your chance to learn from the unawards winners. for free

January 14, 2016 Darren Caveney

The UnAwards15 were my highlight of 2015. Having the opportunity to see the passion, creativity and results from some of the brilliant work taking place across the UK and beyond was quite a privilege.

by Darren Caveney

The UnAwards ceremony was a belter – well, I swear I heard someone say that on the day.

It was a unique event which placed an important spotlight on our industry and in a way which was accessible to everyone regardless of budget or grade.

After the event, many of you asked for the chance to see and hear more about the winning work.

So, with just one shake of a billy goat’s tail, we have organised an UnAwards Winners Masterclass.

Actually, that’s a lie. We have organised three. This gives us the chance to take the Masterclasses around the country with regional events taking place in Leeds, Birmingham and London.

#unawards15 – the shortlist

November 18, 2015 Darren Caveney

Well that was fun.

Yesterday saw the end of our public vote and the announcement of the #UnAwards15 shortlist. I went slightly bog-eyed watching it all unfold but we now know the runners and riders in all 15 categories.

By Darren Caveney

Over 140 entries poured into the UnAwards15 from across the UK and from as far afield as Norway.

Central government, local government, NHS, Police, Housing, Fire, Higher Education, third sector and the agency world all took part and our 14 external judges have had quite a task in getting down to our final shortlist.

The standard of your entries this year has been high. We know this because some of our judges are hard to impress, But impressed they were.

Our love and respect for this fabulous comms, PR, marketing and digital community, which we all exist in, just grows and grows and thank you so much for supporting the #UnAwards15.

#unawards15: a public vote, the shortlist and attending one cool event

November 5, 2015 Darren Caveney

The #UnAwards15. It's a chance to celebrate some fabulous work and people across our industry. There's lots to tell you so read on...

By Darren Caveney

Wow.

We are just getting our breath back from working our way through the mountain of UnAwards entries we’ve received. And we thank each and every one of you for that.

The standard of your entries this year is very high and it has been fascinating looking through your work - the challenges you face and the creative solutions you have found to tackle them. We’re impressed.

We have entries from as far afield as Norway. And, interestingly, the top four most popular categories were ‘best creative comms’, ‘best internal comms’, ‘best use of video’ and ‘best low cost/free work’. The creativity and sheer breadth of your work has been a real treat to be able to delve into.

Shortlisting...

the real reason why you should enter the UnAwards

October 25, 2015 Darren Caveney

There are several reasons for us running the UnAwards 15. Celebrating the work and efforts of colleagues across comms, PR, marketing and digital is right up there amongst them, of course.

But for me it runs a little deeper than that.

By Darren Caveney

We run the UnAwards to support and – in our own way - fly a flag for folks across the UK and beyond who are working in difficult circumstances and still delivering day after day. To sing for the unsung, to recognise the unrecognised.

I hear – and I hear it way too often, I’m afraid – of some less than great behaviours by some organisations and the way they are treating staff. To a degree this is to be expected with the enormous and ongoing cuts to the public sector – with 350k people leaving local government alone in the past five years there is unprecedented change taking place.

But this doesn’t excuse shoddy behaviour.

Lack of recognition has been a theme in much of the staff survey feedback I have seen over the years too. Sometimes your achievements will be appreciated by others, sometimes they’ll not be. That’s a fact of comms life, as it is in life.

And for me, part of the UnAwards is flying back into face of this and celebrating what you do and do well. We’ve been at, and are, at your coalface so we know.

So the real reason that you should enter the UnAwards is to celebrate you.

top tips for success in the UnAwards 2015

September 25, 2015 Darren Caveney

We know many of you are working on your entries and nominations for the UnAwards 2015. We thought it would be useful to share some top tips on giving you the best shot at success this year.

By Darren Caveney

You have six weeks to work on your entries. Sounds plenty of time doesn't it? But the deadline will be here before you know it.

We’ve all left award entries until the last minute in the past due to other competing work demands. But is that what your best work this year deserves? No, course not.

So use the time wisely and have a think about which of the 15 categories are a best fit with the activity and projects you are most proud of. Grab a coffee, sit somewhere quiet for 10 minutes with a pencil and a piece of paper and begin sketching out your ideas or a small mind map for your entry. Focus on the best way to make it stand out from the crowd.

10 years of being a head of comms and what do I have to show for it?

