Adrian Slatcher takes a look at this year’s Big Chips.
Over the last few months it’s sometimes seemed that there are more Manchester digital tribes than the tribes of Israel. So an event that sees a coming together was long overdue. Luckily, Big Chip Awards, now in it’s 12th year, provides a regular meeting point. Now happily based in the cavernous Palace Hotel, it’s a chance to catch up with friends, colleagues, and acquaintances; reward clients and give a good night out to staff. “Black tie or dress to impress” is the somewhat loose instruction on the invite and this sense of formal-informality pervades the evening. Twitter was almost giddy with excitement in the afternoon leading up to last Thursday’s event, and by 7 o’clock the bars of Oxford Road were full of the city’s digiterati.
The Big Chip has a history all of its own, and its interesting seeing the wide range of companies and quangos that support it every year – seeing its reach range from the digital agency and marketing sectors, through to games, innovation and animation.
I’ve been attending off and on since 2004, and for me, this year felt like a vindication of something, as many of the companies who won awards were friends as well as colleagues – small start-ups, usually from Manchester’s Northern Quarter, who were now being acknowledged as doing the best work in the city.
Stardotstar won best New Media Agency, having earlier picked up awards for two very different pieces of work, Nosey Parker, their first iPhone App, and Things to Come, an eLearning tool developed for the Liverpool Phil. I was suitably humbled to get a mention from the stage for “match making” Stardotstar and Liverpool Phil at the Big Chip Awards two years ago, a very clear reminder of how often simple introductions at these events can lead not only to new partnerships, but to award-winning collaborations.
The public sector and not-for-profit sectors have often justly been criticised for the lack of focus around their web developments – but this year had not only strong shortlists, but entries that were good enough to win other categories. Thus our friends at Manchester Museums Consortium and VisitManchester won best brand development for “Creative Tourist”, and Lightbox Education won the Grand Prix for their “MP for a Week” project.
Great also to see new companies like Cahoona, Digital Blah Blah and the wonderfully named Wooshii, deserved winners along the way. There’s a full list of winners on the website, with photographs of them accepting their awards from a more-febrile-than-usual Terry Christian.
I was wondering if Terry had lost his touch when his obligatory dig at “Scousers” didn’t come till two thirds through the award categories; though Liverpool companies, as ever, were well represented at the dinner and on the shortlists.
Aftershow this year was in the dark dungeon of Copperface Jacks underneath the Palace, which given the advanced state of some people’s inebriation, was probably safer. Given the amount of Big Chips being shown off at the aftershow, I’ll be amazed if they all made it onto their respective mantelpieces in one piece. Reason enough then, to look forward to next year, and another chance to win one. Those of us in the public sector might well be eyeing up “best freelancer” award by then, as well.
Dim Sum Digital 