News
It’s a dog’s life for Royvon as the Valleys business leads way at Canmol Awards
Merthyr Tydfil-based business,
Royvon Dog Boarding and Kennels was among the five winners celebrated at Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards in Cardiff
last night (06 October 2011.)
The winners included BBC Cymru Wales,
Cardiff-based AutosOnShow.TV, Bridgend-based Staedtler UK and Visit Wales in
addition to Royvon Dog Boarding Kennels.
Newport University’s Sue Cole and Jade Bourke
of DS Smith Recycling in Caerphilly were also recognised with individual Awards
for the Wales Business Insider Outstanding Contribution and New Marketer
accolades, respectively.
Richard Houdmont, Director for Wales
of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, said “All five winning campaigns illustrate
excellence in marketing through their focus on objective, exemplary execution
and return on investment (ROI.) They really sum up what the Canmol Awards are all about.
“Royvon Dog Boarding Kennels has
demonstrated how to achieve outstanding results with a small marketing budget
and in-house resources, which we hope will inspire other SMEs in Wales. As such
it is fantastic that Royvon will be representing Wales and flying the flag for
SMEs at the UK
Marketing Excellence Awards.”
Royvon Dog Boarding and Kennels, which offers
luxury accommodation and training for dogs, implemented an innovative social
media campaign to promote its services and will go on to represent Wales at The
Chartered Institute of Marketing’s UK Marketing Excellence Awards later this
year.
When it was revealed that seven out of ten dog
owners had negative feelings towards kennels, the family-run business decided
to use Facebook as a key tool to challenge this perception and engage with its
target audience.
The marketing strategy included posting daily
pictures and uploading videos of dogs to Royvon’s Facebook page. Webcams were
also set-up in various places at the kennels, to enable customers to log-on
from anywhere in the world and see their dogs through a live stream on the
website.
By ensuring that the online channels were
kept constantly updated, Royvon succeeded in reassuring dog owners that their
pets were in safe hands, while gaining the trust of potential customers who
were previously anxious about parting with their pets.
Royvon Dog Boarding and Kennels’ open, honest
and cost-effective approach to business has certainly paid off, with a 25% increase
on forward bookings compared to the same period on the previous year, while
gaining positive feedback from customers.
BBC
Cymru Wales also
impressed the judges with its Snowdonia
1890 campaign, one of the most visible in-Wales campaigns of 2010 with the
TV campaign reaching 92% of adults in Wales alone.
The main objective of the marketing campaign
was to make Snowdonia 1890 the
biggest TV event of the year for audiences in Wales. And with 564,000 weekly
viewers, it was a success.
The programme was promoted through a creative
multi-platform strategy, including a high impact TV and
radio campaign, online marketing via BBC websites and Facebook and off-air
advertising, as well as a series of PR events held in Caernarfon, Merthyr and
Cardiff.
And the results were brilliant - over
eight in ten of those questioned said they'd heard about Snowdonia 1890 via TV advertising or
trails and nearly nine in ten said they were keen to see the
programme after hearing about it.
A campaign to promote AutosOnShow.TV, a new sub brand of LifeOnShow.TV, also scooped a
Canmol Award.
The company, which provides commercial businesses
with a safe and dynamic video streaming platform, discovered that there was an
opportunity to expand the business into the automotive industry and set out to
promote its new produce.
AutosOnShow.TV implemented an integrated
communications strategy involving magazine ads in targeted trade press,
entering awards to gain credibility and a PR campaign to further promote the
product.
The business offered use of its services to
Car Dealer Magazine, ensuring that when the magazine shared videos, users were
exposed to AutosOnShow.TV branding. This not only acted as a way of engaging
with potential customers and key influencers, it created a strong relationship
with the magazine, leading to several articles about the benefit of video
streaming for car dealerships. In May 2011, AutosOnShow.TV's website was
redeveloped resulting in increased traffic and more valuable enquiries. The
number of Twitter followers has soared by 600%.
STAEDTLER
UK captured
the judges’ imaginations with its television debut in 2010 with an ad devised
specifically to meet a set of clearly defined objectives for the UK market,
including increasing UK brand awareness, reinforcing STAEDTLER’s position as
the key Back to School brand and, ultimately, increasing sales over the crucial
Back to School period.
The blacklead pencil
and Triplus brand were selected to feature in the TV ads as the products play
an essential part in the business’s performance in the UK. The products are key
performers within the retail and education sectors, which are ‘strategic
development channels’ for future growth, together representing over 60% of
STAEDTLER UK’s turnover.
The TV ad appeared 26
times over a 10 week period, reaching on average 1.566 million viewers weekly.
