no doubt be gripping the nation in the coming weeks. However if you don't like football the next few weeks might be a bit tortuous so we thought we'd look at ways to avoid it altogether. We have blatantly pinched this article from one we found online, but it made us laugh so much, we ran out of time to think up our own ways of surviving the tournament!

 
1. Walk around blindfolded for four weeks. Not only will you not have to endure watching all those football matches, but you could say it was a social experiment.

2. Invest in cable TV. Then you can watch E4's live coverage of Big Brother all day, and ignore the football altogether. (Although if you really wanted to miss the World Cup, you should have applied to be in the Big Brother house in the first place).

3. Arrange a last-minute expedition trekking in the Himalayas. Lots of scenery but no TVs.

4. Use the four weeks to organise your wardrobe. Have a massive clearing out spree, then go on the mother of all shopping trips. Retail therapy is the only answer to football fatigue. You know it makes sense!

5. As many of the matches are shown in the mornings (because of the time difference), have a lie in and miss the whole thing.

6. Become a nun (it's only for four weeks), and spend the time in quiet contemplation at your local convent.

7. Rent out all your favourite films from your local video shop and turn your home into a cinema for the whole of June. You could even hold your own mini film festival, and invite all your friends who are also trying to avoid the World Cup.

8. Pretend you're Harry Potter, and live in a cupboard during the competition.

9. Become an eco-warrior, and go and occupy a threatened tree. Lots of fresh air, and no soccer highlights with Des Lynam.

10. Take up football and train really hard. Then you might get into the England squad and get injured, or into the Irish squad and fall out with your manager. Either way, you'll miss the World Cup altogether. It worked for Gary Neville and Roy Keane.

So that's it for this week. Don't forget the deadline for Brand You and for The Fresh Awards is fast approaching...

Enjoy! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 2 June 2014

Welcome to another week at Cloud 9. We’d just like to start by saying a big thank you to all of the Hotel Reps that have been to visit our shiny new Cloud 9 Towers. We do not take for granted all the little gifts that are brought along, and we also love a good catch-up over a cuppa’!

We are two down this week with Shannon jetting off to holiday in Tenerife, and a very excitable Rubina is off celebrating her 21st Birthday. Let’s hope it’s a jolly one, and it will be no doubt! So as you would imagine the office is going to be very quiet this week without them.

The Midlands Media Awards has been fast approaching, and here at Cloud 9 we are really looking forward to seeing the event come together on Thursday. We wish everyone luck with their entries and we’re looking forward to seeing the faces of the winners!

 

There has been a certain buzz around the office this week over the fantastic Grande Depart, which is bringing an excitable amount of business to Yorkshire, and a chance for them to show thousands the beautiful scenery and lively culture. Not to mention they will be hosting one of the most iconic sporting events!

Yorkshire couldn’t have been more buzzing with excitement when Leeds was chosen for the Grande Depart 2014, and they are beaming with pride to say the least. The route that has been set will take them through some great historic cities, including the Roman walled city of York, and the stunning cathedral city of Ripon. They will also have the chance to take in the breathtaking views of the Yorkshire Dales as they wind through the National Park in their first stage.

The Tour de France was started when Journalist, Géo Lefèvre had a brave and bold idea. Géo presented his possibly insane idea to his Editor, Henri Desgrange who was supportive and backed his idea straight away. So on the 1 July 1903 sixty cyclists set out from Montgeron, and after six intense stages only 21 cyclists reached the finish line. The boldness of the event equally shocked and excited the public into a bubble of admiration, as a result the support and crowds for the tour boomed. Le Tour de France is always changing with the times and after 100 years, it is still going strong.

The Grande Depart will be taking place on the 5/6 July 2014 and this will be Tour de France’s 101st tour. The Tour is made up of 21 exhausting stages which will be spread across a total of 23 days, covering a staggering distance of 3,656 km! The Grande Depart will start in Leeds and will finish in the picturesque Maubourguet in South France, where the cyclists will enjoy a well deserved rest.

So whether you will be jetting off when the Grand Depart starts or cheering from the sidelines, it is certain you will be needing a place to hit the hay after all of that vigorous clapping and cheering! So we have a few recommendations that will see you do so in style...

If you want to stay green like the surroundings, then these Eco friendly lodges will be perfect for you. With their luxury open plan spaces and attention to detail it really is a relaxing retreat. For Le Tour they have installed bike hooks and you will receive a complimentary route brochure on arrival. The best viewing points from this Natural Retreat is Reeth or Grinton which are both a handy 20 minutes away. 

The Blue Lion Hotel and Restaurant is an ideal getaway in the Yorkshire Dales. With 4 different style rooms to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice! Another positive about staying at this hotel is the Restaurant has been awarded Dining Pub of the Year three times, so expect to dine like Royals as Becky from our team did when she went to visit! Conveniently located in the village of East Witton which the cyclists will be passing through, they have planned to set up a big screen and food for everyone on the village green. Creating a brilliant atmosphere to be surrounded by whilst cheering on.

Swinton Park has the ultimate Pre-Tour de France package for you to explore the race route before all the madness starts! This Grand Hotel which is at the heart of the route offers accommodation, breakfast, dinner, afternoon tea or spa treatment, and complimentary hire of either mountain or electric bikes (We know which one we’d choose!) for two in one easy package.

So that’s all from us this weeks folks, have a great week and we'll see you at The Midlands Media Awards we hope!