Big Chip Awards 2013 opens for entries

The Big Chip Awards return for 15th year

Manchester Digital calls for entries from across the North by 11 March 2013

Companies from across the North of England that have excelled in the use of digital technology are being invited to celebrate their achievements at the 15^th annual Big Chip Awards.

Awards organiser Manchester Digital is inviting companies from all sectors across the North to submit their entries for the 2013 awards. 

Following on from the 2012 awards, which attracted a record 261 entrants from across 152 digital and creative organisations and freelancers, this year’s awards are expected to be the biggest and most exciting yet, open to entries in all categories from any company, organisation or initiative in the North of England – anywhere from Derby to the Scottish border.

Digital companies and creative agencies from across the sector are encouraged to enter, as well as any businesses or organisations that have undertaken digital initiatives in the past year, which can include everything from a company website to an iPhone app.

Categories will be judged by a panel of leading industry figures chaired by Michael Nutley, industry expert, former editor of New Media Age and chair of the Big Chip judges since 2004.

Big Chip 2013 will also see a number of popular categories undergoing changes, as well as the addition of two exciting  new categories in the form of Best Use of Brand in Digital and the Big Chip Offbeat Award.

Entrants applying for Best Use of Brand in Digital must “show effective use of a brand, the brand signifier and brand values in a digital context, in pursuit of commercial or non-commercial objectives, or as a way to strengthen the brand”.

The Big Chip Offbeat Award will be chosen by popular vote from a shortlist decided by the judges, with the shortlist comprising of those who, using a digital platform or technology, amuse, surprise or intrigue the judges by being different, defiant, or just plain ‘Dada’.

The Big Chip International Award for Innovation is now the Big Chip Imagination Award, and will remain open to anyone, anywhere, while the Tasty Website Award, can now be entered separately, but will still be chosen by popular vote on the night using Twitter hashtags.

As last year, entries will also be accepted for projects underway for more than a year but which have achieved important milestones in the past year, thus opening up the awards to ventures that take longer to show their best results.

For its second year running, the awards will be partnering with publishing group Trinity Mirror’s titles, the Liverpool Post, the Manchester Evening News and the Newcastle Journal.

A Trinity Mirror spokesperson said: “Following the enormous success of last year’s event, we are delighted to announce that we will once again be the media partner for the Big Chip Awards in 2013. These awards are a great opportunity to recognise the hard work of the region’s digital and creative agencies, as well as offering them a chance to spread the word about their services and achievements.”

Entries are submitted online at www.bigchipawards.com.  The first two entries are free. Subsequent entries cost £95. The closing date for entries is 11 March 2013.

Organised by trade association Manchester Digital, with support from partners such as Digital Union in the North East, Leeds Digital Festival and Liverpool Vision, the awards are open to any organisation based in the North that has designed or commissioned any digital projects in the past year.  This can include website, DVD, animation, wireless, and SMS projects.

Chair of the Big Chip Steering Group, Shaun Fensom, said: “We’re very excited to announce the launch of the 15^th annual Big Chip Awards, which celebrate digital excellence from across the North.

“The 2012 awards were the largest yet, with a record number of submissions that not only demonstrated the sheer diversity of the digital sector, but also the importance of the North to the digital sphere, nationally and internationally.

“We’re also delighted to introduce the Big Chip Offbeat Award, a brand new category for 2013, which will also recognise the weird and wonderful from within the industry, by awarding those entrants who’ve impressed the judges with their one-of-a-kind approach.”

Kilogramme, an animation production company based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, won the coveted award for Best Use of Animation at the 2012 awards.

Director, Jon Turner, says: “2012 was a fantastic year for Kilogramme, heightened by winning the Big Chip Award for Best Use of Animation. We got a really nice job from a blue chip client as a result of our win, so can testify as to just how effective the awards are. We couldn’t ask for more.”

The headline sponsor for this year’s Big Chip Awards is UK cloud and managed hosting provider UKFast. Lawrence Jones, CEO at the company, said: “UKFast is proud to be the headline sponsor for the 2013 Big Chip Awards. As the largest cloud and managed hosting provider in the North West, we share with Big Chip a passionate belief in the strength and potential of the northern digital industries.”

The Big Chip Awards will be announced at a luxurious awards dinner on 27 June 2013 at the Palace Hotel, Manchester. The awards’ progress can be followed on Twitter @BigChipAwards and with hashtag #BigChipAwards.

For further media information and images please contact Andrew Spinoza or Anna Goulding  at SKV Communications on (0161) 838 7770 firstname.lastname@skvcommunications.co.uk

Big Chip Awards 2013 – Categories – see www.bigchipawards.co.uk for entry criteria

All entries are to be submitted online at www.bigchipawards.com by 11 March 2013.