http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/A blog on all things event management including venue reviews and an overview of the work of UK based events company Don't Panic.en-EUhttp://backend.userland.com/rss092http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/5e/bb9b129a8b6fd33e75bf6cd72cb3a7_160x200.jpg <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=7014360" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/360/7014360_ca59f0b47f_o.jpeg" height="237" width="500" alt="Social Impact 13 logo"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don't Panic</a> in association with our media partner <a href="http://www.bigissueinthenorth.com/">The Big Issue in the North</a> launched the <a href="http://www.socialimpactawards.co.uk/">Social Impact Awards</a>, a national awards programme to celebrate and reward excellence in charities, not for profit and social enterprise organisations as well as public and private sector organisations who have made a ‘Big Difference’ in their communities.</p> <p>The awards were presented at an evening theatre style ceremony at <a href="http://www.thecomedystore.co.uk/">The Comedy Store</a> in Manchester on 1st May 2013, following a half day conference, which provided education, information, advice and case studies for third sector organisations and their partners in the public and private sectors.</p> <p>The awards featured 26 categories, plus a grand prix award, and were judged by a high-level independent <a href="http://www.socialimpactawards.co.uk/Judging.htm">judging panel</a>. The awards were free to enter for charities, not for profit organisations, social enterprises and those who have partnered with the third sector. </p> <p>A full list of the 2013 winners is below and photos from the awards can be found on the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontpanicevents/sets/72157633400441138/">Don't Panic flickr account</a>. Here's our Grand Prix winners, <a href="http://thebrinkliverpool.com/">The Brink Liverpool</a>.</p> <p>These awards were also notable as our first paperless event as we launched a <a href="http://www.socialimpactawards.co.uk/delegates/">responsive web app</a> for guests that featured a delegate list, programme, shortlist and judges biographies. The app was developed by <a href="http://www.fluid-digital.com/">Fluid Digital</a> and will become an integral part of all our future events. We feel that giving access to this kind of information on smart phones via a url or QR code is the future and also displays our commitment to our ongoing policy of being as green as possible.</p> <p>The Social Impact Awards 14 will take place on the 7th of May next year!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=7014361" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/361/7014361_be7fc89c86_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Social Impact Awards Grand Prix The Brink Liverpool"></a></p> <p><strong>Best Communications Campaign</strong><br> Code Computerlove and Refuge - Refuge Support A Friend Campaign – Tackling The Biggest Social Issue Affecting Women In The UK</p> <p><strong>Best Corporate Partnership Initiative</strong><br> Lansons Communications/HighTide Festival Theatre – Lansons Communications / HighTide Festival Theatre</p> <p><strong>Best Fundraising Event</strong><br> The Grand at Clitheroe - GRAB:The Event</p> <p><strong>Best Public Sector Partnership Initiative</strong><br> Big Heritage – EcoVikings - Best Public Sector Partnership Initiative</p> <p><strong>Best Start Up Social Enterprise</strong><br> The Brink Liverpool (Action on Addiction)</p> <p><strong>Fundraiser of the Year</strong><br> Everton in the Community – Carena Duffy</p> <p><strong>Innovation Award</strong><br> The Hyde Group – Hyde Youth Bank</p> <p><strong>Large Charity of the Year</strong><br> Adoption Matters Northwest – Highly Commended<br> Everton in the Community – Winner</p> <p><strong>SME Business Social Impact Award</strong><br> MEC</p> <p><strong>Public Sector Social Impact Award</strong><br> Halton Housing Trust - Communicating Welfare Reform</p> <p><strong>Small Charity of the Year</strong><br> Acting on Impulse</p> <p><strong>Social Enterprise Leader of the Year</strong><br> Action on Addiction - Jacquie Johnston-Lynch</p> <p><strong>Social Enterprise of the Year</strong><br> Punch Records</p> <p><strong>Social Media Campaign of the Year</strong><br> CENTRE FOR HIV AND SEXUAL HEALTH – The HIV Hop</p> <p><strong>Third Sector Social Impact Award</strong><br> The Reader Organisation</p> <p><strong>Volunteer of the Year</strong><br> Family Voices = Family Choices – Kelly Wallace</p> <p><strong>Volunteer Programme of the Year</strong><br> Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service – Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Volunteer Programme</p> <p><strong>Website of the Year</strong><br> Oxfam GB – Oxfam and Code Computerlove - Getting More People To Do More To Fight Poverty</p> <p><strong>Grand Prix</strong><br> The Brink Liverpool (Action on Addiction) </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/05/02/social-impact-awards-15816628/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/05/02/social-impact-awards-15816628/Thu, 02 May 2013 11:12:07 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=7012399" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/399/7012399_37efc8edd1_o.jpeg" height="514" width="514" alt="colour flag with blue outline small"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don’t Panic</a> are expanding our highly successful Search Awards brand with the launch of a competition for the American search industry today.</p> <p><a href="http://www.ussearchawards.com/">The US Search Awards</a> will be held in Las Vegas on Wednesday 23 October 2013 in association with <a href="http://www.pubcon.com/las-vegas-2013">Pubcon</a>, the premier American social media and search engine optimisation conference and expo. A three year deal has been agreed to host the awards as part of the annual five day event which regularly attracts thousands of digital marketers to the city and keynotes from the biggest names in the industry.</p> <p>Don’t Panic MD Nicky Wake said “With the success of our UK and European Search Awards we were keen to extend the competition to The States which is undeniably the largest search market in the world with an estimated value of almost $23 Billion last year.”</p> <p>“The US Search Awards will recognise and reward digital marketing excellence by organisations, agencies and individuals based or working in the USA and we’re sure it will attract entries from companies all over the world who are contributing to the massive growth in the US search industry.”</p> <p>“In an age where we immediately turn to the web to search for products, services and information, visibility and ranking is absolutely essential and we’re proud that our awards have become the key celebration for an ever evolving search industry.”</p> <p>“We’re delighted to be working with <a href="http://www.pubcon.com/las-vegas-2013">Pubcon</a> and we’ve had the full support of our joint headline sponsors <a href="http://uk.manuallinkbuilding.com/">Manual Link Building</a> and <a href="http://www.majesticseo.com/">Majestic SEO</a> in bringing these awards to The States.”</p> <p>We’re still in the process of finalising our judges but we’re very proud to confirm that Rand Fishkin of <a href="http://www.seomoz.org/">SEOmoz</a> and former Microsoft legend <a href="http://www.delightfulcommunications.com/about/">Mel Carson</a> are already on the panel.”</p> <p>Don’t Panic launched the <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a> in 2011 and the <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards</a> in 2012. This year’s UK Search Awards takes place at The Emirates Stadium in London on Thursday 14 November and the European Search Awards, which have doubled in size for year two, are being held in Barcelona on Thursday 20 June. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/05/01/don-t-panic-launch-us-search-awards-15813283/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/05/01/don-t-panic-launch-us-search-awards-15813283/Wed, 01 May 2013 11:41:24 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6929751" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/751/6929751_a3b7df135a_o.jpeg" height="707" width="500" alt="2013 UK Social Media Communications Awards"></a></p> <p><a href="http://uksocialmediaawards.com/">The UK Social Media Communications Awards</a> were launched by events agency <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don’t Panic</a> in 2010 and were formerly known in their abbreviated form as the somecomms awards. Now in their fourth year, the awards continue to celebrate innovation in social media communications and will be held for the first time in London at The Emirates Stadium on Thursday 24 October 2013.</p> <p>This year’s awards are being launched in association with media partner <a href="http://www.prmoment.com/">PRmoment</a> and are once again supported by both the <a href="http://www.cipr.co.uk/">CIPR</a> and <a href="http://www.prca.org.uk/">PRCA</a>. </p> <p>Don’t Panic MD Nicky Wake said “Our agency has always specialised in communications events and we were very fortunate to have been involved in many of the earliest social media conferences in the UK.” </p> <p>“As a result we got to meet those early adopters and pioneers who were recognising the massive opportunities an online world was creating for brands and organisations and who were keen to share their expertise and enthusiasm at numerous influential events we’ve managed over the past eight years.”</p> <p>“By 2010 we felt it was time to launch an awards competition that specifically focussed on social media and we’re proud to say that year on year we’ve been able to recognise the very best campaigns, teams and individuals in the communications industry.”