As a relative newbie to the world of comms, an opportunity to attend the renowned comms2point0 UnAwards on Friday 2 December was simultaneously an exciting and nerve-wracking one for me.
By Laura Roberts
(That title will make sense the further you read, I promise.)
Now in their seventh year, the UnAwards are the creation of Darren Caveney (director and owner of comms2point0) and are intended to be a more laid-back response to typical ‘black tie’ industry events. Held at the Everyman Cinema in Birmingham, complete with comfy cushioned sofas, the UnAwards are dedicated to recognising and celebrating good practice in the comms industry across public/third sector organisations. They are also an opportunity to commune and network with other comms professionals face-to-face (something we’re still trying to get back to post-Covid).
So, how did Sorted Comms come into it? Well, this year we were sponsors of the ‘Best Internal Comms’ award, and our director, Ali, was on the judging panel.
And, how did an aforementioned comms newbie like myself get a ticket?
With Ali working from Thailand at the time (one of the numerous benefits of remote working!), she wasn’t able to attend in person. The sponsorship package provided us with two tickets, so our account manager, Jo, got one, and I – by virtue of being the only other person available on the day – got the other one.
So, having secured myself a place, my thoughts turned to the following things:
- Not only would this be my first time attending the UnAwards, it would be my first time attending an in-person comms event of any kind
- I would be there representing my company, and – it later transpired – would actually be presenting the ‘Best Internal Comms’ award to the winner
- This would be the first time Jo and I would actually meet in person, having been colleagues for nearly two years
- I’ve only been to Birmingham a handful of times in my life and am not what could be confidently described as a ‘city gal’
- My transport to and from depended entirely on Avanti West Coast. Need I say more?
Needless to say, I was nervous and excited in equal measure.
The day before…
I travelled down to Birmingham on Thursday 1 December (on a train that not only wasn’t cancelled, but was also on time – hooray!) for the UnAwards social at the Indian Streatery. As Jo (a psychotherapist as well as our ops manager) had clients to see that evening, she wasn’t able to get to Birmingham from Cambridge in time for the meal. Therefore, I was going on my own.
Now, anyone who knows me would probably assume that the idea of going to a sit-down meal and knowing precisely no one else there would be wholly unappealing to me, and in most cases, they’d be correct. However, I do really like Indian food, and I wanted to be there to Represent The Company, so I suppressed my introvert tendencies and went along anyway.
And I’m really glad I did.
Firstly (and most importantly (only semi-joking)), the food was delicious, but it was also lovely to meet other comms professionals and just be around people who get what communications actually is. Often, when trying to explain my job to people, they assume I’m involved in telecomms and putting wires in sockets and all that stuff (full disclosure: I’d be terrible at that job). Although, I was assured by another attendee that the enigmatic nature of my role is actually a good thing: “All the best comms people can’t actually describe what it is that they do,” he told me. Perhaps he was just trying to put me at ease, but I’ll certainly take it!
The day of…
Armed with our pop-up banner and UnAwards flyers (carefully crafted by yours truly), Jo and I made our way across town from our hotel to the Everyman Cinema.
As previously mentioned, this was the first time Jo and I had actually physically met – a fact that was a source of much astonishment for many of the other UnAwards attendees. However – and this is testament to how well Sorted is set up for remote working – we found we had an instant rapport and got along as well as we always had done when communicating entirely virtually. In fact, one attendee commented that we seemed like the best of friends, despite technically only meeting for the first time the day before. That may have also been because of our coincidentally coordinating outfits (see photo below: Jo’s on the left, I’m on the right).
The awards ceremony itself was lovely, and – as intended – really relaxed. We were pleased to present the ‘Best Internal Comms’ award to two overjoyed members of the comms team from Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for their Black History Month campaign. Once the ceremony was over, we all sat down with gifted Cadbury’s Selection Boxes to watch this year’s film: Napoleon Dynamite*. If you were wondering why the awards are held in a cinema, that’s why! The film is a closely-guarded secret year on year (and is different every time, so I haven’t let the cat out of the bag). Kudos to Darren for choosing a film which all 140+ attendees would find entertaining.
After the film, we all had lunch and mingled, and then it was time to depart.
As someone who would have stared at you blankly if you’d mentioned press releases or case studies or anything of the sort a couple of years ago, I couldn’t have imagined I’d ever be at an event like this one. But, it was a lot of fun, and I was struck by how much I felt at home. I may still be a newbie, but I think I’m where I’m meant to be.
*For those who haven’t seen the film, one of Napoleon’s many endearing quirks is his predilection for the word “gosh” – hence the title of this blog.
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