This resulted in sales of the Noris pencil increasing by 49% and the triples fineliners by 10%.
Visit Wales received an Award
for its marketing campaign which set out to enhance recognition and reputation
of Wales in the world through the country’s association with The Ryder Cup.
A prominent advertising campaign which featured across
TV, key city centre locations, the Severn River Crossing and Cardiff Airport,
helped to position Wales as an ambitious, clever and outward-looking nation.
This resulted in 59% of non-Welsh spectators saying that The Ryder Cup had made
them more likely to return to Wales for a break or holiday.
The campaign also succeeded in making an impact on
local residents, with 62% claiming to feel a sense of pride in their country
during the major sporting event.
Almost 70,000 mentions/images of Celtic Manor Resort,
Visit Wales and Newport were made during international TV broadcasts providing
US$9.6m (£5.9m) media value.
Now in its fourth
year, Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards
was launched by The Chartered Institute of Marketing in July 2008 to celebrate
and promote excellence in the marketing industry in Wales and to recognise the best marketers in the business.
Video interviews with the 15 finalists and winners will be
available at www.youtube.com/canmol by 10 October 2011.
Follow
@Canmol on Twitter or find Canmol:
Wales Marketing Awards on Facebook for pictures, videos and news from this year’s Awards and to
stay up-to-date with Canmol 2012.
Best of Welsh marketers 2011
The Chartered Institute of Marketing has announced its shortlist ahead of this year’s Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards, which takes place in Cardiff this month (06 October.)
The 15-strong shortlist features innovative campaigns from a number of private companies and SMEs across Wales, including Staedtler (UK) Ltd, DS Smith Recycling, Catnic, Cross Foxes, Royvon Dog Boarding & Training Kennels, Capell Cottages, AutosOnShow.TV and Capital FM.
While campaigns from South Wales Police, National Assembly for Wales, Bridgend College, BBC Cymru Wales and Visit Wales represent the public sector.
FBA Group’s entry on behalf of Ceredigion County Council and Four Communications’ on behalf of Newport City Council and Newport Unlimited were also shortlisted for the Awards, which are judged by 13 marketing and business experts* under the Chairmanship of Dr. Jonathan Deacon, Newport Business School and Chair of the Wales Board of the Institute.
Five final winners, as well as two individual awards for ‘New Marketer’ and ‘Wales Business Insider CIM Outstanding Marketer’, will be announced at an awards ceremony taking place at Cardiff’s Radisson Blu on Thursday, 06 October.
Now in its fourth year, Canmol, which means to praise in Welsh, was created in 2008 by The Chartered Institute of Marketing to celebrate and promote excellence in the marketing industry in Wales, demonstrating its commitment to raising the profile and standard of marketing in Wales, year on year.
Jonathan Deacon, Chair Judge, said: “It’s encouraging to see so many SMEs shortlisted this year, demonstrating that it is possible to produce a successful marketing campaign on a tight budget when the campaign is innovative and creative.
“As ever, shortlisting the entries was a difficult task, showing the wealth of talent within the industry in Wales, but 15 organisations and businesses stood out in particular through highlighting strategic thinking and achieving excellent results.”
Richard Houdmont, Director for Wales of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, added: “The Institute is committed to setting standards and celebrating excellence within the marketing industry and we hope these Awards will help spread best practice amongst practitioners in Wales.”
Tickets for the awards ceremony may be purchased through www.cim.co.uk/40163
Follow @Canmol on Twitter or find Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards on Facebook for the latest news and updates about the event. See interviews with last year’s winners and shortlisted entries at www.youtube.com/canmol
2011 Deadline extended to Friday 5 August
The deadline has been extended from Sunday 31 July to Friday 5 August to allow everyone to get their entries in. Good luck!
2011 Canmol Awards launch
If you're proud of your company and proud of your work then enter Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards and get the recognition you and your company deserve. Entry is entirely free of charge: visit www.canmol.com and read the advice on how to enter and upload your application. Check out the films of last year’s shortlisted candidates as well as a short film of the Awards ceremony itself at www.youtube.com/canmol.
The Awards are a celebration of excellence in ideas and execution. Our headline sponsor this year is Golley Creative and once more we are enjoying the support of Equinox Communications and the Welsh Language Board. New sponsors this year are FD Systems in association with Sage CRM Solutions sponsoring the Networking Lounge, and Yolk Recruitment are sponsoring the table drinks. There will be four awards “sans frontièrs” open to all regardless of size and sector, all equal in status. This year there’s also the Cardiff Business School Priority Sector Award for those companies in WAG’s six priority sectors (Advanced materials / manufacturing; Creative industries; Energy & environment; Financial and professional services; ICT; Life sciences). Following the success of last year’s introduction of awards for individuals we have the Wales Business Insider CIM Outstanding Marketer award and the Glamorgan Business School Marketing Subject Group New Marketer of the Year award. Shortlisted candidates will be filmed thanks to support from The Marketing Trust. As always we are grateful for the ongoing support of Genero Productions Ltd who provide technical and AV support for the Awards Ceremony.