</p> <p>“In previous years the awards were held in our home city Manchester however as they’ve grown we’ve seen a substantial increase in entries from agencies and organisations based in the south therefore it felt appropriate to move the ceremony to London this year” </p> <p>“We’re looking forward to what we’re sure will be the biggest celebration of social media use in UK communications and we're delighted to have some of the biggest names in the industry on our <a href="http://uksocialmediaawards.com/judges.htm">judging panel</a>. ” </p> <p>Entries are now open for the 2013 UK Social Media Communications Awards and full details of the categories, judges and how to enter can be found at the <a href="http://uksocialmediaawards.com/">awards website</a>.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/03/13/uk-social-media-communications-awards-15622671/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/03/13/uk-social-media-communications-awards-15622671/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:51:54 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6929745" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/745/6929745_9eb4dae2fa_o.jpeg" height="458" width="500" alt="ESA 2013 date block small"></a></p> <p>Following the success of the UK Search Awards, <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don’t Panic</a> in association with <a href="http://uk.manuallinkbuilding.com/">Manual Link Building</a> and <a href="http://www.sempo.org/">SEMPO</a> launched the <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards</a> in 2012 to celebrate the very best in SEO, PPC and digital marketing from across Europe.</p> <p>The inaugural awards ceremony took place on the evening of Thursday 5 July 2012 in the historic St Olof Chapel at the NH Barbizon Palace in Amsterdam and there were 17 categories for campaigns, software, use of search and the teams and individuals behind them.</p> <p>We'll be moving the awards to a new city each year and we're pleased to announce that the 2013 European Search Awards ceremony will take place at the prestigious Hotel Arts in Barcelona on Thursday 20 June and is now open for entries. There are four new categories for 2013 and some of the biggest names in European search have agreed to join our judging panel. We're also very pleased to have <a href="http://www.stateofsearch.com/">State of Search</a> as our media partner for the awards and also <a href="http://www.majesticseo.com/">Majestic SEO</a> as our Twitter Wall sponsor.</p> <p>The timetable for the 2013 awards is:</p> <p>February – Awards launch, entries open<br> Friday 19 April –Deadline for all entries<br> Early May – Judging session<br> Early May – Shortlists announced<br> Thursday 20 June – Awards ceremony</p> <p>Full details of this year's categories, judges and location can be found at the <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">awards website</a> Here's what our winners received last year!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6476892" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/892/6476892_b92697a64f_o.jpeg" height="347" width="500" alt="ESA12 Awards"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/03/13/european-search-awards-2013-barcelona-15622615/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2013/03/13/european-search-awards-2013-barcelona-15622615/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:36:42 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6744904" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/904/6744904_dbc97a4744_o.jpeg" height="706" width="500" alt="Summerseat Methodist Primary School Christmas Fair 2012"></a></p> <p>We're in the thick of awards season with both the <a href="http://www.publicsectorcommunicationsawards.co.uk/">UK Public Sector Communications Awards</a> and the <a href="http://www.miamusicawards.com/">Music Industries Association Awards</a> this week and a sledge full of Christmas themed retail work ahead but we've still found time to support our village school where the youngest member of Team Wake joined the 2012 intake.</p> <p><a href="http://www.smps.ik.org/">Summerseat Methodist Primary School</a> is in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerseat">small village</a> we call home just outside the town of Bury and on the edge of the West Pennine Moors. It's a beautiful part of the world and a fantastic little school which dates back to the 1800s when it originally served the children of mill workers in the village.</p> <p>Given what we do we've taken an active part in the Friends of SMPS and are doing our bit to help out and raise funds for the school. Thanks to our brilliant design, print and web partners at <a href="http://www.fluid-creative.com/">Fluid Creative</a> / <a href="http://www.fluid-digital.com/">Digital</a> in Bury we've been able to provide leaflets and banners for the forthcoming Christmas Fair which takes place two weeks today between 5.30pm and 7.30pm on Friday the 7th of December.</p> <p>Everyone is welcome and the money raised will go to an extremely good cause. We hope anyone living close by will be able to come and support the school and make it a very successful evening. Merry Christmas!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6744905" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/905/6744905_ffef68921e_o.jpeg" height="706" width="500" alt="Summerseat Methodist Primary School Christmas Fair 2012 Details"></a></p> <p>PS Here's my photographic blog of the village<a href="http://summerseat.blog.co.uk/"> Summerseat Views</a> including photos of the school and the surrounding countryside. I've not posted for a few years as we've been busy raising our boy but I do intend to get out with my camera again soon... </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/23/summerseat-methodist-primary-school-christmas-fair-15238372/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/23/summerseat-methodist-primary-school-christmas-fair-15238372/Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:48:46 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6744872" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/872/6744872_2db1745f13_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="UK Public Sector Communications Awards Trophies 2012"></a></p> <p>In 2012 Don’t Panic launched the <a href="http://www.publicsectorcommunicationsawards.co.uk/">UK Public Sector Communications Awards</a> to celebrate and reward communication strategies and campaigns, teams and individuals in local and national government, emergency services and not-for-profit bodies from across the UK.</p> <p>The awards were presented at an evening ceremony in Manchester on Tuesday 20 November 2012, following an afternoon seminar which provided information, advice and case studies for all public sector communicators. </p> <p>The awards featured 21 categories, plus a grand prix award, and were judged by a high-level independent judging panel. Details of the 2012 winners are below and photos are on the Don't Panic flickr account <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontpanicevents/sets/72157632065545822/">here</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6744873" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/873/6744873_f8265c6f48_l.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="UK Public Sector Communications Awards 12 Audience"></a></p> <p><strong>Community relations campaign of the year</strong><br> Derbyshire County Council - Snow Info</p> <p><strong>Crisis communications campaign of the year</strong><br> Greater Manchester Police & Manchester City Council - Disorder in Greater Manchester and Salford – August 2011 (Highly Commended)<br> Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service - Shaw Gas Explosion</p> <p><strong>Local community initiative of the year</strong><br> Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council - Your Call</p> <p><strong>Integrated communications campaign of the year</strong><br> NHS Blood and Transplant - Perfect Storm Campaign (Olympic Appeal)</p> <p><strong>Low budget campaign of the year</strong><br> Northumberland County Council - A Marriage made in Northumberland</p> <p><strong>Social marketing campaign of the year</strong><br> NHS Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire - Tired of that cough? </p> <p><strong>Partnership engagement initiative of the year</strong><br> Love Local Life - Dine Local, Shop Local, Love Local</p> <p><strong>Media relations campaign of the year</strong><br> National Museums Liverpool (NML) - Museum of Liverpool Launch </p> <p><strong>Internal communications campaign of the year</strong><br> Derbyshire County Council - Ditch the Data Demon</p> <p><strong>Publication of the year</strong><br> Calderdale College - Calderdale College Prospectus</p> <p><strong>Best use of video</strong><br> The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Supporting the patient journey</p> <p><strong>Social media campaign of the year</strong><br> University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) - Maternity March</p> <p><strong>Insight award</strong><br> Medway Council - The Power of Love</p> <p><strong>Website of the Year </strong><br> Community Integrated Care - <a href="http://www.c-i-c.co.uk">www.c-i-c.co.uk</a> </p> <p><strong>Best use of evaluation or research</strong><br> diva creative & NHS Leeds - Flu Wiped Me Out</p> <p><strong>Small in-house communications team of the yea</strong>r<br> Goldsmiths, University of London – Goldsmiths Communications and PR Team</p> <p><strong>Large in-house communications team of the year</strong><br> Durham County Council</p> <p><strong>Small agency of the year</strong><br> Reason Digital </p> <p><strong>Large agency of the year</strong><br> Acceleris</p> <p><strong>Public sector communicator of the year</strong><br> Ross Wigham - Northumberland County Council </p> <p><strong>Grand prix</strong><br> NHS Blood and Transplant - Perfect Storm Campaign (Olympic Appeal) </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/23/uk-public-sector-communications-awards-15238323/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/23/uk-public-sector-communications-awards-15238323/Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:30:02 +0100 <br><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/video/uksa12_photobooth/6715042">UKSA12 Photobooth</a></p> <p>Here's a quick video of the <a href="http://www.dreambooth.co.uk/">photobooth</a> mayhem from this year's <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a>...</p> <p>Enjoy! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/06/uk-search-awards-2012-photobooth-mayhem-15173039/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/06/uk-search-awards-2012-photobooth-mayhem-15173039/Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:58:29 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6713347" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/347/6713347_27c6c77c3c_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="More UK Search Awards 2012"></a></p> <p>We were back at the Emirates Stadium last week for the second <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a> celebrating the very best in SEO, PPC and digital marketing. The awards are testament to the vibrancy and rapid growth of our search industry and attracted over 300 guests to a ceremony that's so much fun it doesn't seem like work to us. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6713348" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/348/6713348_551ca2166f_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="UK Search Awards Audience"></a></p> <p>We'd like to thank our sponsors <a href="http://uk.manuallinkbuilding.com/">Manual Link Building</a>, <a href="http://www.majesticseo.com/">Majestic SEO</a> & <a href="http://www.searchmetrics.com/en/">Searchmetrics</a>, our supporters <a href="http://www.brightonseo.com/">Brighton SEO</a>, <a href="http://www.sascon.co.uk/">SAScon</a>, <a href="http://www.sempo.org/">SEMPO</a> & <a href="http://thinkvisibility.com/">Think Visibility</a> and most of all everyone working in the industry who entered and made the UK Search Awards such a success.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6713502" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/502/6713502_91e73865e7_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Dixon Jones & Bas van den Beld"></a></p> <p>We know how much these awards matter and aside from the healthy competition they generate, it's always a thrill to see the pleasure of our trophy winners. One award which was unanimously celebrated on the evening was the Search Personality of the Year which was presented by Bas van den Beld to Majestic SEO's Dixon Jones. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6713351" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/351/6713351_bc2fba885c_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Net Media Planet & Darth Vader"></a></p> <p>As with all our search events we do everything we can to make them fun and this year's awards featured Star Wars Stormtroopers, a special appearance by Darth Vader who presented our Grand Prix award, comedian Andy Kind and an awards branded <a href="http://www.dreambooth.co.uk/">photobooth</a> for guests to take home a memento of the evening - you can witness the mayhem this created in the video in the post above this one! </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6713346" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/346/6713346_a681415918_o.jpeg" height="237" width="500" alt="UK Search Awards 2012"></a></p> <p>Congratulations to all our winners and if you weren't successful this year there's a great post over at <a href="http://www.stateofsearch.com/what-makes-an-award-winning-entry/">State of Search</a> with an insight into what the <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/content/information/Judging">UK Search judges</a> look for in an award winning entry. Many of them will also be speaking at our follow on <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/events/event_details/85">UK Search Conference</a> in January and there'll be opportunities for you all to take home trophies in 2013 from the <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards</a> in Barcelona and the third<a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/"> UK Search Awards</a> in London.</p> <p>Here's this year's UK winners:</p> <p><strong>Best Integrated Campaign</strong></p> <p>Bloom & ADT- Using Integrated Methods to Optimise Conversion Rates</p> <p><strong>Best Local Campaign</strong></p> <p>MediaCom - National Tyres & Autocare – right time, right place, right message</p> <p><strong>Best Use of Search - Retail</strong></p> <p>PushON - The Little Greene Paint Company</p> <p><strong>Best Use of Search - Travel</strong></p> <p>Lakestar Media & Warner Leisure drive multi-channel travel growth</p> <p><strong>Best Use of Search - Finance</strong></p> <p>Stickyeyes - Creative Thinking; Creative Search (Exceeding Client Expectations)</p> <p><strong>Best Use of Search – Leisure</strong></p> <p>Smart Traffic & Trekwear - outperforming big name brands with SEO</p> <p><strong>Best Mobile Campaign</strong></p> <p>Net Media Planet - The price isn’t always right: defying convention to improve Papa John’s bottom line</p> <p><strong>Best Blog</strong></p> <p>Bing Ads Community: A Place to Discuss, Share and Collaborate</p> <p><strong>Innovation</strong></p> <p>Caliber Interactive - Conflict of Pinterest</p> <p><strong>Best PPC Management Software</strong></p> <p>Fast Web Media - FWM weatherFIT</p> <p><strong>Best SEO Software – Highly Commended</strong></p> <p>Linkdex – Better Data and More Insight</p> <p><strong>Best SEO Software</strong></p> <p>SearchmetricsSuite V6</p> <p><strong>Best PPC Campaign</strong></p> <p>LBi & Play.com – Becoming Industry Leaders Through Automated Processes & Testing</p> <p><strong>Best SEO Campaign</strong></p> <p>Performics - Baking Mad SEO</p> <p><strong>Best In House Team</strong></p> <p>O2 Digital Capability Team</p> <p><strong>Best Agency</strong></p> <p>Stickyeyes</p> <p><strong>Search Personality of the Year</strong></p> <p>Dixon Jones</p> <p><strong>Grand Prix Award</strong></p> <p>Net Media Planet - The price isn’t always right: defying convention to improve Papa John's Bottom Line</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6713352" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/352/6713352_c5add6ca06_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Sarah Ponsford, Andy Crane, Rowan Jamieson"></a></p> <p>Finally, thanks to the legend that is our MC Andy Crane who's pictured here with Don't Panic's Events Director Rowan Jamieson on the right and our latest recruit, Sarah Ponsford on the left.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/06/uk-search-awards-15172655/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/11/06/uk-search-awards-15172655/Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:11:32 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6685923" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data8.blog.de/media/923/6685923_d927922e98_o.jpeg" height="100" width="500" alt="SCA12 Blog Header"></a></p> <p>On Thursday 18 November 2012, our third #somecomms <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/">UK Social Media Communications Awards</a> took place at the Radisson Edwardian hotel in Manchester. Here's the winners!</p> <p> <strong>Best use of Twitter </strong><br> Hope&Glory<br> O2 Santa: creating the Digital Grotto</p> <p> <strong>Best use of Facebook</strong><br> 1000heads<br> Skype: Say it with Skype</p> <p> <strong>Best Use of YouTube</strong><br> Morrison Bowmore Distillers / Yomego <br> How a tiny whisky brand took on the big boys at their own game – and won</p> <p> <strong>Best Business Blog</strong><br> Koozai<br> Koozai Blog and Koozai TV</p> <p> <strong>Best Community Engagement</strong><br> Neoco<br> Borderlands 2: A Work of Art</p> <p> <strong>Best use of Social Media to Research and Evaluat</strong>e<br> Rippleffect<br> Everton Football Club – ‘Stand Together'</p> <p> <strong>Best use of Social Media in a Crisis</strong><br> Greater Manchester Police<br> Disorder in Manchester and Salford – August 2011</p> <p> <strong>Innovation</strong><br> PrettyGreen<br> Cadbury Spots v Stripes blippar</p> <p> <strong>Low Budget Campaign</strong><br> Neoco<br> Does This Taste Funny? </p> <p> <strong>Private Sector</strong><br> Democracy<br> Rock TV</p> <p> <strong>Public Sector</strong> <br> South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust<br> 999 Misuse Costs Lives</p> <p> <strong>Best Viral Campaign</strong> <br> NÜKO<br> Homecoming Equal Marriage Viral Film</p> <p> <strong>Charity/ Not for Profit </strong><br> Neoco – Plan Your Story</p> <p> <strong>Best Social Media Campaign</strong><br> Rippleffect <br> Everton Football Club – ‘Stand Together'</p> <p> <strong>Mark Hanson Award</strong> <br> Serena Mariani<br> APCO Worldwide </p> <p> <strong>Best in House Team</strong><br> Greater Manchester Police<br> Corporate Communications Branch</p> <p> <strong>Best Small Agency</strong><br> Hope&Glory</p> <p> <strong>Best Large Agency</strong><br> McCann Manchester</p> <p> <strong>Outstanding Contribution to Social Media</strong><br> Stephen Waddington</p> <p> <strong>Grand Prix</strong><br> NÜKO<br> Homecoming Equal Marriage Viral Film</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/10/23/somecomms-uk-social-media-communications-awards-2012-winners-15114757/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/10/23/somecomms-uk-social-media-communications-awards-2012-winners-15114757/Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:59:09 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don't Panic</a> is a dynamic events agency based in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester. </p> <p>We provide full event and project management services to a range of national and regional clients including JustGiving.com, The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Merseytravel, Blackburn with Darwen Council and United Utilities to name just a few. We also run a number of prestigious own branded awards events including Some Comms, The UK Social Media Awards and the European Search Awards.</p> <p>We are looking to expand our team and we are offering a unique opportunity to join us on a 3 month paid internship. If you shine, make yourself indispensible and fit in with our team this will become a full time, salaried event manager position.</p> <p>We want to talk to recent graduates who have a brilliant event management, marketing, business or PR degree and ideally some events experience. You must be able to drive and have access to a car. You will have impeccable communication skills, be highly organized, able to multitask and thrive in a fast paced environment where no two days are the same.