FRESH:creative

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 17 JULY 2009

Fresh 2009

Times may be a little tough so it’s easy to assume that your marketing budget is perhaps a little less available in this current climate. But if you haven’t the budget available then just how do you plan to promote your organisation this year?

Fame could be the answer!

We are not asking you to go and dig out your leg-warmers and start dancing on the top of taxis, but we are suggesting that an award or too to brag about is a good first step in the fight for notoriety.

Most of the industry gurus have been spouting off about the opportunity to think even more creatively during a recession and maybe that's true and maybe it isn't - but either way it's no excuse to go down without a fight - and Fresh is just the platform to help you with that this year.

The same high standards of judging will apply as will the easy online entry system, but we have made a few changes this year to help you fight the good fight - reduced entry fees - are just one of the big changes this year, and when it comes to the event later in year, we have also reduced ticket prices.

Designed to make your budgets stretch just that little bit further too, we have also ditched the traditional sit down, black tie dinner for a new, less formal approach - so no more nagging about the dress code!

The awards will take place on Wednesday 30 September at the Odeon in The Printworks and will be followed by a huge party afterwards at Tiger Tiger.

With reduced entry fees, and ticket prices, the time to gain some much needed exposure and promotion is now – and what’s more – you have until July to start thinking up some truly Fresh ideas for entries.

And if you need even more encouragement then perhaps a word from the Chair of our Design Panel, Simon Elliott of Rose Design

"Tough times. And some difficult business decisions to make. Should you:

a) Allow the doom and gloom to get the better of you. Slash your awards entry budget. Then wonder why you've dropped off some important radars in 12 months time…

b) See the doom and gloom as an essential time to raise your profile. Take advantage of the lower entry fees by submitting more work into Fresh than you did last year. And give yourself the best chance of putting your business on more radars than the DVLA!

Hmmm…Perhaps not such a difficult decision after all."

And from Bil Bungay, Beattie McGuiness Bungay, Chair of the Ad Panel

"Here’s the rub. At the last Fresh Big F, I mentioned that history has proved that difficult circumstances are excellent conditions for the nurturing of quality ideas.

And for the last few months, many of our esteemed clients will have been put in the intolerable position of having to reduce their marketing expenditure and at the same time increase the effectiveness of their communication.

In other words, we’ve been asked to come up with bigger ideas on smaller budgets. But as virals have conclusively proved – this is the polar opposite of bad news.

So believe it or not, my money is firmly on this years Fresh Awards being the finest demonstration of the collective capabilities of regional communications agencies we’ve ever had.

So make sure you don’t fail to enter all your very best work: It’s only together that we’ll have the pleasure of sticking one enormous shiny Fresh creative boot up Mr C.Crunch’s fat ass."

Enough Said!