The awards are open to everyone in Wales, from sole traders to multinational companies, “not for dividend”, third sector, public and private sector. Last year’s competition was a great success and provided the shortlisted candidates as well as the winners with an excellent PR opportunity.
The deadline for entries is 31 July 2011 but the sooner you start to prepare your aplication the better. There’s guidance on the web site at www.canmol.com and if you have any additional questions please contact Richard Houdmont (contact details below).
This year’s Awards ceremony will be held in Cardiff, 6 October 2011, at the Radisson Blu with guest speaker Guto Harri, Boris Johnson's Communications Director, and promises to be an excellent opportunity to celebrate the best in marketing. Reserve your ticket now at www.cim.co.uk/40163.
Canmol 2010: the winners
The Winners:
Marketing a multimillion-pound destination
On 22 October 2009, the £675million 1.4million square feet development St David’s opened.
The biggest retail destination to open in Europe during 2009, it was the most significant retail development to happen in Wales for 25 years. The scheme extended St David's Shopping Centre, transformed the southern end of the city, and pushed Cardiff up to number six in the Experian retail-rankings.
The St David’s launch had to meet internal corporate expectations and generate positive media coverage during the recession. It also wanted to deliver the destination that the people of Cardiff had been waiting over five years to experience.
There was a real sense of pride and anticipation from the local community that influenced the launch strategy which incorporated a distinctive fashion led advertising campaign, proactive PR and media engagement along with a high impact launch event. St David’s launched in a confident fashion on October 22 as planned, with great success.
Each element of the strategy was delivered within the set budget and achieved all objectives and clearly demonstrated ROI.
Helen Morgan, Marketing Manager at St David’s Partnership Ltd, said: “St David’s Shopping Centre opened in October 2009 so it feels great to have won a Canmol Award a year down the line in recognition of the launch. Using high fashion advertising, a catwalk event in the centre of Cardiff and effective PR, we met our main objective, which was to establish St David’s Shopping Centre as a key fashion destination. The footfall to St David’s in the opening months spoke volumes in highlighting the success of the marketing campaign.”
Brand/68 and Sport Wales goes back to school
The ‘Play to Learn’ initiative, created by Brand/68 on behalf of Sport Wales, is more than just a marketing campaign. It’s a vision that sets out to change the lives of young children through sport.
It’s all part of a big plan to unite Wales as a proud sporting nation and in order to do that children are being encouraged to participate and enjoy sport at an early age. The hope is that they will then continue to enjoy sport through to adulthood.
Brand/68 created a brand that would play a big part in engaging, stimulating and encouraging children to participate in physical activity at this crucial early age through interactive learning resources including a DVD and colourful reading materials.
Helen Thomas, Senior Officer for Sport Wales, said: “The initiative has been a huge success and we are very proud of what is one of Wales’ biggest and most important educational project to be launched in the past 10 years. Winning a Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards is a fantastic achievement; we’ve developed and delivered a product that will have a direct impact on the physical development of our children, so it feels great to have this recognition.”
Promoting The Valleys
The Valleys Heart and Soul campaign is a three year campaign led by partnership organisations from the Western Valleys, Heads of the Valleys and The Valleys Partnership which spans ten local authority areas. The area is undergoing a major transformation with a total investment of £42 million by the Welsh Assembly Government and European Union. The aim is to change perceptions of The Valleys, attract more tourists and bring long-term economic benefits to the area.
The brand was developed following research with Valleys citizens, a powerful positioning of ‘Heart and Soul’ was agreed to reflect the warmth of Valleys people, strong sense of community and the area's unique industrial past.
The Heart and Soul campaign is now approaching the end of the first year in which a fully integrated online and offline campaign has been implemented with innovative marketing techniques, effective PR and social media engagement ranging from an interactive VQ test to creating the official Valleys ice cream.
A high profile concert by The Lostprophets in support of the campaign is just one of fifty Heart and Soul events that have been held across The Valleys. It has also helped fund initiatives such as the Only Boys Aloud scheme to invigorate the Male Voice Choir Tradition which has gained national interest, brought JLS to Pontypridd and Will Young to Ebbw Vale.