</p> <p>If you think you’ve got what it takes then e-mail your CV to <a href="mailto:nicky@dontpanicprojects.com">nicky@dontpanicprojects.com</a></p> <p>No agencies please!</p> <p><em>Please note 3 month internship is paid at minimum wage, if offered a full time event manager role the starting salary is £18k with a review after 12 months.</em></p> <p><strong>*UPDATE</strong>* Many thanks to the over a hundred graduates who got in touch. We've now filled this post but may well offer something similar again in the future.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/09/24/don-t-panic-intern-opportunity-14865830/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/09/24/don-t-panic-intern-opportunity-14865830/Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:51:09 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6624657" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/657/6624657_00c84d4fda_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="Superheroes small"></a></p> <p>It's been a very busy week for the <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don't Panic</a> team. </p> <p>Last Monday we managed the Turning Tides Summit on behalf of The Environment Agency, Blackpool Council and United Utilities. The full day event took place at Blackpool's Winter Gardens and attracted almost 200 delegates to discuss the strategy for keeping the north West's beaches and bathing water clean.</p> <p>On Wednesday evening we were at Salford City Stadium working on the <a href="http://www.ukheartsafeawards.co.uk/">UK Heart Safe Awards</a>, a national awards competition celebrating organisations and employers who invest in creating Heart Safe environments as well as the acts of individuals who have saved lives while at work or leisure. Don't Panic managed the awards website build, the call for entries and subsequent judging process as well as all aspects of the ceremony on the evening.</p> <p>Finally, our staff spent the weekend in the company of an assortment of superheroes at Mersey Ferries <a href="http://www.spaceport.org.uk/">Spaceport</a> visitor attraction. The <a href="http://www.spaceport.org.uk/content/Exhibitions/ComicStripWeekend.aspx">Comic Strip Weekend</a> also featured a Science of Superheroes interactive lecture in the venue's Dome Theatre and was delivered four times each day by Matt Dickinson of UClan who examined the science and fiction behind the caped crusaders. The weekend also featured two DC and Marvel illustrators who were on hand to provide free sketches for the hundreds of superhero fans who attended.</p> <p>Additionally our team have been managing the call for entries and judging sessions for three of our own forthcoming awards ceremonies: <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/">Some Comms Awards</a> - The UK Social Media Communications Awards now in their third year; The <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a> now in their second and the <a href="http://www.publicsectorcommunicationsawards.co.uk/">Public Sector Communications Awards</a>. It's going to be a very busy Autumn too!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/09/24/we-can-be-heroes-14865613/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/09/24/we-can-be-heroes-14865613/Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:08:19 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6476892" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/892/6476892_b92697a64f_o.jpeg" height="347" width="500" alt="ESA12 Awards"></a></p> <p>It was a long and busy day as the <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don't Panic</a> team of myself, Nicky & Kerry met up with <a href="http://www.lasuk.net/">LAS</a> tech guy Chris and MC <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Crane">Andy Crane</a> at some ungodly hour at Manchester Airport to catch the redeye to Amsterdam for the first <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards</a>. </p> <p>Amazingly we managed to transport everything we needed by hand luggage and despite some suspiciously wrapped blocks of perspex and lots of things with wires in them the trip was smooth and hassle free.</p> <p>The inaugural ceremony took place at the stunning St Olof Chapel at the <a href="http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/the-netherlands/amsterdam/nh-barbizon-palace.html">NH Barbizon Palace</a> on the evening of Thursday 5 July and celebrated the very best in SEO, PPC and digital marketing from across Europe.</p> <p>We'd certainly recommend the venue and once our daytime rehearsals were out of the way we even got the opportunity to venture out and witness the local colour in what has to be one of Europe's great cities.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6476910" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/910/6476910_e54c865911_o.jpeg" height="334" width="500" alt="St Olof Chapel ESA12"></a></p> <p>The awards ceremony attracted agencies from all over the continent and you can find a full<a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/winners.htm"> list of winners here</a>. We'd just like to thank all our <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/shortlist.htm">entrants</a>, <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/judging.htm">judges</a> and <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/sponsors.htm">sponsors</a> for helping us to put these awards very firmly on the international map. </p> <p>The <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards</a> will now be an annual event and will be hosted in a different city and country each year. We can confirm that the 2013 Awards will take place in June or July in Barcelona.</p> <p>Don’t Panic MD Nicky Wake said “SEO, PPC and digital marketing is an area that has seen incredible growth and these awards provided a much needed focus on the talent and achievements of those working in the European search industry."</p> <p>"Following the tremendous success of the awards in their first year, we intend to take the celebration to many more of the major cities on the continent. We’re now planning for 2013 and hope everyone will join us in Barcelona!”</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6476911" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/911/6476911_f9dec80674_o.jpeg" height="334" width="500" alt="European Search Awards 2012"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/07/09/european-search-awards-2012-amsterdam-14071776/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/07/09/european-search-awards-2012-amsterdam-14071776/Mon, 09 Jul 2012 10:39:53 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6454550" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/550/6454550_d76ca1785e_o.jpeg" height="490" width="500" alt="European Search Awards 2012 Logo"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don't Panic</a> are getting everything ready for the biggest celebration of the talent and achievements of the search, PPC and digital marketing industry from across Europe. The <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards</a> take place in Amsterdam on Thursday 5 July and are supported by <a href="http://www.manuallinkbuilding.eu/">Manual Link Building</a>, <a href="http://www.sempo.org/">SEMPO</a>, <a href="http://www.seohosting.co.uk/">SEOhosting</a> and <a href="http://www.sascon.co.uk/">SAScon</a>. </p> <p>We'd like to thank everyone who made these awards possible and wish our entrants the very best of luck. Maybe some of you will be bringing one of these home with you...</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6454557" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/557/6454557_fc30d87226_o.jpeg" height="311" width="500" alt="Awards for Amsterdam"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/06/27/european-search-awards-13959711/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/06/27/european-search-awards-13959711/Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:34:54 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6442060" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/060/6442060_e3d9070ff3_o.jpeg" height="322" width="500" alt="SCA 12 blog graphic"></a></p> <p>We're pleased to announce the launch of <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/">some comms 2012</a>, the UK Social Media Communications Awards. Now in their third year, the awards celebrate the best in UK social media and recognise the individuals and organisations who are using online to communicate in cool and innovative ways. </p> <p>There are eighteen categories to enter alongside the Outstanding Contribution and Grand Prix awards.</p> <p>The call for entries is now open with a closing date of Thursday 6 September 2012. Following our judging session we will announce the shortlist in mid September and the awards will be presented at a ceremony at The Radisson Edwardian Hotel in Manchester on Thursday 18 October.</p> <p>Big thanks go to <a href="http://www.cipr.co.uk/">CIPR</a> and <a href="http://www.prca.org.uk/">PRCA</a> for once again supporting these awards and also to our <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/judges.htm">judging panel</a> who have the unenviable task of deciding the 2012 winners.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/06/21/some-comms-awards-13912649/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/06/21/some-comms-awards-13912649/Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:53:09 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6382308" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/308/6382308_6698db0977_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="SAScon 2012"></a></p> <p>If you mix search, analytics and social media along with a generous dose of Mancunian irreverence you get <a href="http://www.sascon.co.uk/">SAScon</a>, the UK's finest search conference. </p> <p>Now in its third year and expanded to a two day event, SAScon took place last week and featured must see keynotes like Twitter's Bruce Daisley, three streams of cutting edge panel sessions and extra curricular social activity that perfectly justified all delegates being offered Bloody Mary's at the Day Two registration desk.