Grosvenor House was the venue for Bauer’s annual gathering to celebrate their radio talent.
The UK’s second largest radio group brought staff together from all over the country for the ceremony, which had the highest number of entries ever this year.
Ten judging panels reviewed the best of the past 12 months in programming; sales; news; presenting; marketing; innovation and music. Performers at the event included Scouting for Girls and Sophie Ellis-Bextor and prizes on the night included trips to Berlin, Miami and Rio.
Bauer were kind enough to send us a list of their categories and the winners:
[b]Interactive Innovation of the Year[/b]
Awarded to recognise innovation in web or telephony which enhances our consumer experience.
Winner
Kiss Kube – Bauer Radio Online, for really demonstrating how radio could combine over the internet. The Judges thought the all encompassing nature of the winner really shows what radio is capable of and takes it to a totally different dimension.
[b]Charity & Community Award[/b]
Charity and our community are at the heart of what we do. This Award recognises a project or initiative which delivered stand-out benefit to the people who live in the communities we serve. Judges were looking for local success and community engagement.
Winner
Key 103's Help Harley Appeal. The Judges were not only moved by this story, but by the deep connection with listeners which was so impactful that the fundraising target was met in just three days and the community is still giving.
[b]The Next Big Thing Award[/b]
The Judges were looking for the ideas of tomorrow that could impact on either revenue and /or audience. They wanted ideas that were transformational and could be replicated across lots of stations.
Winner
Days at Rock FM, an innovative new revenue stream that really tapped into radio's local links to the community and has been replicated across other stations.
[b]Sales Person of the Year – 1m TSA and under[/b]
Here the Judges were seeking a real high performer – an individual who best demonstrates year on year revenue growth, consistency of performance and high call rates.
Winner
Neil McGregor, for growing his business by 22% year on year, hitting 12 out of 12 targets and building on a previously strong year too. The Judges were unanimous in their selection.
[b]News Team of the Year[/b]
The Judges were looking for a winner that not only showed terrific journalism by being on top of the stories and the issues affecting the daily lives of people in their area, but also a team that was absolutely immersed in the heart of its community.
Winner
CFM, for playing a pivotal role at the centre of an unfolding disaster within their community. Striking the right balance between quality journalism and reflecting the voices within the community. The Judges agreed this was local news at its finest.
[b]Unsung Hero[/b]
This award is to reward the individual who has gone the extra mile in everything that they do and enhances the performance of the team they work hard to support.
Winner
Lee Tideswell, who has seen his responsibility grow considerably. Lee's hard work and contribution has helped deliver some of our best and most innovative work. In the words of his colleagues, Lee is 'simply amazing'.
[b]Marketing Idea of the Year[/b]
The Judges were looking for brand creativity; generating talkability in the local area; memorability; and real engagement.
Winner
Radio Aire and Magic 828 – Live in a Shed. The Judges were unanimous in scoring this top marks for creativity, innovation and implementation.
[b]Sales Person of the Year – Agency[/b]
The Judges were looking for proven sales ability mixed with creative flair, revenue growth and steely determination.
Winner
Oya Mustafa – Bauer Media London, for unrivalled personal commitment to the Gatwick campaign. The Judges were also impressed with her outstanding year on year revenue performance and her overall diligence.
[b]S&P Team of the Year[/b]
This Award is to reward collaboration to create compelling engaging content and generating strong revenue growth. The Judges were looking for evidence of creative flair and strong sales nous.
Winner
Bauer Media Scotland, for delivering revenue growth in 07 and 08 and having the WOW factor. The Judges felt the team was really innovative, love what they are doing and are great representatives of Bauer Media.
[b]Creating A Difference[/b]
The Judges were looking for awe-inspiring evidence of ability to create a real difference. This Award recognises work which our competitors could only hope to deliver.
Winner
Jono Symonds & Mark Lonsdale – Viking FM and Magic 1161, for the Freedom Festival. The Judges felt the Festival put our audiences first and allowed customers to see the benefit of engaging with our listeners. The Festival created a real difference and is still the talk of the region.
[b]Commercial Creative Team of the Year[/b]
To win this Award, the team had to show how they successfully turned creative ideas into original, effective solutions for Clients whilst generating revenue against target.
Winner
Kerrang! 105.2, for a wide selection of advertisements that were funny, engaging and intelligent. The Judges noted they were all targeted at the core audience and remarkably, they were also all the work of one man, making him a very deserved winner.
[b]Sales Person of the Year – 1m TSA and over[/b]
This Award recognises our biggest station talent and is always closely fought. The Judges were looking for revenue growth and consistent performance. In an unprecedented move, the Judges called for more price trends data and call rate information to support their final decision.
Winner
Jennie Duncanson – Forth 1 and Forth 2, for an outstanding performance in one of our biggest markets.
[b]Programme Idea of the Year[/b]
This Award recognises a fantastic idea, executed brilliantly, which connected powerfully with our audiences.
Winner
One U2 360 degree – Bauer Radio Network, for bringing together all the Bauer platform teams, and played brilliantly to our creativity, production values and broadcast expertise. The Judges were impressed with this ambitious ground-breaking project, never before undertaken on this scale by a commercial radio group.
[b]Gold Award[/b]
This Award was created to recognise extraordinary talent.
Winner
Craig Lumsdaine, who has built his career at Bauer Media Scotland. He is an exceptional specialist, a great team leader and has also inspired others to do great work over the last 20 years.
[b]Music Show of the Year[/b]
This Award attracted the highest number of entries and was judged on the ability of our non-breakfast show presenters to reach out and move an audience, presentation skills and production values.
Winner
Neil Fitzmaurice, for a truly entertaining and compelling listen. The Judges thought Neil blended together music and humour to create a distinctive show in touch with his home city.
[b]Sales Team of the Year[/b]
A highly coveted award, the Judges were looking for solid determination and clear focus. They expected the Sales Director leading this team to be at the top of their game.
Winner
Wave 105, for increasing revenue by 12% while the industry at large fell around 10%. A fantastic achievement.
[b]New Talent Award[/b]
Awarded to an individual in the early stages of their Bauer career, who has grabbed the attention of the people they work with. Judges were looking for enthusiasm and determination to make an impact and create a real difference.
Winner
Alex Baker – Kerrang! 105.2 and Q Radio, for impressing everyone with a positive, proactive and energetic approach.
[b]The Outstanding Team of the Year Award[/b]
This Award recognises a significant contribution from an exceptional team. They don't make programmes and they don't sell advertising, but are critically important to the detail of our business.
Winner
Commercial Operations Sales Strategy Team, who work carefully on critically important, but not always visible work, and without whom things would grind to a painful halt.
[b]Breakfast Show of the Year[/b]
This Award reaches to the core of what we do and our breakfast shows are vital to the success of our business. Judges were looking for evidence of the 4Ps; excellent programming; real personality; reflecting the Place our listeners are waking up, and participation with audience.
Winner
Viking FM – The Paul Foster Show, for their talent, infectious energy and team chemistry. Judges agreed that the Paul Foster Show breakfast show achieved great standout in their market with consistent creativity and impressive audience figures.
[b]Programming Team of the Year[/b]
The Judges were looking for a station that demonstrated the most compelling content – from music and talent through commercial and editorial output.
Winner
Kiss 100, for shining in a competitive market and offering a distinctive, creative and quality listen. The Judges felt Kiss really understands its listeners and has a really clear vision for the brand.
[b]Station of the Year[/b]
This Award is for the whole station team which has in the round out-performed all the others.
Winner
Forth 1 and Forth 2. The Judges felt every team at this station excelled in 2009 – and were responsive to the needs of listeners and customers alike.