The campaign uses both citizens and celebrities as ambassadors for The Valleys and created strong working partnerships with a number of organisations such as Keep Wales Tidy, Sustrans and The Environment Agency to encourage more and more people to get out and about in the naturally beautiful environment of The Valleys.
So far the PR element alone is currently measuring 1:17.4 ROI, the website has received more than 24,000 unique visitors and 46% of 16-34 year olds are aware of the campaign.
Vicki Spencer, Campaign Manager for The Valleys – Heart and Soul, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won a Canmol: Wales Marketing Award, it really is the icing on top of what has been a great first year for the campaign. From high profile events with Only Men Aloud and the Lostprophets, launching our social media channels ‘Love The Valleys’ and generating positive PR, the campaign has already achieved in changing perception of The Valleys and attracting more people to visit the area.”
From cheese to trampolines, with some help from eBay
Back in 2005, Atlantic Industries, based in Pembrokeshire, owned and operated two large cheese maturation warehouses in Pembroke Dock. After one of the stores became available for redevelopment and using eBay as a successful marketing tool, Atlantic Trampolines was born.
The estimated number of trampolines installed in UK gardens exceeds three to four million and with no major UK trampoline presence online the diversification of the company offered Atlantic scope for a sizeable turnover from not only the new products but the supply of spare parts.
Atlantic launched its website in 2006, however it still uses eBay to promote its product, as well as developing sales channels and seeking new ones. Apart from the website and eBay, additional marketing channels include press advertising, attending county shows, magazine competitions and an email newsletter.
Andrew Jardine, Managing Director at Atlantic Trampolines, said: “We identified a gap in the market by starting a business selling trampolines and developed a marketing strategy to best promote this product. We’ve had a successful few years so winning a Canmol Award in recognition of the team’s hard work and creativity shows that it really pays off. We have lots of fresh ideas for our company’s marketing moving forward, so hopefully we’ll be back winning another Award next year!”
Ethos Creative builds business on back of marketing campaign
During economic uncertainty Ethos Creative prepared an integrated communications plan to grow the Ethos brand and win contracts over bigger and more established agencies. Challenged with a small budget, the business developed a cost effective approach, which led to excellent results.
To enhance their brand reputation and credibility, Ethos Creative associated themselves with successful and high profile brands, by creating materials for high profile events, including BAFTA, in return for sponsorship. They also used digital and social networking to meet perspective clients and entered into trade awards and competitions to gain recognition for their work.
Ross Hutchins, Director at Ethos Creative, said: “This is has been a very successful campaign for us and winning a Canmol Award is testament to this, since one of our objectives was to gain recognition through industry awards and competitions. We gained 18 new customers as a result of the campaign, increased business from existing customers by 39%, increased in profitability, generated an increase in visitors to our website and also recruited two new members of staff.”
Top Welsh marketers celebrated at Canmol
Marketing professionals from across Wales gathered at Cardiff’s Parc Thistle Hotel for the Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards, sponsored by the University of Wales, Newport.
Five winning campaigns from St David’s Partnership Ltd, Sport Wales (working with Brand/68), The Valleys – Heart and Soul, Atlantic Trampolines Ltd and Ethos Creative scooped Canmol trophies at the event for showing innovative use of marketing and excellent results.
Now in their third year, the Canmol Awards were launched by The Chartered Institute of Marketing in July 2008 to celebrate and promote excellence in the marketing industry in Wales and to recognise the best marketers in the business.
New additions to Canmol 2010 were two awards to recognise a marketer demonstrating great potential early in their career, while the other celebrates an individual’s contribution to the industry. Construction Youth Wales’ Lisa Marie Brown took the title of best ‘New Marketer’, while Roger Pride of Visit Wales was honoured with the title of ‘Outstanding Contribution’, for his active championing of the marketing profession in Wales and particularly within the Welsh Assembly Government.
Thirteen marketing experts* judged the entries under the Chairmanship of Dr Jonathan Deacon, Newport Business School and Chair of the Wales Board of the Institute, and with no categories or boundaries, the judges were looking for innovative marketers demonstrating integrated campaigns and brilliant results.
Dr Jonathan Deacon said: “It was great to see such diverse campaigns making the shortlist this year, from the launch of a cheese maturation turned trampoline company in west Wales to the opening of the biggest retail development in 2009. With budgets starting from as little as £200, Canmol truly captured innovative marketers from across Wales.
“It was a very difficult task selecting the winners from a wealth of excellent campaigns, however five entries stood out in particular for their creative, innovative and strategic thinking, as well as their ability to achieve brilliant results. The winners tonight really are the best in the business and deserve recognition.”