</p> <p>I remember being blown away by that first 2010 event and likening it to the kind of buzz I got from those pioneering social media events our company Don't Panic managed all those years ago. As a former comms person and strictly front end user of computing devices I was just stunned by the combination of algorithms, key words and psychology that are cleverly influencing our search results. </p> <p>The search industry has seen incredible growth and it's fascinating to see SEO companies hiring PRs and taking ownership of social media as a tool. SAScon is a celebration of where digital marketing's at and more importantly where it's going...</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6382309" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/309/6382309_8283dbcb3e_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="SAScon Panel 2012"></a></p> <p>Here's long lost Mancunian legends Earl Brutus with the video for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt2AqIxc84s"> this post's title track</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/05/22/the-sas-and-the-glam-that-goes-with-it-13720743/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/05/22/the-sas-and-the-glam-that-goes-with-it-13720743/Tue, 22 May 2012 11:22:08 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6382269" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/269/6382269_56c484aec7_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="UK Search Awards 2012"></a></p> <p>In 2011 <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don’t Panic</a> in association with <a href="http://www.manuallinkbuilding.co/">Manual Link Building</a> and <a href="http://www.sempo.org/">SEMPO</a> launched the <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a>, a national awards competition celebrating the very best in SEO, PPC and digital marketing. It's the first awards purely dedicated to celebrating the talent and incredible growth of the UK search industry and the inaugural awards ceremony attracted over 250 of the country's leading search marketers. </p> <p>This year's UK Search Awards ceremony will again take place at The Emirates Stadium in London on Thursday 1 November 2012 and the call for entries was announced at last week's <a href="http://www.sascon.co.uk/">SAScon</a> two day search, analytics and social media conference.</p> <p>There are 17 free to enter categories plus a Grand Prix prize and we are currently assembling some of the biggest names in UK search for our judging panel.</p> <p>The timetable for the awards is:</p> <p>May – Awards launch, entries open</p> <p>Friday 14 September –Deadline for all entries</p> <p>Friday 28 September – Judging session</p> <p>Monday 1 October – Shortlists announced</p> <p>Thursday 1 November – Awards ceremony</p> <p>Good luck to all our entrants and we'll see you in London in November!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/05/22/uk-search-awards-2012-now-open-for-entries-13720624/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/05/22/uk-search-awards-2012-now-open-for-entries-13720624/Tue, 22 May 2012 11:03:52 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6268536" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/536/6268536_bddb98b616_o.jpeg" height="340" width="500" alt="Star Wars Space Port Team"></a></p> <p>Last weekend, Don't Panic managed a Sci Fi weekend at Mersey Ferries <a href="http://www.spaceport.org.uk/">Spaceport</a> attraction which brought thousands of visitors and Star Wars fans from across the north west.</p> <p>The event featured star signings from Richard La Parmentier (Admiral Motti), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Chris Munke (Captain Kurgee), an exhibition of replica props from the Star Wars movies and around forty costumed characters from the 99th Garrison. There were also lightsaber workshops and Star Wars themed face painting all complimenting the permanent space exhibition at the attraction.</p> <p>Here's a team shot of the actors, Spaceport staff and some of the many characters who were available to meet and have photos with. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/26/can-you-feel-the-force-13312026/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/26/can-you-feel-the-force-13312026/Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:21:43 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6268502" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/502/6268502_2802feee18_o.jpeg" height="659" width="500" alt="RF blog logo"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don't Panic</a> were proud to be involved in the <a href="http://www.ramsbottomfestival.com/">Ramsbottom Festival 2011,</a> an event which brought thousands of visitors and a fantastic musical line up to the town we love and are based in. </p> <p>In December of last year various meetings took place in relation to the 2012 festival and following much thought on our part, we informed our partners at <a href="http://themet.biz/">The Met</a> and Ramsbottom Online that sadly we would not be involved in this year's event.</p> <p>The reasons were purely down to the amount of time these things take to plan and the considerable commitment it would require from our staff throughout the year. As an event management agency we took the hard decision that we needed to focus on our core business and provide our clients with the level of service that they've come to expect as there was a danger that being a part of the festival could affect our ability to deliver existing commitments.</p> <p>We want to wish those involved in the festival the very best of luck and we're sure they will deliver another event that our town can be proud of. We'll be there as festival goers rather than organisers and look forward to another amazing weekend! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/26/ramsbottom-festival-13309111/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/26/ramsbottom-festival-13309111/Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:39:22 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6256817" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/817/6256817_6e93f655f5_o.jpeg" height="265" width="500" alt="RRA12 photobooth & room"></a></p> <p>Last Thursday we were at the Empress Ballroom at Blackpool's <a href="http://www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk/">Winter Gardens</a> to manage the <a href="http://www.redroseawards.co.uk/">Red Rose Awards 2012</a>. The awards were launched by our client <a href="http://www.lancashirebusinessview.co.uk/">Lancashire Business View</a> in 2011 to celebrate the best of business in the red rose county and this year attracted an audience of almost 900 guests. </p> <p>The full list of winners can be found on the <a href="http://www.redroseawards.co.uk/winners.htm">awards website</a> and it was an amazing evening for the Lancashire business community. Catering was provided by the impeccable <a href="http://www.heathcotesoutside.co.uk/">Heathcotes Outside</a> with entertainment from Blackburn's <a href="http://web.mac.com/lnwest/iWeb/blowjangles/Blowjangles%20Home.html">Blowjangles</a> and a post awards DJ.</p> <p>Additionally, Don't Panic added to the glitz and glamour of the evening by installing a photo booth that provided guests with free mementos of the evening. Here's Don't Panic's Rowan, Nicky & Emily and our helpers Sophie and Eoin making the most of the prop box!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6256828" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/828/6256828_d8a597e59c_o.jpeg" height="749" width="500" alt="Don"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/20/red-rose-awards-13226469/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/20/red-rose-awards-13226469/Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:41:33 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6241796" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/796/6241796_67556ab1ea_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="European Search Awards 2012"></a></p> <p>Following the success of the <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a>, Don’t Panic in association with <a href="http://www.manuallinkbuilding.co/">Manual Link Building</a> and <a href="http://www.sempo.org/">SEMPO</a> are launching the <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards</a>, an international competition celebrating the very best in SEO, PPC and digital marketing from across Europe.</p> <p>There will be 17 free to enter <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/categories.htm">categories</a> for campaigns, use of search, software and the industry's talent and we’re in the process of twisting the arms of some of the biggest names in European search for our judging panel.</p> <p>The awards dinner takes place on the evening of Thursday 5 July 2012 in the historic St Olof Chapel at the <a href="http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/the-netherlands/amsterdam/nh-barbizon-palace.html?type=">NH Barbizon Palace</a> in Amsterdam. This five star hotel is conveniently situated opposite the city’s Central Train Station, a 15 minute train ride to and from Schipol Airport. The hotel is situated in the heart of Old Amsterdam and is a short walk to many of the city’s most famous attractions. The area also offers numerous hotel and accommodation options from the budget to the deluxe, all close to the awards venue.</p> <p>The timetable for the awards is:</p> <p>March – Awards launch, entries open</p> <p>Friday 4 May –Deadline for all entries</p> <p>Wednesday 16 May – Judging session</p> <p>Monday 21 May – Shortlists announced</p> <p>Thursday 5 July – Awards ceremony</p> <p>Full details are available at the <a href="http://www.europeansearchawards.com/index.htm">European Search Awards website</a>.