NEN National event
Bringing a national event to an essential business support community.
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Peppercorn House
8 Huntingdon Street
St Neots
Cambridgeshire
PE19 1BH
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Why we chose to sponsor the Cambridgeshire County Council Spotlight Awards
We’re known for our community engagement specialism, and get to work with brilliant individuals and teams within local authorities in the creation and execution of campaigns. So when we saw the opportunity to be part of an event congratulating those who work at one of the Councils we serve, we signed up immediately!
The Spotlight Awards took place during an evening of celebration on Tuesday 4th March, where the people and teams of Cambridgeshire County Council were recognised for their outstanding achievements in helping to deliver the Council’s vision of creating a greener, fairer, and more caring Cambridgeshire. Keystone’s Hayley and Chantal joined shortlisted finalists, award sponsors and other invited guests at The Cambridge Belfry in Cambourne for the awards ceremony.
267 nominations were received from across all parts of the council, from which the judging panels produced a shortlist of 34 individuals and teams. Key successes acknowledged at the event included:
- an unwavering commitment to children and young people in care
- projects to help children reconnect with nature and encourage biodiversity
- commitment to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion across the county
- the work supporting the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities to access opportunities which may not otherwise be available to them.
The winners of the 11 award categories were:
- Team of the Year – Winner: Cambridgeshire Virtual School Team.
- Colleague of the Year – Winner: Fran Marshall, Principal Social Worker.
- Compassionate Leader of the Year – Winner: Allison Box, Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme Co-ordinator.
- Greener Award – Winner: Cambridge City Child and Family Centre.
- Fairer Award – Winner: Sean Figura, Technology Enabled Care (TECS) Leader and Jaye McLaughlin, Insight Analyst.
- More Caring Award – Winner: Marie Ludlam, Changing Futures Services Manager.
- Inclusion and Belonging Award – Winner: Thabang Thacker, Sean Figura, Technology Enabled Care (TECS) Leader and Jaye McLaughlin, Insight Analyst.
- Collaborative Award – Winner: Rose Wilson, Project Development Officer.
- Accountable Award – Winner: March Library Team.
- Respectful Award – Winner: Kevin Delaney, Senior Digital Officer.
- Excellence Award – Winner: Toni Scrivener, Support Worker, Huntingdon Community Centre Day Service.
Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, the Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, said:
“It’s been wonderful to celebrate the contributions from all these individuals and teams.
“It’s testament to the commitment of the county council’s workforce that even more nominations were received this year; it was a tough decision for the judges to select the winners in each category due to quality of all the nominees.
“Our people are critical to the work the county council does for residents, and their dedication and energy is helping to create a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire, every day.”
Dr Stephen Moir, Chief Executive of the County Council, who hosted the awards ceremony, said:
“Congratulations to everyone who was nominated and especially to those who won.
“I’m very proud of my colleagues who demonstrate the best of the county council’s work. My heartfelt thanks go out to our sponsors, without whom the event could not have happened. I’d also like to commend the work of our communications and HR teams for their care in planning, organising, and delivering the awards this year. Such a great celebration is only possible when enabled by the work of people behind the scenes, not just those in the spotlight.”
The awards, entirely funded by sponsors, are now in their second year – and Keystone Marketing sponsored the event styling. The event was a true reflection of the Council’s vision and values, and we congratulate all the winners, highly commended entries, and the full list of nominees.
The full awards press release is available on the Cambridgeshire County Council website.
Every business has a story worth telling
Using storytelling to build pride and connection in local economies
As a specialist in community engagement principles and approaches, we know how powerful storytelling can be – not just to tell the tale itself, but to build up deep connections and establish pride too. We have taken this approach to content writing in some recent work with our friends at Invest in Huntingdonshire (IIH) – the economic development arm of Huntingdonshire District Council.
A key focus for the team is to support local businesses with opportunities for growth and development within the District. But in most cases, this behind-the-scenes focus and incredible impact was not shared more widely.
Invest in Huntingdonshire wanted to shine a light on the incredible breadth and impact made by local businesses, predominately as inspiration for businesses based across the district as a whole,but also to showcase how IIH might also be able to help others.
Over the last 12 months, we’ve worked closely with the IIH team, and the businesses they support, to build case study articles and a social media campaign that proactively and positively tells these incredible business stories.
Made in Huntingdonshire: What’s your story?
Eight businesses from a broad range of sectors and locations were featured in the “Made in Huntingdonshire” campaign.