Both St David’s Partnership Ltd and The Valleys – ‘Heart and Soul’ impressed the judges for their integrated marketing campaigns using PR, online, social media, advertising and events to launch a Cardiff shopping centre and to promote The South Wales Valleys as a prime tourism destination.
While Llantrisant-based Ethos Creative scooped an Award for its campaign to enhance its brand and to increase its customer base through digital and social networking, sponsorship of prestigious events, including BAFTA Cymru and through entering competitions and awards to gain recognition within the industry.
Brand/68 and Sport Wales captured the judges’ imaginations with their ‘Play to Learn’ initiative, which used interactive materials to engage young children in sport. And, Atlantic Trampolines demonstrated entrepreneurial thinking and strategic marketing when they launched their trampoline company through eBay, which also led them to winning a Canmol Award.
Richard Houdmont, Director for Wales of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, commented: “Canmol is going from strength to strength year on year, generating fantastic entries. This year’s winners sum up what the Canmol Awards are all about, from budgets great and small, from corporate to quirky, Canmol has no boundaries or limits, it’s simply a celebration of outstanding marketing in Wales.
“This year we also wanted to recognise the individuals who are playing a part in taking the marketing industry in Wales forward. Lisa Brown has demonstrated her commitment, hard work and creativity within the industry which is why she was awarded New Marketer, while Roger Pride’s strategic and creative vision within the tourism sector in Wales made him a deserving winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award.”
The headline sponsor of the event was the University of Wales, Newport. Other sponsors included Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg/The Welsh Language Board and Equinox Communications, with additional support from Brand/68, The CIM Charitable Trust and Genero Productions Ltd, Research & Marketing Group, and Inka.
Find Canmol on Facebook and follow @Canmol on Twitter for pictures, videos and news from this year’s Awards, and to stay up-to-date with Canmol 2011.
Best of Welsh marketers shortlisted for Canmol Awards
The Chartered Institute of Marketing has revealed its shortlist for the Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards 2010, which includes 15 diverse campaigns from organisations and businesses across Wales.
From a cheese maturation turned trampoline company in west Wales to the opening of the biggest retail development in 2009, the entries were judged and shortlisted by 13 marketing experts* under the Chairmanship of Jonathan Deacon, Newport Business School and Chair of the Wales Board of the Institute.
The 15-strong shortlist features innovative campaigns from five public-sector organisations, including South Wales Police, Welsh Assembly Government, Wrexham County Borough Council, Traveline Cymru and GwirVol (Wales Council for Voluntary Action.)
Cardiff-based companies Ethos Creative, Brand/68 (on behalf of the Sports Council of Wales), Severnside Recycling and St David's Partnership Ltd, and west Wales based Self-Catering for Softies, Pugh Computers and Atlantic Trampolines Ltd, have also been shortlisted for the Awards.
The judges were also impressed by creative campaigns from Newport City Homes, Brecon based Ty-Mawr Lime Ltd and Royal Sportsman Hotel in Porthmadog.
Five final winners, as well as two individual awards, new to 2010, recognising an ‘Outstanding Contribution’ to Marketing and a ‘New Marketer’, will be announced at an awards ceremony taking place at
Now in their third year, Canmol, which means to praise in Welsh, were created in 2008 by The Chartered Institute of Marketing to celebrate and promote excellence in the marketing industry in
Unlike usual Awards schemes with fixed categories to cover specific sectors, Canmol is unique as they operate without categories, limits or boundaries. Judging criteria is based upon evidence of planning, delivery/excellence in execution, innovation and effectiveness or return on investment.
Jonathan Deacon, Chairman of the judging panel, said: “Once again, we were extremely impressed with the high standard of entries to the Canmol Awards, which only goes to show the level of marketing talent that we have to celebrate in
“Shortlisting the applicants was a difficult task, however 15 companies stood out for their creative, innovative and strategic thinking in marketing, as well as their ability to achieve brilliant results.”
Richard Houdmont, Director for
Tickets for the awards ceremony may be purchased through www.cim.co.uk/32509 or by calling 01628 427340. Find Canmol on Facebook and follow @Canmol on Twitter for all the latest news and updates.
The headline sponsor of the event is the
Case Studies:
An honest approach to business
Launched in 2005, Self-Catering for Softies offer 5 star accommodation in west
The campaign of the family-run business aimed to provide guests with an ‘above and beyond’ service, through offering personalised responses to all queries, informative and friendly emails and letters throughout the booking process, a welcome pack including the history of the guests’ surname/s, as well as providing guests with hampers of locally-sourced food, drinks and toiletries on arrival.
