your chance to learn from the unawards winners. for free

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.

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my comms new year resolutions - from 15 people

With New Year not far away, we asked some communications, digital and PR people what their comms resolution for 2016 would be.

by Dan Slee

New Years day is a new blank page on a book with 365 pages. It's a chance not just to turn over a new leaf but open a new book too.

There's something wonderfully Buddhist on looking not to the past but to what you can do and achieve from now.

Forget the past. That's gone. Look to the future. We've asked some comms people we admire for some New Years resolutions.

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5 reasons why you should review your communications. And one reason why you won’t.

There’s nothing new in saying that we should review and evaluate work to see what works. It’s obvious and it’s important. The problem is that many of us don’t do it often enough.

By Darren Caveney

The chances of there being a comms person out there today who doesn’t think that reviewing and evaluating their work is important will be tiny.

Yeah, yeah, yeah – we know it’s important, but when there are 10 people asking for my help, three comms plans to write, the phone ringing off the hook and the impacts of a comms team which has been cut in half it’s a lot easier said than done.

Sound familiar? Yep, me too.

Amongst the many things I learned in 10 years of leading comms teams it’s that standing back and taking a good hard look at your work is 1. Absolutely vital, and 2. Something of a luxury to do often and well. Like wanting a brand new car but settling for paying the bare minimum to get the old car through another year’s MOT (and that sounds familiar too)

With the consultancy work I have been doing with comms2point0 I have had the incredible opportunity to review a dozen organisation’s communications activity in microscopic detail. This is fascinating work and I thoroughly engross myself in the detail of these reviews. They tell stories and give clear indicators to the ‘what should we do next?’ question.

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the real reason why you should enter the UnAwards

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.

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influence needs context: lissted & and a top 250 twitter list

Everyone loves a list. A regional newspaper published a list of the most influential Twitterers. We're in it. Woohoo! But what were the metrics? And what was the behind-the-scenes story?

by Adam Parker

Last week the Birmingham Mail and its sister titles published a list created for them by us at Lissted of the Top 250 West Midlanders* on Twitter based on their significance to the rest of the UK.

Reaction to the list has been great, with lots of people getting involved, highlighting the appearance of people they know, or sometimes a bit of self promotion! The list has also generated a number of questions from people about the rankings and who’s on the list and who isn’t.

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using buzzfeed to create a buzzing community

Buzzfeed is one of the world's largest social news websites and one of the most shared on Facebook. It's known for pioneering 'listicles' which are lists of facts more easily digested and shared on the web. However, it also allows you to create your own content. Here's what happened when one comms officer did so.

by Karen Jeal

It’s that time of year again at Gravesham where we get all green fingered and the town looks blooming marvellous as part of our efforts to scoop the top prize for Gravesham in Bloom.

Although this year is different. The stakes and stems, for that matter, are higher. We won Gold last year so expectations are at an absolute max to grow for gold once more.

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my favourite app: 45 of the best from 16 people

Apps. There's thousands of them. But which ones are worth looking at? We asked some bright people what their favourites were. Here they are. Some for work and some for life away from work.

by Dan Slee

A good app can be a real help so we thought it would be a good idea to ask our community for some of their favourites.

There's a real range and what's striking is the range and variety that people swear by.

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being the clip art and comic sans police. and why it matters.

Brand identity is hugely important and many comms folk will relate to this post on the subject. It's an instant classic. Print it out and put it on your office wall today...

by GUEST EDITOR Ben Capper

comms2point0 is one of my favourite websites.

There are loads of interesting ideas and a great community. There’s stuff on here that helps me to find solutions to issues on a daily basis.

Not very colourful though is it?

Don’t know about you, but sometimes I think it’s crying out for a bright splash of pink, maybe with some orange writing on it.

And that typeface. It’s OK for some people I guess, but surely something friendlier, some more hand-writing-ish would make it look, you know, just a bit nicer.

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your cut out and keep guide to saying ‘no’ to daft requests - part 2: the revenge

Last month we started a discussion around how comms teams often have to say no to colleagues and that this can be tricky. But the list of 'no’s' was bigger than we thought...

by Gillian Neild 

I agree with Darren Caveney in his post that comms teams have received disparaging looks from colleagues when we have had to say no to daft requests. It’s all too easy to forget we have been employed for some very specialist knowledge, so when we do say no, there’s a good reason for it.

