Finding out that a 2021 Black History Month campaign I'd created had been shortlisted for a second award has been one of the highlights of this year. Considering I'd gotten married in July, that's definitely saying something!
by Krystle Downie
Working as part of the RBKC comms team, I've had the pleasure of working on some pretty awesome projects, from the census which only comes around every ten years, to the Notting Hill Carnival, which returned to the streets for the first time in three years; I've had a varied spectrum of campaigns. However, what set Black History Month, Let's Understand Each Other apart for me was the fact that I'd been involved in every element, from the topics, to the speakers, to the branding. Bringing it all to fruition from concept to delivery meant I was personally invested in a way that I've not been on a campaign before or since.
So it was with bated breath that myself and my comms colleague Nat endured the feet stomping (literally) drum roll before the words Best Internal Campaign... Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea flashed on the screen.
Barely containing my yelp of surprise, I made my way to the stage where Nat and I posed for pictures with the award.
The comms2point0 UnAwards judges said:
“This was a well-researched, creative campaign, which used a wide variety of channels and had clearly been carefully planned to deliver a truly joined-up approach, which resulted in a cohesive cross-channel campaign reaching right through the organisation. The team considered numerous factors and made sure to deliver wide-ranging appeal and interest. The campaign started with internal comms but it also goes much wider, spilling out into supporting the local community – but still in a very joined-up and cohesive way. There was no part of this campaign that made us question why it was in there. We also like that the team engaged staff in actually creating the campaign – thereby really closing the loop.”
Luckily as it was the UnAwards, I didn't have to make a cringy speech, so with a quick nod of thanks to the founder Darren Caveney, it was back up to our seats, with a strong dose of glee sloshing around my stomach. It had definitely been worth the trip.
12 hours earlier, it was somewhat of a different story...
It had been a rather uncomfortably cramped train ride from Euston to Birmingham New Street where upon exiting the train at 9pm I was met with a blanket of fog straight out of a Peaky Blinders scene. With it being so late, nowhere was open, so I headed to a food stall that was packing up and bought their last remaining lamb samosa. Suffice to say, you'd expect that anyone selling lamb samosas would have a microwave or some such contraption to re-heat it, but like myself, you'd be wrong and I will admit for all of ten seconds I stood there internally debating the feasibility of getting a refund of my £2.50 payment to a small business. However pride won through, I wasn't going to be that petty, so cold samosa in one hand and my wheelie suitcase in the other, I trudged into the foggy night looking for a taxi.
Pulling up at my no frills Ibis hotel, I was greeted by a friendly guy who checked me in and dismayed me with the news that there were no cooked breakfasts, only continental. With my disappointment as frosty as my samosa, I was directed to my room, which as soon as I entered seemed to have subarctic temperatures, as the window was wide open.
After unsuccessfully fiddling with the room temperature dial, I made a quick jaunt downstairs and told the receptionist my issue. He said he'd have someone upstairs to sort it immediately and directed me to the free coffee machine where I have to say, all sins were forgiven!
The liquid ecstasy dispensed in the form of creamy hot chocolate from this apparatus was divine and more than made up for my series of discontent. Tucked up cosy in bed with my (dare I say it third!) cup of frothy rich, hot chocolate, and slightly chilled samosa, order was restored, and the world was right again.
With the alarm set, teeth washed and prayers said, the count down to the UnAwards had begun!
The comms2point0 UnAwards was unconventional in every sense, from the time (9.30am!) to the surprise film that would be showing afterwards, which was a closely guarded secret. Taking place in a plush boutique cinema next to Birmingham's infamous bull ring, it was advertised as an informal, relaxed affair that went against the grain of regular awards shows.
So when our engaging host Darren encouraged us to stomp and slap our thighs to provide the drum roll preceding each winner announcement, Nat and I quickly got into the spirit of things and performed with gusto.
We'd deliberately positioned ourselves near the end of the row so that we could slip out if the secret film wasn't to our liking. After a delicious lunch of guacamole, nachos and fresh stone-baked pizzas, we made our way back to our seats and was surprised to find a Cadbury's selection box on each seat featuring that childhood favourite the 10p Freddo chocolate bar which inflation hadn't forgotten to clobber with its slimy paws (now 30p and noticeably smaller!). The secret film was revealed... Napoleon Dynamite! one look at Nat's bemused face and I felt old... she confirmed that she had no idea who or what this was. My "curly haired guy with nerdy glasses?!? description wasn't met with recognition. We agreed to give it ten minutes, but I'm not going to lie, the film kept us hooked with all its weirdness and I thought I'd seen this film, but this was nothing like I remembered and with its kooky humour was the perfect ending to this unconventional event.
So that in a nutshell was a run down of my fabulous Brummie experience, and I wouldn't actually change a minute of it. If you fancy seeing the majestic accolade for yourself come along to the Comms team area, first floor in the purple section. There you'll also see the Just Marketing award for this very same Black History Month 2021 campaign which won RBKC the title of Diversity and Inclusion company of the year.
A pretty good run if I say so myself, as we can now officially call it a multi-award winning campaign!
Krystle Downie is a communications officer at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. You can say hello on Twitter at @KrystleDownie
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