Following the loss of her father, owner, Anne Owen Taylor, became a full time carer to her mother, which led to the business offering a small number of free weekends in shoulder seasons for carers who would not otherwise have a break.
The campaign had no budget as such, apart from the dedication and time of the business. And as a result of the campaign’s personal and honest approach, the business maintained its 5 star grading, achieved turnover of £30,035 in 2008/09, and achieved a 225% increase in the number of repeat bookings in 2010.
Promoting The Valleys
The Valleys Heart and Soul campaign is a three year campaign led by partnership organisations from the
The brand was developed following research with Valleys citizens, a powerful positioning of ‘Heart and Soul’ was agreed to reflect the warmth of Valleys people, strong sense of community and the area's unique industrial past.
The Heart and Soul campaign is now approaching the end of the first year in which a fully integrated online and offline campaign has been implemented with innovative marketing techniques, effective PR and social media engagement ranging from an interactive VQ test to creating the official Valleys ice cream.
A high profile concert by The Lostprophets in support of the campaign is just one of fifty Heart and Soul events that have been held across The Valleys. It has also helped fund initiatives such as the Only Boys Aloud scheme to invigorate the Male Voice Choir Tradition which has gained national interest, brought JLS to Pontypridd and Will Young to Ebbw Vale.
The campaign uses both citizens and celebrities as ambassadors for The Valleys and created strong working partnerships with a number of organisations such as Keep Wales Tidy, Sustrans and The Environment Agency to encourage more and more people to get out and about in the naturally beautiful environment of The Valleys.
So far the PR element alone is currently measuring 1:17.4 ROI, the website has received more than 24,000 unique visitors and 46% of 16-34 year olds are aware of the campaign.
Marketing a multimillion-pound destination
On 22 October 2009, the £675million 1.4million square feet development St David’s opened.
The biggest retail destination to open in Europe during 2009, it was the most significant retail development to happen in
The St David’s launch had to meet internal corporate expectations and generate positive media coverage during the recession. It also wanted to deliver the destination that the people of
There was a real sense of pride and anticipation from the local community that influenced the launch strategy which incorporated a distinctive fashion led advertising campaign, proactive PR and media engagement along with a high impact launch event. St David’s launched in a confident fashion on October 22 as planned, with great success.
Each element of the strategy was delivered within the set budget and achieved all objectives and clearly demonstrated ROI.
Using marketing to fight crime on a small budget
South Wales Police, like many other public-sector organisations, faced unprecedented financial challenges over the past year, and so required a new marketing approach to work as efficiently as possible.
Named Operation 14000 to reflect the reduction in crimes throughout South Wales in 2009/10 compared to 2008/09, the campaign planned to target the most wanted criminals in south
The ‘enforcement’ side of the operation was backed up by a £200 marketing budget that embraced elements of direct marketing, public relations, and e-marketing. A ‘simple’ promotional flyer was distributed that explained the operation, and encouraged further communication via South Wales Police’s neighbourhood policing website ourbobby.com
The overall operational objective was to arrest those responsible for criminal activity, and the 212 arrest total represented a 112 increase in arrests made compared to the same period in 2009. The arrests made resulted in 120 crimes being detected and a detection rate of 43%, compared to the 30% force wide average for 2009/10.
The 2009 winners comment on the benefits of winning
Winning a Canmol was a huge honour and provided recognition for the work of our front line staff at South Wales Police. It has certainly increased the standing of marketing in our organisation and was a catalyst to the development of many new marketing initiatives, and importantly improvements in service delivery for our communities.
Winning a Canmol has significantly boosted my marketing profile, and the work it recognised has been shared with other police forces and partner organisations across Wales and the UK.
The award has raised the profile of South Wales Police on a national scale and has opened up contacts with marketing professionals from across the UK, even contributing to the first ever Marketing Week feature article on the role of marketing in modern policing.
James Harper, Neighbourhood Policing Marketing Officer, Corporate Communications Dept., South Wales Police.
Winning the CANMOL marketing award last year was a great achievement for us, we had received international recognition for the Happy Days campaign within the library sector but it was fantastic to be on par with businesses from other sectors and to gain accreditation in Wales for the work we do across Wales. The award has encouraged colleagues to get on board with other projects and we look forward to hearing about this year's winners.
Jane Purdie, Libraries for Life, Marketing Project Officer, Leisure, Libraries & Culture Dept., Wrexham County Borough Council
Winning the 2009 Canmol Award for Marketing in Wales was the icing on the cake of a fantastic year for GreenThumb. Coming on the back of a BFA Brand Builder Award 3 months earlier, the award was recognition of the hard work we had invested in the business over the previous 12 months. It has impacted on both GreenThumb as a franchisor, as everyone wants to be associated with a double award winning franchise, but also on our franchisees, who respect the work we are doing and are more prepared to listen to our advice.
