On Thursday 13th November, five Ambergreen-ers attended the Creative-Edinburgh awards at the beautiful Assembly Roxy in our very own Auld Reekie. Head of Creative, Gillian; Content Marketing Specialist, Igor; Creative Services Trainee, Sarah; and two of our Account Managers, Sharon and Jenny arrived at the venue to be welcomed in from the drizzle with a delicious glass of champagne! Good start.
The stunning converted church space was decorated with strings of fairy lights and giant silver balloons that were spread out across the wall to spell the words ‘Creative Edinburgh’. Between the sturdy stone pillars that line the hall, were exhibiting stalls displaying some of Edinburgh’s most creative new innovations, products and campaigns – a particular highlight for us was a demonstration of Makeworks’ 3D printer which can only be described as ‘preeeetty cool’.
No sooner had we finished our champagne and moved onto a cooled bottle of Monteiths IPA, than Creative Edinburgh director, Janine Matheson, took to the stage to begin the award presentations.
The winners fell under a variety of categories, from those that recognised a contribution to the community or city of Edinburgh to those that honoured individuals in the categories of ‘student’ or ‘start up’. All Edinburgh based, it was wonderful to see the breadth of talent that resides in this city alone. Creative campaigns ranged from multimedia projects such as films and digital work to events and installations that had captured the imaginations of both the awarding bodies but also the general public.
The awards were presented by representatives from the event’s sponsors, Free Agent as Chairman of the Creative Edinburgh board, Mark Gorman. Profits from ticket sales were donated to SAMH, a charity that works with those affected by mental health problems in Scotland.
After the awards presentation, we were treated to yet another display of local artistic talent; in the form of performances from Numbers are Futile and Kitchen Disco, curated by Song By Toad, whose lively music kept the party going well beyond a time that was really sensible for five weary digital marketers who had work in the morning!
It’s clear that creativity runs through the very heart of this city throughout the year and, whilst we may raise our head above the metaphorical crowd during August, when we host the world’s biggest fringe festival, that is not to say that we’re not dreaming up innovative, inspirational and iconic work during the other 11 months. These awards, themselves wonderfully creative, colourful sculptors made from a mix of materials by local sculptor, Alex Allan, are the evidence for that.
Thanks very much to Creative Edinburgh and the Assembly Roxy for having us!
