News - Nov 06
DNA strikes gold at Event Awards
Agency DNA Productions was the big winner of the Event Awards walking away with four gongs, including the overall award for live event activity.
The ceremony, held 22 September at the Grosvenor House hotel, recognised DNA’s work for the British Red Cross Ball, which took place on 17 November 2005, at the Room by the River. The event won most improved experiential campaign, best celebration event, and the coveted Event Award for live event activity. It also won silver for most effective live event activity in FMCG/pharmaceutical/healthcare.
DNA chief executive Matt James said: “I’m very pleased for the Red Cross. I’ve made them sit through award ceremonies such as the CEA, ITMA and Event Awards over the past year and they’ve walked away empty handed. But to get two gold’s and one silver and the overall Event Award is amazing.”
British Red Cross event manager Farida Haqiqi said: “We are thrilled to bits. It’s good for charity events to get recognition, especially against big corporate events with larger budgets.”
Other big winners included publisher Media 10 which took home a hat-trick of awards for best consumer exhibition, best exhibition feature area and the overall Event Award for an exhibition. The Event Awards was hosted by radio presenter Richard Bacon.
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Today’s PA is a highly-qualified and career-minded professional
Modern admin professionals are just as likely to be dealing with PR and the payroll as they are to be juggling dates for the boss’s diary and taking dictation. So says a new OfficeTeam survey of 1,200 professionals throughout the UK and Ireland.
Rising Responsibilities…
The top areas where admin professionals felt that their level of responsibility had grown over the last two years are:
- Office/facilities management (73%)
- Human resources (54%)
- PR and marketing (53%)
- Finance (42%)
The key areas where respondents felt that their level of responsibility would continue to grow are:
- Office/facilities management (76%)
- Human resources (47%)
- PR and marketing (37%)
…And Stress Levels
Respondents are more stretched than ever before, and stress levels appear to be at an all-time high. One third of respondents stated that they are more stressed now than they were one year ago. The most frequently cited reason for this was the increased volume of work. Almost half, 48%, also said that there were fewer people to share the workload with compared to last year, and 40% said they are working longer hours than a year ago.
But secretaries are still happy
The biggest factors influencing their satisfaction levels, in order of importance, were:
1. Getting on with their colleagues (92%)
2. Receiving personal recognition for their work (88%)
3. Financial compensation (85%)
And they are better qualified than ever
The more career-savvy professional is also well-qualified: one-quarter of the survey’s respondents had a degree, and seven percent hold a masters or post-graduate qualification.
When asked their reasons for choosing a career as an administrative professional, almost half (47%) of secretaries said being a secretary with definite career steps appealed to them. Only a quarter of respondents working in administration (24%) saw the same appeal, and even fewer working in reception (10%) cited the same reason.
Just 21% of the Pas and secretaries were aged under 30, compared to 57% of those in a clerical role, suggesting that career secretaries are more experienced and set on fulfilling their ambitions.
Career-minded admin professionals know that training is key to progression, with 83% commenting that learning new skills was important. However, two-thirds were dissatisfied with the training they received, and over a quarter (27%) had not been offered any kind of training at all.
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Celebs add sparkle to Tiffany’s launch
Breakfast at Tiffany’s turned into dinner at Tiffany’s on Monday night in New York, as A-listers including Dustin Hoffman rubbed shoulders with VIP shoppers at the launch of the legendary Fifth Avenue jeweller’s new Blue Book Collection.
While actresses Mira Sorvino and Jane Krakowski rushed inside to check out the fabulous jewellery, Dustin lingered on the red carpet to greet fellow New Yorker Tony Bennett.
The pair hugged and chatted as they posed for the cameras, while Dustin joked: “Apparently he has an engagement ring…I would say ‘yes’ in a minute to Tony, even though there’s an age separation.”
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New research identifies the big spenders
Growing businesses spend an average of £261,000 a year on exhibiting – almost four times the amount spent by companies that describe themselves as ‘static’ – according to new research commissioned by the Events Industry Alliance (EIA) and the Exhibiting Show.
More than 70% of respondents considered themselves to be part of a growing company. “It’s clear that in the modern media landscape events and exhibitions have a huge opportunity. We are an engaged, targeted and permission-based media that truly brings brand and consumer together,” said Simon Burton, managing director of the Exhibiting Show.
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Comedy duo in trouble
Comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have been penalised by the BBC for including a sketch in their 2005 Christmas special that featured children dressed up as celebrities.
The children were dressed up as celebrities including socialite Paris Hilton, TV gardener Charlie Dimmock and model Abi Titmuss. According to the Sun newspaper, the children wore "fake boobs and bums" in the sketch.
In a damning ruling, the BBC’s committee of governors said the sketch breached the broadcasting corporation’s guidelines to protect children.
After the sketch aired on December 27, 2005, the BBC was bombarded with complaints that it "inappropriately sexualised" the youngsters. Though the governors disagreed with this complaint, they ruled the children were "too young to participate fully" and "appeared to be unhappy".
The governors said it was irrelevant that the children’s parents consented to the sketch and were present when it was filmed. "[The children] were used as part of the joke and their dignity was not protected," they said.
The sketch has been banned from future broadcast in the UK.