It has also made asking for marketing spend a little easier, although the expectations are much higher.
David Collison, Marketing Manager, GreenThumb
It was a wonderful accolade to have won a coveted Canmol award. Not only did it reaffirm the strength of our strategic marketing programme, but it also underlines the relevance of branding and marketing in achieving commercial success. In these times of economic uncertainty, many businesses adopt an embargo on marketing spend in order to safeguard funds, not realizing the detrimental affect this can have to the long-term commercial viability of the business. I hope that what the Princes Gate Spring Water Canmol Award demonstrates, is that a good marketing plan can be achieved with a relatively small budget… it takes a stronger marketer to initiate innovative programmes on a shoestring, than to activate brands with big budgets!
Nicola Merriman, Marketing Manager, Princes Gate Spring Water
Winning a Canmol Wales Marketing Award was the culmination and recognition of twelve months hard work for the marketing team at Catnic.
The award generated good press coverage for the whole organisation and helped elevate the position of the department within the business resulting in renewed confidence in our investment in marketing.
On a personal level it has helped me elevate my position and market myself to the wider marketing fraternity. As a result of the achievement I am now regularly consulted for guidance on marketing issues within other parts of our Global organisation and have the satisfaction of adding a recognised accomplishment from a credible industry marketing body to my career achievements.
Barry Jenkins, Marketing Manager, Catnic
Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards Ceremony 2010
The Chartered Institute of Marketing are pleased to announce that the Awards ceremony for Canmol 2010 will be held on Thursday 7 October 2010 in Cardiff. The deadline for entries is slightly earlier this year: 31 July 2010. This year, two new additional prizes will be awarded, for Outstanding Achievement and Young Marketer of the year.
Our after-dinner speaker this year is Chris Corcoran who earlier this year toured major venues across Wales with his first full-length show What goes on Tour, Stays on Tour. Chris has also been busy writing the second series of the sitcom, Those That Can't with Greg Davies, for BBC Radio Wales.
On Saturday mornings he continues to co-host Rhod Gilbert's BBC Radio Wales Radio Show and has also previously fronted two documentary series: Nice Club, No Trouble and Chris Corcoran's Club Cultures.
Chris is regularly gigging at some of the best comedy clubs in the country such as The Banana Cabaret and The Glee Club and he supported Rob Brydon on his live tour in 2009.
MC for the evening is Bethan Rhys Roberts, BBC Radio and S4C television presenter. The evening closes with music provided by James Williams from the 2008 X-Factor.
Video of the 2009 Awards Ceremony
Canmol: 2008 Awards Ceremony Photos
Click here to see pictures of the 2008 Awards Ceremony.
Best in the business celebrated at the Canmol Awards 2009
Marketing professionals from around Wales gathered at Cardiff’s Park Plaza last night (15 October) for the Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards, sponsored by University of Wales. Newport.
Five winners, including Princes Gate Spring Water, Catnic (Corus UK), South Wales Police, Wrexham County Borough Council and GreenThumb Ltd scooped Canmol trophies at the event, now in its second year.
Launched in July 2008, Canmol was created by The Chartered Institute of Marketing to celebrate and promote excellence in the marketing industry in Wales and to recognise the crème de la crème of marketing practitioners.
Thirteen marketing experts* judged the entries under the Chairmanship of Jonathan Deacon, Newport Business School and Chair of the Wales Board of The Institute, and with no categories or boundaries, the judges were looking for innovative marketers demonstrating integrated campaigns and brilliant results.
Jonathan Deacon said: “Following the success of the first Canmol Awards, we had high expectations for Canmol 2009, and we were not disappointed. There was a tremendous buzz around the awards and an immense sense of pride from the 15 shortlisted companies. It was a very difficult task selecting the winners from a wealth of excellent campaigns, however five entries stood out in particular for their creative, innovative and strategic thinking, as well as their ability to achieve brilliant results often with reduced budgets.”
Caerphilly based Catnic (Corus UK), a leading brand in the building products sector, stood out for the re-launch of its lintel range, while north Wales based lawn care company, GreenThumb Ltd, captured the judges imaginations with its cartoon advertising campaign. Narberth based water manufacturer, Princes Gate Spring Water, impressed judges with its rebrand to appeal to 25 to 34 year old women, while South Wales Police’s campaign to raise awareness of its citizen focused policing approach demonstrated brilliant results and Wrexham County Borough Council scooped an award for its Happy Days library promotion campaign.
