A stellar line up of industry leaders has been lined up to judge the 2012 Media Innovation Awards.  The panel of creative and digital media experts includes:

Ravi Amaratunga from Channel 4

Adam Powers from international communications agency Bartle, Bogle & Hegarty

Shirani Sabaratnam from UKTV

Bill Lawrence a Director of Creative England and film industry partnership Reel Solutions

Mark McKeever from web development agency bit10

Matthew Annal from games studio Nitrome

Linsay Duncan, co-founder of marketing consultancy Marke2ing

Ben Tomlinson, Creative Director of Poke

Daniel Campbell, Art Director at WGSN

The Chair of the panel will be Stephen Gray, founder of digital agency Stickee, and more judges will be announced later this month for the competition which celebrates the most innovative work produced by media, design and music companies during 2011.

The competition is open to all members of creative networks and clusters in the South West as well as their clients.  If you run a business that has recently published a new website, run a marketing campaign or launched a new brand and you’ve commissioned the work from a company based in the South West then you’re urged to enter the competition by the deadline of 28^th February. You can enter online or download an entry pack from www.mediainnovationawards.com. Companies and individuals can enter up to five categories and the search is on for the most innovative New Talent and the company or person worthy of the Most Outstanding Contribution to Innovation award.  

The glitzy award ceremony will take place in Bristol in the Autumn and the 16 categories in the 2012 awards are:

Television, Video or Film Website Design and Use

Mobile Application Graphics

Animation Installation/Exhibition/Live Events

Radio/Audio/Music Games Design

Branding Marketing and Advertising B2B

Marketing and Advertising B2C Collaboration between Business and Young People

International Trade Entrepreneurship

New Talent Outstanding Contribution to Innovation

Karen Stockdale from the Media Innovation Awards said: “We’re honoured to have such eminent judges this year.  It’s a great opportunity for entrants to have their work seen by these industry leaders and for their talents to be celebrated across the region.  This initiative shows off the incredible diversity, creativity and innovation in companies across the South West.”

For more information please visit the website at: www.mediainnovationawards.com, call Karen Stockdale on 01752 346530 or email on info@mediainnovationnetwork.com

Smith & Milton, the London-based branding company, has opened an integrated communications office in Bristol.

The acquisition of Document represents a significant step for the company, after 31 years of delivering effective brand design from London.

Smith & Milton want to take advantage of the business opportunities that Bristol offers, and beyond into South-West England, the Midlands and Wales. After collaborating with the Bristol team on a number of projects, the relationship has been made official. The new office will also add value to our current clients in the area by harnessing the best marketing and design talent available in the city for them to access.

The move also satisfies another client demand – as the importance of a consistent and aligned brand with its communications is becoming crucial.

The new office, simply called Smith & Milton Bristol, offers integrated communications services, web development, video production, internal communications and campaigns, also expanding on the more strategic branding and design work that London specialises in. Their current clients include AXA, Bristol Old Vic, Cheltenham Festivals and Watershed.

As Ben Mott, Business Director at Smith & Milton London explains: “Our aim is to ensure that the brand work we do in London is delivered through other media effectively and consistently by our team in Bristol. Then there are the added benefits of a long-term relationship and the further value that this joining brings.”

Howard Swift, Business Director at Smith & Milton Bristol adds: “We’re already working in tandem with London on a number of projects, and the benefit we can add to the clients through the uniting of brand and communications thinking is something few agencies can truly match.”

Howard Milton, Chairman and Founder of Smith & Milton says: “This is the completion of one of a number of ventures now in progress. Over the past 31 years we have established an enviable reputation for our single-minded approach to brand building. I believe we have made the necessary step to move the gaze of our expert brand knowledge into other areas that our clients require, with the sole purpose of delivering stronger, more influential and higher performing brands to the customer.”

Founded in 1980, Smith & Milton are recognised as one of the UK's leading brand identity design companies. The company’s experience has been gained from working with leading brand owners, including Warburtons, Legal & General, CBRE, AXA, Travelex, Asprey and the NHS.

For more information visit their website.

The Institute of Internal Communication has launched its new-style IoIC Awards 2012 and is inviting entries.

There are 39 award categories which recognise excellence in communicating with employees, members, volunteers and other internal audiences. They are open to agencies, consultancies and in-house teams.

Best use of design categories include: digital, feature-led magazine, news-led magazine, newspaper, integrated.

Best use of digital media categories include: intranet, microsite, ezine, interactive (blog), audio, video, membership.

There are also two new innovation categories this year - most innovative use of media and 'game changer' (looking for imagination in practice that expands our sense of what might be possible in internal communication).

All the IoIC's award categories have been incorporated into one high-profile scheme and award dinner this year, including the IoIC ICons which, rather than focusing on specific projects and campaigns, celebrate individual and team work, qualities and attainment.

The deadline for entries is 17th February, and winners will receive their awards at an industry dinner at the Hilton Park Lane in London on 15 June.

Complete information and an entry form is available at http://www.ioic.org.uk/content/events/awards.html