September 23, 2015 Darren Caveney

10 years in communications is a long time. 10 years being a head of comms is a really long time. Lessons are a plenty so here’s a post which attempts to capture the key ones.

By Darren Caveney

Well here’s the thing. I woke up this morning and for the first time in 10-years I am not a head of comms. This is a good thing because it means I have moved on to an exciting new phase of my career.

It’s an obvious time to reflect. Has 10 years of being a head of comms made me a better comms professional? And would I recommend the role to someone else? Here’s my take on it, my top tips and answers to these two simple questions.

I have had some fantastic opportunities. Worked with some brilliant colleagues. Won over a dozen industry awards with them and learned way more than you could ever capture in a single post. I have also sat in some dreary meetings. Had to argue the case for comms, over and over and over and over, and crossed swords with some quite unpleasant people. The rough with the smooth. You know the score.

the UnAwards are open

September 17, 2015 Darren Caveney

The comms2point0 UnAwards 2015 are now officially open. How can you enter? how can you nominate and how can you attend them? Here’s the lowdown…

By Darren Caveney

So you’ve delivered some great work this year which has made a difference. And you might just feel like it deserves a little smidge of recognition. Well you’re in luck because the comms2point0 UnAwards have arrived giving you the opportunity to show off your best work.

It might be a social media initiative which delivered amazing returns or it might be a shiny new website which has made your online business purr. How about a campaign which has made a difference to your residents, patients or customers. Or a good old fashioned piece of great storytelling.

Whatever you’ve created this year there’s almost certainly a category amongst the 15 in this year’s UnAwards .

winning at the unawards

December 12, 2014 Darren Caveney

The inaugural comms2point0 UnAwards were a brilliant opportunity to showcase and celebrate the outstanding comms and digital work which takes place up and down the UK. And whilst you are all winners to us, here is the official winners roll of honour...

by Darren Caveney

Following an inbox-busting 202 entries from 150 organisations, our team of external, independent judges and comms industry experts had a fight on their hands to select the winners, But select they did.

And of course you played your part too in the public vote, which saw us receive almost 2,000 votes.

Social media was simply buzzing with UnAwards chat - in just seven days on Twitter the UnAwards reached 489k accounts with over 2.5m opportunities to see. Just statistcial outputs, of course, but impressive nonetheless.

Here's an UnAwards Storify courtesy of Emma Rodgers.

Huge thanks to everyone who played a part and supported the Unawards. We're keen to get your views on whether we should run them again in 2015 so do get in touch.

Here's the full list of winners:

not entered the unawards yet? here’s why you should...

November 7, 2014 Darren Caveney

The deadline for the comms2point0 inaugural UnAwards is upon us. November 12 at midnight is the cut-off point. In two minds? Let us persuade you...

by Emma Rodgers

You’ve thought about doing them but you haven’t quite got your act together. Here’s why we really think you should.

It’s super speedy to enter – you only need to write 400 words - you’d probably get that done in 60 minutes. That’s one hour – let me say that again – one hour to potentially win a good old bit of kudos for you, your team or the hard slog that you’ve done

three effective rules for good posters

November 5, 2014 Darren Caveney

Posters. The drift to digital is strong but they still have a place in the comms armoury. They can be as powerful or as weak as you design them. But what do good ones look like?

by Susan Neal

Many hours have been wasted by me and my former Council communications colleagues in trying to convince services about the best way of getting their message across.

up for the cup: october's top posts

October 31, 2013 Darren Caveney

Back in the early days, when they were good, U2 sang about October being the month where the trees are stripped bare, of all they wear. But there wasn't a bit of that last month on comms2point0 where we had another feast of new comms posts.

by Darren Caveney

Competition for the coveted 69pence cup shows no sign of slowing down. And we had a stonking, record number of website visitors to our little old site again last month.

But which was the most read post?

In fifth spot was Hull's very own 'hit parade ever-present', Eddie Coates-Madden this time with the fab 'wake up and sheikh up: five years is too long to embrace technology'

up for the cup: july's top posts

August 5, 2013 Darren Caveney

As months go, July was a bit special for us. The launch of a new white paper, record web site visitors and a new job for one of us. But nothing quite compares to the announcement of the top post for July...

by Darren Caveney

With well over 300 posts on the site we like to think that we have a little something for everyone now. And the top five most read posts in July underline the mix of case studies and learning from across many sectors.

So, the top five, in our usual reverse order:

At five, was What would Basil Clarke the father of British PR make of today's industry? by Richard Evans.