BAHBAs 2008

Brighton has talent – as the shortlist for this year’s Brighton and Hove Business Awards certainly demonstrates.

Some of the Brighton’s biggest and best – and youngest and newest – make the list of 33 finalists.
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The Most Awesome Use of Digital Media

Brighton has long enjoyed its reputation as the digital hub of the UK, being known the world over as Silicon Beach.

Now local digital media companies are being encouraged to have their work recognised by entering the Most Awesome Use of Digital Media category in the Brighton and Hove Business Awards – the BAHBAs.

The new award has been sponsored by the one of the UK’s leading specialist social media agencies, Nixon McInnes. The judges will be looking to identify those individuals, companies and organisations which do most to raise the bar and enhance Brighton’s reputation for delivering digital goodness on a global scale.

Will McInnes, managing director of NixonMcInnes, said: “Being a Brighton business to our very core, we are fiercely proud of the BAHBAs as a different, riotous and much-deserved celebration of the city’s business community. Brighton is one of the most exciting cities in the coutnry and we expect to see some stunning and innovative work submitted for this award.”

Now in their fifth year, the BAHBAs are firmly established as the city’s premier business awards scheme – with more entries than any similar schemes. Designed to raise awareness and to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of Brighton & Hove, the BAHBAs acknowledge and celebrate those companies, organisations and individuals who are helping to build the Brighton brand.

Closing date for the Awards is 10 July. Enter online at www.bahba.co.uk

The awards take place on Friday 26 September and will once more be staged in the Oxford Room of the Hilton Brighton Metropole

NixonMcInnes is a specialist social media agency that enables major international brands to make sense of new forms of online social media and technology and then harness them to improve their relationships with the world. Current clients include MoreThan, O2, Fat Face, Thomas Cook Group, University of Southampton, Stannah Stairlifts, BMW, Barclays Bank and Family Investments.

The 2008 BAHBAs were officially launched at the Queens Hotel on Wednesday 7 May at a party that was attended by many of the city’s leading businesspeople including the sponsors, judges and last year’s winners and finalists.

Chairman of the judges, Tony Mernagh, the Executive Director of the Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership (BHEP), said how much he was looking forward to reviewing the entries, meeting the potential winners and encouraged all those at the reception to get busy and enter.

Caraline Brown, Awards organiser, said: “The BAHBAs have certainly claimed a place in the hearts of the Brighton business community. We are proud of the fact that the Awards attract entries from organisations both large and small, new and established.”

Will McInnes, managing director of NixonMcInnes, proudly unveiled the scheme’s brand new web site which has been redesigned to take full account of the latest digital media tools such as blogging and Facebook.

He said: “Being a Brighton business to our very core, we are fiercely proud of the BAHBAs as a different, riotous and much-deserved celebration of the city’s business community.”

Royal Mail, iCrossing, Allied Irish Bank and the Brighton & Hove Leader Group are all on board as sponsors for the 2008 Brighton & Hove Business Awards - the BAHBAs.

The Awards were officially launched at the Queens Hotel on Wednesday 7 May at a party that was attended by many of the city’s leading businesspeople including the sponsors, judges and last year’s winners and finalists.

The new sponsors take on the following categories

• Royal Mail      The New Kids on the Block

• Allied Irish Bank         The Best Place to Work

• iCrossing        The Outstanding Brightonian Award

Chairman of the 2008 BAHBA judging panel will be Tony Mernagh, the Executive Director of the Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership (BHEP).

Tony said how much he was looking forward to reviewing the entries and meeting the potential winners.

The core judging panel has been drawn from a cross section of the business community to provide a well-balanced and informative opinion as to who should make our 2008 list of finalists.

These include:

• Martyn Willis, managing director of the The Argus
• Alan McCarthy, B&H City Council
• Phil Green, Managing Director of MDHub, and Andrew Toal, Head of Business Services at the University of Brighton both of whom have both been judges since the beginning of the competition.
• Suzanne Heaven, Regional Managing Director, Archant Life South East
• Mike Herd, director, Sussex Innovation Centre