Richard Houdmont, Director for Wales of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, commented: “We were delighted by the success of the first Canmol Awards in 2008, and now in their second year they have continued to grow, generating an incredibly high standard of entries and gaining support from marketing professionals across Wales. Proving that Wales is rich in creative and marketing talent and you don’t need a big budget or a huge team to get results.
“This year’s Canmol Awards have set the standard for marketing professionals, while celebrating excellence within the marketing industry and we hope these awards will help spread best practice amongst practitioners in Wales.”
The headline sponsor of the event was the University of Wales, Newport. Other sponsors included Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg/ The Welsh Language Board.
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Winners:
GreenThumb Ltd captured the judges’ imaginations with its innovative cartoon advertising campaign. As the UK’s largest lawn care company, GreenThumb treats the lawn of almost 400,000 customers through its network of 193 franchised outlets.
In order to stay ahead of the competition, a new approach to marketing was created; bringing to life a series of lawn related fictional characters in computer generated 3D rendered animation. The ‘nasty lawn bug’, ‘big bully weed’, ‘moss monster’ and ‘lawn hero’ were created to engage with consumers, whilst also educating and entertaining.
David Collison, Marketing Manager at GreenThumb Ltd, said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised by Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards for our hard work over the past 12 months. We needed a way to ensure that stood out from our competitors and continued to be viewed as different. And despite the economic climate GreenThumb has still grown by 20% this year and we are on target for reaching our 400,000th customer by the end of the year.
“We planned and devised a new and innovative marketing strategy that would appeal not only to our franchisees, but more importantly to the millions of homeowners who love their lawns. We introduced a style of advertising that was striking, informative, and unique to GreenThumb- our cartoon animations. The opportunities were endless and our customers engaged.”
Wrexham County Borough Council scooped an award for its Happy Days library promotion campaign on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. The campaign encouraged people to take a fresh look at their library and demonstrated the ways that libraries can make people happy, resulting in an all Wales ‘Top 10’ list.
The campaign was aimed at existing and potential library users in public libraries and at students in further and higher education institutions. The overall objectives were to increase visitor figures and to help shift public perception about the library brand. A variety of marketing techniques were used to highlight the benefits of using the library and provide a call to action to visit the library.
Jane Purdie, Marketing Project Officer for the Libraries for Life programme based at Wrexham County Borough Council, said: “The Happy Days campaign really demonstrated how libraries can have a positive effect on people’s lives. It appealed to all ages and helped shift public perceptions of the library brand. The promotional materials and messages have continued to be used after the campaign and the legacy of the stories and survey results will be of use for future campaigns.”
Princes Gate Spring Water impressed the judges with its re-brand to increase appeal to 25 to 34 year old women, the dominant consumer of bottled water. The company underwent a complete overhaul, to include a re-brand, a portfolio revision, and the launch of an innovative marketing strategy.
Nicola Merriman, Marketing Manager for Princes Gate Spring Water, said: “We’re delighted to have won a Canmol Award, as it’s such a prestigious awards ceremony. It has been a phenomenal time for Princes Gate Spring Water, as the brand has gone from strength to strength - largely as a result of the well received re-launch. We are testimony to the fact that you don’t have to operate within National or Multi-National organisations to build strong brands and execute innovative - not to mention cost-effective - marketing campaigns.”
Catnic stood out for the re-launch of its lintel range, which integrated both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the requirements of its audience groups and target communications to meet them. The changes proved to be highly successful in the market place with literature requests increasing across the board by between 6% for a hard copy of the Lintel Product Selector to over 40% for the Trade Price List downloads.
Barry Jenkins, Marketing Manager at Catnic, said: “Winning a Canmol Award is an excellent opportunity to showcase the success of our marketing campaign and to boost Catnic’s company profile. It is testament to the team that have worked hard to uphold the long tradition of marketing genius that has seen Catnic maintain the status of market leaders for more than 40 years.”
South Wales Police impressed the judges for raising awareness of its citizen focused policing approach. This type of service change requires a new type of officer that is empowered to put customers first and process second. The main objective was to increase the awareness and understanding of officers on customer-focused approaches to service delivery, through the design and delivery of a training and engagement seminar.
James Harper, Marketing Officer at South Wales Police, said on behalf of the delivery team: “We wanted a new type of police officer that put customers first and process second and therefore needed a new type of training product for South Wales Police. The ‘Citizen Focus Engagement Seminars’ for front line officers built up awareness on customer focused approaches to service delivery and provided them with new skills on marketing and communication. It was all about understanding our staff better and getting them directly involved in improving service. This was achieved through unleashing their potential with leadership training and empowering them to be brand ambassadors.”