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/12/the-european-search-awards-13165833/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/12/the-european-search-awards-13165833/Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:46:47 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6241742" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/742/6241742_7c26fa1b16_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="UK Search Conference 2012"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/65/content/events/UK_Search_Conference_2012/">The UK Search Conference</a> took place last Friday at The Commonwealth Club in London and featured many award winning case studies from last November's inaugural <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/60/content/events_and_bookings/UK_Search_Awards/">UK Search Awards</a>. It was an opportunity for the search industry to share their knowledge and expertise and to a self confessed front end user like myself it was a mind blowing day. </p> <p>Case studies included <a href="http://www.seoptimise.com/">SEOptimise's</a> Search Marketing & SEO Blog with an overview of the commitment to quality and content that it requires; <a href="http://www.adido-digital.co.uk/">Adido's</a> Best Local Campaign that dominates the car sales market for their client The Colbornes Group; Multi award winners <a href="http://www.fastwebmedia.com/">Fast Web Media</a> and a preview of their amazing weather FIT software that geo targets weather dependent products to consumers based on Met Office forecasts; <a href="http://www.marinsoftware.co.uk/">Marin Software's</a> Best PPC Management Software; <a href="http://www.majesticseo.com/">Majestic SEO's</a> Site Explorer that won the Best SEO Software category; <a href="http://www.koozai.com/">Koozai's</a> Best use of Search in the finance sector for their client Payday Power; <a href="http://www.found.co.uk/">Found's</a> Best Mobile Campaign for Autoglass; <a href="http://www.fuse8.com/">Fuse 8's</a> Best PPC Campaign, <a href="http://www.stickyeyes.com/">Stickyeyes</a> Search Dashboard Innovation category winner and <a href="http://www.vervesearch.com/">Verve Search</a> doing some very clever seeding of door related stories on behalf of their client Yale Door. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6241741" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/741/6241741_5963b47f3d_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="Matt Bush Google UK"></a></p> <p>The conference also featured panel sessions featuring may of our Search Awards Judges and two keynotes expertly delivered by <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/">Google UK's</a> Matt Bush and Bas van den Beld of <a href="http://www.stateofsearch.com/">State of Search</a>. </p> <p>Big thanks go out to our event sponsors <a href="http://www.manuallinkbuilding.co/">Manual Link Building</a> and <a href="http://www.searchmetrics.com/en/">Searchmetrics</a> as well as our brilliant conference chair, Richard Gregory of <a href="http://www.latitudegroup.com/">Latitude</a>. </p> <p>As expected, the conference focussed on the power of search, the impact of social media and the psychology of the way we use search engines to find, learn and buy in a digital world. There were also jokes of which my favourite was as follows:</p> <p>Jesus was the first Search Marketer. He had twelve followers and then one unfollowed him...</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6241743" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/743/6241743_28e2db8a0e_o.jpeg" height="375" width="500" alt="UK Search Awards Judges"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/12/uk-search-conference-13165369/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/12/uk-search-conference-13165369/Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:56:14 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6241519" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/519/6241519_c10e860edf_o.jpeg" height="499" width="500" alt="JGA 12 logo"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6241523" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/523/6241523_0a9cd0db3f_o.jpeg" height="334" width="500" alt="JustGiving Awards 2012 2020"></a></p> <p>Earlier this month we were at London's stunning Shoreditch Town Hall to manage the <a href="http://www.justgivingawards.com/index.php">JustGiving Awards 2012</a>. The awards celebrate the amazing achievements of charities, fundraisers and donors who together have raised more than £200 million through their JustGiving pages over the year.</p> <p>Attended by over 300 guests and nominees, it was a night to remember with entertainment provided by Singology and 2020 and a few very well known faces in the audience and on stage. Most of all there was hardly a dry eye in the room as the real stars of the evening received recognition for their courage, determination and selflessness.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6241522" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/522/6241522_1d02d4cc06_o.jpeg" height="334" width="500" alt="Joanna Lumley presenting the Charity of the Tear award to Aspire"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/12/the-justgiving-awards-13164763/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/12/the-justgiving-awards-13164763/Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:41:06 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6218782" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/782/6218782_f8726ef2cd_o.jpeg" height="562" width="500" alt="Ultimate Humungousaur"></a></p> <p>Mersey Ferries' <a href="http://www.spaceport.org.uk/">Spaceport</a> in Wallasey was overrun by aliens last weekend when Don't Panic brought the <a href="http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ben10ua/index.html">Ben 10</a> alter egos Ultimate Humungousaur & Ultimate Swampfire to compliment the permanent displays at the space themed attraction. </p> <p>Thousands of Ben 10 fans from across the North West beamed in to meet their favourite aliens from the hit Cartoon Network show and enjoy free Ben 10 themed face painting and animation workshops. </p> <p>The attraction, one of a number of ferry linked destinations operated by <a href="http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/">Mersey Ferries</a>, also features an entire floor of <a href="http://www.wallaceandgromit.com/">Wallace & Gromit</a> props, activities and interactivity and judging by the smiles on the faces of the visitors it made for a fantastic day out.</p> <p>The Ben 10 fan in the photos is Don't Panic's youngest helper and consultant on this particular activity, Finn Wake. We're also very pleased to announce that we have been awarded the contract to provide event support to Mersey Ferries for the next twelve months.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6218783" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/783/6218783_da35d42315_o.jpeg" height="267" width="500" alt="Ultimate Swampfire"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65EJCzqOzdc">Here's a bit of mid Eighties Bowie...</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/01/loving-the-aliens-12969286/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2012/03/01/loving-the-aliens-12969286/Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:04:35 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6054842" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/842/6054842_c7e553f3dd_o.jpeg" height="335" width="500" alt="Santa at Spaceport"></a></p> <p>It's been a crazy few weeks at Don't Panic with the <a href="http://www.sascon.co.uk/">SAScon</a> mini conference, <a href="http://www.prca.org.uk/">PRCA</a> National Conference and the <a href="http://www.miamusicawards.com/">Music Industries Association Music Awards</a> along with retail activities for the <a href="http://merrioncentre.co.uk/">Merrion Centre</a> in Leeds, <a href="http://www.urbanexchange.co.uk/">Urban Exchange</a> in Manchester and <a href="http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/">Mersey Ferries</a>.</p> <p>For the latter we've brought a Christmas grotto to the 'grand day out' that is the <a href="http://www.wallaceandgromit.com/">Wallace & Gromit</a> themed exhibition at Mersey Ferries Spaceport attraction. Everyone's favourite plasticine characters were joined by Santa and his elves amidst the inventions and props from the award winning <a href="http://www.aardman.com/">Aardman Animations</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6054843" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/843/6054843_1d64d1dc12_o.jpeg" height="335" width="500" alt="Wallace & Gromit Xmas"></a></p> <p>Big thanks go out to the very talented helpers from <a href="http://www.lipa.ac.uk/">LIPA</a> who brought everything to life and also the prop builders at <a href="http://www.curlywilly.com/cw/">Curlywilly</a> who built Santa's amazing rocket chair.</p> <p>Wallace & Gromit, Father Christmas and his elves will also be at <a href="http://www.spaceport.org.uk/">Spaceport</a> on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 December and the entry price includes a trip on an iconic ferry 'cross the Mersey and a free toy for the kids. There's also an optional but very reasonably priced photo for those who want a festive memento of their day.</p> <p>We're all getting very Christmassy now so here's possibly <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6YbLZf8i5I">the best Xmas tune ever</a> courtesy Noddy & the gang...</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/12/05/merry-xmas-everybody-12259847/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/12/05/merry-xmas-everybody-12259847/Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:46:02 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6000089" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/089/6000089_fae0f0af66_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Richard Gregory SEMPO"></a></p> <p>The Don't Panic team have just about recovered from what was probably our best awards yet. Last Thursday we were at the <a href="http://www.arsenal.com/hospitality">Emirates Stadium</a> in London for the inaugural <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a> to celebrate the very best in SEO, search marketing and PPC. It's an area that has seen incredible growth and the evening provided a much needed focus on the talent and achievements of those working in the UK search industry.</p> <p>We've been lucky to have been involved in <a href="http://www.sascon.co.uk/">SAScon</a>, the search, analytics and social conference for the past two years and to have met many of the major players who subsequently supported and helped us shape these awards. As a result it was a fantastic honour to be able to deliver a competition that recognises the skills and importance of search in an increasingly online world. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6000095" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/095/6000095_e48fc05e0d_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Lisa Myers"></a></p> <p>Best of all for us, the search crowd know how to party so the evening involved trains of Jager bombs, a fun casino courtesy of our headline sponsor <a href="http://www.manuallinkbuilding.co.uk/">Manual Link Building</a> and some very short but entertaining acceptance speeches!</p> <p>There were seventeen awards and a full list of winners can be found on the previous post as well as the <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards website</a>. Additionally, congratulations go to Adido for winning the pop quiz, Steak for the card draw SAScon places and Nertil Balliu of Auto Trader for raking in the most chips at the tables and winning himself an iPad 2.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6000090" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/090/6000090_73a475c8a0_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="UK Search Awards"></a></p> <p>We'd like to thank a few people for helping us to make the event happen: our sponsors and supporters - Gareth Hoyle of <a href="http://www.manuallinkbuilding.co.uk/">Manual Link Building</a>, <a href="http://www.searchmetrics.com/en/">Search Metrics</a>, <a href="http://www.seohosting.co.uk/">SEOhosting</a>, <a href="http://www.linkdex.com/">Linkdex</a>, <a href="http://www.sempo.org/">SEMPO</a> and <a href="http://www.sascon.co.uk/">SAScon</a>; our <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/content/information/Judging">judging panel</a>, a real who's who of search in the UK; our brilliant MC <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Crane">Andy Crane</a> and our tech guys <a href="http://www.lasuk.net/">LAS</a> for making things run so smoothly on the evening. It's also worth saying that despite any footballing allegiances, the Emirates is an absolutely amazing venue so big thanks to all the events team for their professionalism and help. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=6000088" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/088/6000088_70b68efe73_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Fast Web Media"></a></p> <p>We're already planning the 2012 UK Search Awards and will be making another major search related announcement within the week. Watch this space!</p> <p>Here's a bit of upbeat <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1e9YRXMrTQ">Dexys</a> to tie in with the post title...</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/11/08/searching-for-the-young-soul-rebels-12135742/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/11/08/searching-for-the-young-soul-rebels-12135742/Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:47:32 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5999790" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/790/5999790_3dde5d1a6a_o.jpeg" height="293" width="500" alt="UK Search Awards 2011 Trophies"></a></p> <p>The <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a> were launched this year by Don’t Panic in association with <a href="http://www.manuallinkbuilding.co.uk/">Manual Link Building</a> and <a href="http://www.sempo.org/">SEMPO</a>, to celebrate the very best in SEO and PPC as well as the talent that the search industry has to offer. There were 17 free to enter categories and some of the biggest names in UK search on our judging panel.</p> <p>The awards dinner took place on the evening of Thursday 3 November 2011 at the Emirates Stadium in London. I'll post about the evening elsewhere but here's the list of winners for 2011:</p> <p><strong>Best Integrated Campaign</strong></p> <p>Fast Web Media – Coors Light – Closest To Cold</p> <p><strong>Best Local Campaign</strong></p> <p>Adido – The Colbornes Group Dominance of Google Locally</p> <p><strong>Best use of Search – Retail</strong></p> <p>Fast Web Media – Bravissimo</p> <p><strong>Best use of Search – Travel</strong></p> <p>Further Search Marketing – Richardson’s Boating Holidays; ‘Book Direct’</p> <p><strong>Best use of Search – Finance</strong></p> <p>Koozai – Payday Power Organic Search (SEO)</p> <p><strong>Best use of Search – Leisure</strong></p> <p>Further Search Marketing – Richardson’s Boating Holidays ; ‘Book Direct’</p> <p><strong>Best Mobile Campaign</strong></p> <p>Found / Autoglass – Smashing the Glass Repair Market on Mobile</p> <p><strong>Best Blog</strong></p> <p>SEOptimise – Search Marketing & SEO Blog</p> <p><strong>Innovation</strong></p> <p>Stickyeyes – Stickyeyes Search Dashboard</p> <p><strong>Best PPC Management Software</strong></p> <p>Marin Software</p> <p><strong>Best SEO Software</strong></p> <p>Majestic SEO / Receptional – Majestic SEO’s Site Explorer</p> <p><strong>Best PPC Campaign</strong></p> <p>Fuse8 – Intelligent Internet – Landing Pages with Brains</p> <p><strong>Best SEO Campaign</strong></p> <p>Verve Search – SEO services for Yale Door</p> <p><strong>Best In-House Team</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.just-eat.co.uk">www.just-eat.co.uk</a></p> <p><strong>Best Agency</strong></p> <p>Fast Web Media</p> <p><strong>Search Personality of the Year</strong></p> <p>Lisa Myers</p> <p><strong>Grand Prix Award</strong></p> <p>Fast Web Media – Bravissimo</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/11/08/uk-search-awards-2011-winners-12135406/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/11/08/uk-search-awards-2011-winners-12135406/Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:17:25 +0100 <p>Things are pretty hectic at Don't Panic right now with retail work for our clients Urban Exchange and Mersey Ferries by day and an awards ball for Salford Local Dental Council on Friday evening as well as our inaugral <a href="http://www.searchawards.co.uk/">UK Search Awards</a> at Emirates Stadium, London next week.</p> <p>Preparations for next month's <a href="http://www.how-do-psca.co.uk/">How-Do Public Services Communications Awards</a>, the <a href="http://www.miamusicawards.com/">MIA Music Awards</a> and <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/62/content/events_and_bookings/PRCA_National_Conference_2011/">PRCA National Conference</a> are also keeping us busy but finally here's some slightly belated thoughts on last week's second <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/">some comms awards</a> that took place at The Hilton, Manchester and recognised the very best in UK social media communications. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5970908" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/908/5970908_7c16871e9b_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Monomuthshire"></a></p> <p>The full list of winners is in the <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/10/24/some-comms-awards-2011-winners-12061360/">preceding post</a> but one thing that was clearly evident at this year's awards was the rise in social media use amongst the public sector. Maybe budget cuts and the costliness of traditional PR channels such as print and advertising have contributed to this but what's for sure is the quality and innovation of the work currently being undertaken by local authorities and other public sector organisations.</p> <p><a href="http://www.gmp.police.uk/">Greater Manchester Police's</a> GMP24 Twitter Day springs to mind for its genius in tweeting every police call out over 24 hours to show the public the breadth and depth of the work the Force undertakes. It quite rightly generated acres of traditional media coverage and was the winner of our Best Use of Twitter.</p> <p>Likewise <a href="http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/">Monmouthshire County Council's</a> use of Yammer by foster carers to share advice and experience was inspired and will undoubtedly raise the quality of care for young people as a result. It was a truly deserving winner of our Innovation award and just one of a hat trick of awards the council took back to Wales.</p> <p><a href="http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/">Belfast City Council</a> were also recognised for using multiple social media platforms to inform and assist those affected by the water disruption in the city over the last Christmas period; <a href="http://www.leeds.gov.uk/">Leeds City Council </a>picked up the Research and Evaluation award for their online consultation work and <a href="http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/">City of Edinburgh Council</a> scooped the Public Sector & Grand Prix awards for their amazing efforts in ensuring the success of The Scottish Youth Parliament Elections.</p> <p>There was also recognition for <a href="http://enterprise.shef.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield Enterprise</a> for their <a href="http://enterprise.shef.ac.uk/blog">USE Entrepreneurial and Enterprise blog</a> and <a href="http://www.b-eat.co.uk/">beat</a>, the national eating disorders charity, for the volunteer support network they created online. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5970906" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/906/5970906_5103e10658_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Pegasus PR"></a></p> <p>Agencies also did well with their continual creativity on behalf of clients. <a href="http://www.kindredagency.com/">Kindred's</a> make mine Milk campaign promoting the healthy white stuff to young people received two awards and <a href="http://www.1000heads.com/">1000heads</a> won the Best Viral award for their very cool and faster than a light cycle Nokia / Tron: Legacy tie in.</p> <p><a href="http://www.pegasuspr.co.uk/">Pegasus PR</a> also picked up two awards for promoting their client Bayer Animal Health's worming tablets to pet owners proving that online channels reach so many demographics if you take the right approach.