Bucks Business Awards: Sponsor in the Spotlight

With less than four weeks to go until the big day, we feature Cube Video, Evolution International, Mix 96 and Wycombe District Council.

Is it just us getting excited about the Buckinghamshire Business Awards? Not according to our Twitter notifications, which are full of awards finalists posting excited messages and memes as they gear up for the biggest and best business awards ceremony in the county!

But this article isn’t about the finalists, their night will come on October 9th at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury.

This article is the latest in our series highlighting our fantastic awards sponsors, without whom we would not be able to stage the awards in the first place.

Also, don’t miss your chance to advertise in our awards programme or donate a prize for our charity raffle at the ceremony. Read on for all the details!

Mix 96 – sponsors of the Excellence in Customer Service Award

Words by Max Hailey, Managing Director, Mix 96

What does it mean to Mix 96 to be involved with the Buckinghamshire Business Awards?

We are once again delighted to support and be involved with the Buckinghamshire Business Awards. As a Buckinghamshire-based company, it’s just a thrill to see so many exciting and vibrant businesses across our county making a difference.

Why did you want to sponsor the Excellence in Customer Service Award in particular?

We love this category. Customer service is everything and if firmly put at the core of your operation will enable you to thrive and deliver more against the competition. It’s important to highlight when companies get it right and to celebrate it, because so often it can be overlooked.

What characteristics stand out amongst the finalists in your category?

It was really tough this year but we’ve been really impressed by SMEs in Buckinghamshire using technology to improve their customer service experience.

Will Mix96 be represented at the awards ceremony on October 9th?

We’ll be there on the Mix 96 table! Apologies for the noise in advance, we work in radio so we are all really loud. We are really looking forward to seeing the best of Buckinghamshire and celebrating their business success.

Wycombe District Council – sponsors of the Best in Wycombe District Award

Words from Jacqueline Ford, Economic Development Officer, Wycombe District Council

What does it mean to Wycombe District Council to be involved with the Buckinghamshire Business Awards?

We have been a proud sponsor of the awards since they started, moving from the Small Business of the Year category to ‘Best in District’ when this was created. The awards offer a great opportunity to meet with businesses from different sectors and of all sizes across the district and celebrate their innovation, plans for growth and staff development, and learn about how they give back to their local communities too. We are inspired by our businesses and learn something new on every visit!

How would you characterise the business community in Wycombe?

Wycombe district has a fantastic business community – with particular sector strengths in advanced engineering, technology, pharma/life sciences and food-based industries. Being part of the ‘Entrepreneurial Heart of Britain’, we also have a vibrant small business and creative sector that we are supporting through our new DesBox accommodation scheme.

What characteristics stand out amongst the finalists in your category?

The diversity of businesses that apply for this award each year makes identifying a shortlist and then finalists a real challenge – and 2019 was no different! This year we were impressed by our finalists’ innovation that not only set them apart from their industry peers, but also makes them true exemplars in the wider business community in the district too.

For example, the innovative use of new video call technology by Zenopa that has led to company growth; the innovative use of sales data to help inform buyers and innovative marketing collateral by U-Fit Drinks that has led to significant company growth; and the innovative approach to staff development by Seymour Taylor to look at both the ‘person’ and the ‘professional’ that has helped embed their corporate values and grow business.

What are you looking forward to about the evening of the awards ceremony?

The awards ceremony is always a truly positive and inspiring evening – and we are really looking forward to being there. We not only get to celebrate our finalists, but get to celebrate the best in Buckinghamshire.

Cube Video – production partner filming the awards ceremony

Words from the team at Cube Video

What does it mean to Cube Video to be involved with the Buckinghamshire Business Awards?

As a local business, we really believe in working with and supporting other local businesses, so the awards give us a platform to meet other local businesses and professionals. It is a great evening to celebrate the achievements of fellow Buckinghamshire businesses. We enjoy seeing all the nominees and winners and it's a good place to network and discuss future collaborations.

As a previous winner of a Buckinghamshire Business Award, can you explain how much it means to win one and what it does to the reputation of a business?

Winning a Buckinghamshire Business Award (New Business of the Year in 2017) really helped Cube Video to gain more local exposure as a business, as well as open up more opportunities with bigger businesses. As our CEO, James Hakesley, has lived in Buckinghamshire all his life, we find it important to continue to grow and develop within the local space. Outside of Buckinghamshire, it also gave us an accolade to further promote and endorse our business, winning us many more nationwide projects.

What are you looking forward to most about the awards evening?

The Buckinghamshire Business Awards are a highlight in our events calendar and this year we are excited to be the official video partner. We are looking forward to capturing the magic of the night and all of the fabulous local businesses, finalists and winners.

We love to meet the nominees and to mingle with more like-minded local businesses from Buckinghamshire. It's always great to see who wins and to see the growth of the previous winners. And of course, it's a fun annual night out for our team and a good excuse to do some outside-of-work team building over some nice food and wine!

Evolution International - production partner filming finalist's 'showcase' videos and providing technical support at the ceremony

Words from Andi Swain, CEO, Evolution International

What does it mean to Evolution International to be involved with the Buckinghamshire Business Awards?

As a local SME of 17 years standing, delivering awards shows across the UK and beyond, it’s both exciting and gratifying to play such a key role in our own county’s business awards. We’ve provided support of one kind or another for the past ten years or so and the exposure has truly put us on the business map across the region.

What do you enjoy most about visiting each finalist to create the videos we will see on awards night?

Despite the hectic schedule (and scheduling!) and the dashing around all points of the county to film the 35 finalists across two weeks, we love this part of the job! The sheer diversity of the organisations, businesses and people that we meet is amazing – businesses that we would never otherwise come across (a good reason to enter the awards by the way!). We’ve made some good friends and struck up some great business relationships over the years. And seeing the results of our efforts on the big screen on awards night makes all that hard work worthwhile; it’s very rewarding for our film team.

What is your favourite thing about providing all of the technical support on the night of the Buckinghamshire Business Awards?

The Waterside Theatre is a terrific venue – big stage, big amphitheatre, big everything! Its state-of-the-art kit and technical team are both excellent, but there are a few gaps when it comes to the specialist services required for a high profile awards show like this and we are delighted to be able to provide that bit of extra support. Our team loves working with the gang at the theatre (many of our crew started out in theatre) and I’m sure they share a few stories about the differences between the theatrical and corporate customers and events they deliver.  

Get an advert in our Buckinghamshire Business Awards literature

Awards programme

A half-page ad in the Business Awards programme distributed to all 250 guests at the ceremony. £100 cost. Email awards@bbf.uk.com for more details.

Post-Awards newspaper supplement

Discounted rate for members of £131 for one inclusion in our Bucks Free Press newspaper supplement. For dimensions and further information, email awards@bbf.uk.com.

Donate a raffle prize for a charity draw at the Buckinghamshire Business Awards

We are holding a raffle in support of Macmillan Cancer Support at the Buckinghamshire Business Awards on October 9th. We are seeking donations of prizes, such as: hampers; wine; pamper sessions; overnight stays; experiences such as a balloon ride, wine tasting or cocktail making; and meals out.

Please note: we are not seeking money-off vouchers/discounts.

Email awards@bbf.uk.com with details of your prize or for more information.