So here’s part 2 of our 'cut out and keep' guide to saying no to daft requests (and, yet again - very sadly - all of these are also real.)

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into the confectionery stall and out again

Like many people I was sad to hear of the death of cricket commentator Richie Benaud on Friday.

by Darren Caveney

Richie Benaud defined cricket commentary for my generation and I’ll always remember his rich words during that iconic summer of 1981 and the greatest test series I think ever took place - Botham’s Ashes.

But it was Richie Benaud’s articulate, measured, soothing descriptions of events taking place on the pitch that elevated the games from brilliant to unforgettable.

And it spawned my favourite piece of sporting commentary ever when he described a huge six from Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham against a flagging Australian side:

“Don’t even bother looking for that, let alone chasing it. It’s gone straight into the confectionery stall – and out again.”

It’s been a much repeated quote since his passing but those who were around at the time didn’t need a reminder, it was tucked away in the memory bank for life. A truly brilliant and totally unplanned line.

To me he was just an incredible communicator and storyteller.

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early birds and worms: why engaging with your comms team at the start of your project really is the tastiest option

A tale of birds, worms and talking about things early on.

by Rachel Moss

“I’m not psychic!” is the clarion call of many an in-house comms pro. And, oh, if we were - wouldn’t the world be a better place?

It’s that head in your hands moment when something lands on your desk not long before it needs to go out and you’re asked to work some magic, make it look pretty – oh, and get some press coverage if you can.

If only you knew before. You could have prepared; planned a great comms approach linked to tangible objectives and done something you and your organisation would be proud of.

I hear about it so many times from PRO’s across the country – how in-house comms teams aren’t involved in projects early enough to add real value and impact.

Much of the commsforchange14 event last summer – organised jointly by the brilliant comms2point0 and the Public Sector Customer Services Forum - was built around addressing this very problem. I couldn’t go, but it looked excellent.

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your ‘cut out and keep' guide to saying NO to daft requests

No can be the hardest word. But often the kindest. Here's a cut and out and keep guide to saying no when you really do need to politely shake your head at someone you work with...

by Darren Caveney

There was once a time when many a Comms Team got a bad name for being control freaks who said no a lot. I’m glad we’ve largely moved on and become that listening, enabling service. We are gate-openers now, instead of gate-keepers, who regularly now say yes where perhaps we once said no.

But. There is still a place for ‘no’. Not least when it is a colleague asking for something daft.

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this is local comms – for local people

Some people and things in life just punch way above their weight. Orkney Islands are one. They never ceases to amaze with their greatness - like the Spartans of the comms world. Here's another example to show why...

by Kirsty Groundwater

Coming from a remote island community you get used to the good humoured “League of Gentlemen” comparisons – this is a local shop, for local people and all that.  But from a local government communications perspective, how much truth is there in that kind of statement?  Is local best?

In late 2013, local councils across the UK were in the midst of encouraging their residents to nominate their community heroes to be ‘baton bearers’ for the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay.  It was a challenge, not least in Orkney where Orcadians, although renowned for their immense community spirit and pride, are notoriously reticent to put themselves in the limelight.  This coupled with a tendency towards  a laid-back last-minute attitude to these processes led to a worried phone call from the Glasgow 2014 relay team concerned over the lack of nominations coming in from Orkney.

A well-meaning PR bod from the relay team ‘doon sooth’ suggested that perhaps they could send us a nice picture of Clyde, the Games mascot, standing (over 300 miles away) next to the Clyde in Glasgow for distribution to our local media.

Thanks, but no thanks.

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28 survival tips for a bad day and only one of them is booze

We've all been there. A shocking boss. A hopeless client. A journalist that gets the facts round their ear. It's the easiest thing in the world to have a bad day. But how to cope. One evening on Twitter we asked the questions and collected some interesting responses.

by Dan Slee 

You've had a shocker. Your boss is an idiot, your colleagues are numpties the person who you are working for don't get what you do. It's been a bad day at the office. Literally.

So, how do you cope? What do you do? How do you get over this hill without dragging everyone else in your life with you?

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winning at the unawards

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:

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