</p> <p>It was great to see young Mancunian agency <a href="http://www.smokinggunpr.co.uk/">Smoking Gun PR</a> awarded the Best Low Budget Campaign for their work with Panda Liquorice and also the look of shock and elation on <a href="http://www.thebluedoor.com/">thebluedoor's</a> MD Abigail Harrison's face as she won Best Small Agency. Major hitters <a href="http://wearesocial.net/">We Are Social</a> took Best Large Agency for their consistently brilliant work with some of the biggest international brands. </p> <p>The most poignant moment of the evening had to be the awarding of <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/08/30/mark-hanson-award-11749387/">The Mark Hanson Award</a> for the best social media communicator under 30. Well done Jed Hallam, a very worthy winner. </p> <p>There was one final unannounced award of the evening, Outstanding Contribution to Social Media which went to <a href="http://www.prweek.com/uk/features/996709/profile-rob-brown-md-uk-staniforth/">Rob Brown</a> of <a href="http://www.staniforth.co.uk/#gsi0ci0q">Staniforth</a> for his work chairing the CIPR social media panel, his constant willingness to share his knowledge and social media expertise and for being a true moderniser within the public relations industry. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5970947" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/947/5970947_b24e9fce0b_o.jpeg" height="334" width="500" alt="some comms awards 2011"></a></p> <p>Big thanks go out to our brilliant <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/Judges.htm">judging panel</a>; our event sponsors and supporters; Rowan and Emily of the <a href="http://www.dontpanicprojects.com/">Don't Panic</a> team who did most of the work on the night; our MC the amazing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Crane">Andy Crane</a>; the<a href="http://www.lasuk.net/"> LAS</a> crew for all the technical stuff, <a href="http://paulfrancisphoto.co.uk/">Paul Francis</a> for the pics and <a href="http://www.funkademia.net/">Funkademia's</a> Jamie Scahill and Britain's best loved serial killer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Hawley">Graeme Hawley</a> for the silent disco finale. Another great Don't Panic evening... </p> <p>Here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlYsDNilKDQ">The Strokes </a>distilling everything I love about the Seventies New York punk scene into three minutes. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/10/27/someday-12077901/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/10/27/someday-12077901/Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:30:26 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5963038" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/038/5963038_d1f5b027d8_o.jpeg" height="374" width="500" alt="some comms awards 2011 logo"></a></p> <p>The <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/index.htm">some comms awards</a> 2011 recognised the best in UK social media communications and took place at The Hilton Manchester on Wednesday 19 October. I'll post about the actual awards evening elsewhere but here's the list of winners for 2011:</p> <p><strong>Best use of Twitter</strong></p> <p>Greater Manchester Police - GMP24 - Twitter Day</p> <p><strong>Best use of Facebook</strong></p> <p>Kindred Agency - The ‘make mine Milk’ campaign</p> <p><strong>Best use of Youtube</strong></p> <p>Monmouthshire County Council - Social care recruiting using YouTube</p> <p><strong>Best Business Blog</strong></p> <p>University of Sheffield Enterprise (USE) - USE Entrepreneurial and Enterprise Blog</p> <p><strong>Best Viral Campaign</strong></p> <p>1000heads - Nokia / Tron: Legacy</p> <p><strong>Best Community Engagement</strong></p> <p>Pegasus PR / Bayer Animal Health; Drontal - My Pet Superstar</p> <p><strong>Best use of Social Media to Research and Evaluate</strong></p> <p>Leeds City Council - What if Leeds.. Talk today. Shape tomorrow.</p> <p><strong>Best use of Social Media in a Crisis</strong></p> <p>Belfast City Council - Northern Ireland water disruption</p> <p><strong>Innovation</strong></p> <p>Monmouthshire County Council - Social media for social care: how Monmouthshire foster carers support each other with Yammer</p> <p><strong>Private Sector</strong></p> <p>Pegasus PR / Bayer Animal Health; Drontal - My Pet Superstar</p> <p><strong>Public Sector</strong></p> <p>The City of Edinburgh Council / Stevenson College Edinburgh - The Scottish Youth Parliament Elections Edinburgh 2011</p> <p><strong>Charity/ Not for Profit</strong></p> <p>Beat - My Personal Best</p> <p><strong>Best Low Budget Campaign</strong></p> <p>Smoking Gun PR - Panda Liquorice - giving nasties the blues</p> <p><strong>Best Social Media Campaign</strong></p> <p>Kindred Agency - The ‘make mine Milk’ campaign</p> <p><strong>Mark Hanson Award</strong></p> <p>Jed Hallam, VCCP</p> <p><strong>Best In House Team</strong></p> <p>HIGHLY COMMENDED - Greater Manchester Police</p> <p>WINNER - Monmouthshire County Council</p> <p><strong>Best Small Agency</strong></p> <p>thebluedoor</p> <p><strong>Best Large Agency</strong></p> <p>We Are Social</p> <p><strong>Outstanding Contribution to Social Media</strong></p> <p>Rob Brown, MD Staniforth & Chair, CIPR Social Media Panel</p> <p><strong>Grand Prix</strong></p> <p>The City of Edinburgh Council / Stevenson College Edinburgh - The Scottish Youth Parliament Elections Edinburgh 2011</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5963030" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/030/5963030_cf10948ede_o.jpeg" height="237" width="500" alt="Some Comms Awards Grand Prix Winners"></a></p> <p>The above main photo shows City of Edinburgh Council's Graham McColl & Marjory Kenny receiving the Grand Prix Award form Sally Costerton, Chair of PRCA and our awards MC Andy Crane. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/10/24/some-comms-awards-2011-winners-12061360/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/10/24/some-comms-awards-2011-winners-12061360/Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:44:45 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5935359" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/359/5935359_132a08ec8b_o.jpeg" height="329" width="500" alt="Ramsbottom Festival stage"></a></p> <p>We've had a few weeks to recover now and despite the office being full of unclaimmed banners and festival debris we're very proud of what was achieved over the weekend of the 16th, 17th & 18th of September in our town of Ramsbottom.</p> <p>We couldn't have done any of it without our partners <a href="http://themet.biz/">The Met</a> and <a href="http://www.ramsbottomonline.com/">Ramsbottom Online</a> along with the numerous sponsors who supported <a href="http://www.ramsbottomfestival.com/">The Ramsbottom Festival</a>. </p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5935358" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/358/5935358_5310643027_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="Ramsbottom Festival crowd"></a></p> <p>Despite the weather, there were so many highlights for the Don't Panic team including some great music from the likes of The Waterboys, Guillemots and Kid British, endless fun at the slient disco and fabulous food from our cool caterers <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tibetan-Kitchen/95819655814">Tibetan Kitchen</a> and <a href="http://laspaelleras.com/">Las Paelleras</a>.</p> <p>Most of all we want to thank our army of volunteers who gave up their time and energy to make the festival run like clockwork. We didn't see any of them without a smile on their faces all weekend. </p> <p>Here's a great overview video form the good people at <a href="http://www.littlestar.tv/">Littlestar</a> and the great news is we're already planning for 2012!</p> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/30378422">Ramsbottom Festival 2011</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/littlestar">Littlestar</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> <p><em>Posted by Andy Wake, amazing photos by <a href="http://www.haydnrydings.co.uk/">Haydn Rydings</a></em></p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5935386" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/386/5935386_5593714704_o.jpeg" height="333" width="500" alt="The youngest member of the Don\"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/10/12/ramsbottom-festival-12003306/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/10/12/ramsbottom-festival-12003306/Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:22:26 +0200 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/community/profile_photo_sizes.php?item_ID=5828561" title="all image sizes"><img src="http://data7.blog.de/media/561/5828561_7265c1c4ba_o.jpeg" height="364" width="500" alt="Mark Hanson Award"></a></p> <p>Anyone who met <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/mar/15/mark-hanson-obituary">Mark Hanson</a> couldn't fail to be inspired by his eloquence and enthusiasm for social media. As Wolfstar's Deputy MD he was a passionate advocate of all things online and conversational and he used his expertise to benefit everyone from clients to his beloved Labour Party. Above all he was a great communicator, always willing to share his knowledge and do his bit to kick things forward. </p> <p>At Don't Panic we were fortunate to have Mark speak for us on a number of occasions and, along with many others whose lives he touched, we were completely shocked to hear of his untimely death earlier this year. He'd actually sat with us at last year's some comms ceremony and on hearing the sad news we felt that we should do something to remember Mark at this year's awards.</p> <p>We're grateful to Mark's wife Clare and his close colleague and friend Stuart Bruce for their help and support in introducing this annual Mark Hanson Award. With it we want to recognise the new wave of bright and talented 21st Century communicators who are currently making their mark on the industry. The award is open to nominees under the age of 30 and this year's shortlist is now live on the <a href="http://www.somecommsawards.com/shortlist.htm">some comms website</a>. We guess Mark would have been a bit bemused by it all but hope it will be a fitting legacy to his memory.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/08/30/mark-hanson-award-11749387/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p> http://eventualities.blog.co.uk/2011/08/30/mark-hanson-award-11749387/Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:27:42 +0200