Twisters Gymnastics Club: From mobile classes to a thriving community hub
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AC Composites: Innovation and Growth in Advanced Manufacturing
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ACE Technology: Proudly carrying the legacy of composite manufacturing in Huntingdonshire
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Cambridge Support: A multi-award winning IT Services company based in St Neots
The next phase of our storytelling campaign will see us work closely with businesses that have been accepted as recipients of Rural Prosperity Grants. In one-to-one conversations with 10 businesses, we’ll find out how each business plans to utilise the funding and discover the likely impact it will make – before sharing the stories more widely through IIH’s digital channels.
HDC Showcase: Pride In Place event, Thursday 14 November 2024
This example of our work featured at the HDC Showcase: Pride in Place event that took place on the 14th November 2024. where Keystone is proud to be exhibiting. The showcase event was designed to celebrate the District’s diversity of place and bustling visitor economy, and also highlight what Huntingdonshire can offer to support growth and encourage new investment opportunities. Partners from across the country also shared expert insight on how to further boost the District’s offering through a variety of sessions. We were excited to be part of the event and a proud exhibitor in the “Farmer’s Market” style stall area, designed to showcase some of the outstanding businesses and destinations that Huntingdonshire has to offer.
Keystone appointed to lead communications for The Library Presents arts programme
Keystone has won a three-year contract to handle the communications for the flagship Cambridgeshire arts programme, The Library Presents – a longstanding vibrant and inclusive arts programme bringing music, drama, art, dance, storytelling, comedy, puppetry, magic, digital arts and workshops to libraries across Cambridgeshire.
Led by our Head of Communications Katherine Hesketh, Keystone will be working closely with the team at The Library Presents over a three-year period, to inject our well-regarded marketing skillset and community engagement expertise into the programme. Programme messaging, social media, PR, stakeholder relations and volunteer engagement all play a part in the campaign curated by the Keystone team.
Speaking of the new partnership, Keystone’s Managing Director Hayley Williams said:
“The Library Presents is committed to enabling local residents to experience high quality, low-cost arts experiences across the county – and we are so pleased to play a part in support of this vision. As the programme’s chosen comms team, we’ll focus on creating greater community engagement across numerous audience groups, and deepening relationships with all key stakeholders.”
Ticket sales for the summer 2023 season (the 11th season for the longstanding programme) open on 15 June, with events running throughout July and August. The programme offers an incredible lineup of artists and experiences; including live music, family-centric events, and a sprinkling of theatre, dance and comedy too.
Showcasing its commitment to collaboration, the new season has been created with direct input from over 600 local residents who helped to choose this season’s performers and events.
As a St Neots-based business, we’re pleased to see the programme coming to life locally too. On 29th July, St Neots Library will be alive with the sound of samba drumming! This high energy and all-inclusive workshop will give everyone a chance to have fun with beats and rhythms. The library will host a second event on 4th August when comedian James Campbell will present his stand-up show for children, their parents and anyone who likes comedy without rude words. James wrote the bestselling Funny Life books, and has appeared on Blue Peter and at the Royal Albert Hall.
After the rollout of the current summer season, The Library Presents will be back again in October 2023 with an autumn series of arts events and workshops that will be promoted with Keystone’s help, before two seasons run in both 2024 and 2025 too.
For more information, you can visit the programme website, subscribe to the email newsletter, or stay up to date on Facebook and Instagram at: @TheLibraryPresents. The Library Presents is funded by Arts Council England, run by Cambridgeshire County Council working with Babylon ARTS.
Listening before leading
Redefining a community engagement strategy for I Love Wisbech
Keystone has been asked to help redefine a new community engagement strategy for I Love Wisbech; the emerging cross partnership programme designed to deliver positive change for the Cambridgeshire town and the people who live there.
Initially devised as a one-off campaign in 2019, I ♥ Wisbech was developed as a collaboration between the county, district and town councils, local charities and town residents; with the aim of starting a conversation about the future of the town. It was a chance to share ideas, concerns and aspirations about Wisbech, identify common interests and provide a catalyst for positive change.
At that time, campaign activity focussed on asking residents three key questions about the town, with a proportion of respondents also participating in focus groups. After detailed discussion and reporting, it became evident that there was a clear need for future community support. It was at this point that a number of individuals from local councils and charities started exploring options to formally set up a new organisation to drive the project forward.
Whilst work had been paused due to Covid 19, the town council and its large group of community programme partners and stakeholders are focused on reigniting the project activity later this year – using future recommendations set out by Keystone to build a clear communications framework for the community vehicle.
Keystone will facilitate virtual workshops with Wisbech stakeholders during the month of March; attended by County, District and Town Council representatives as well as those highly engaged local charities committed to developing the cross-partnership programme. Keystone’s consultancy will then work from its workshop observations and recommendations to help programme leaders set out a firm roadmap. Advice is likely to focus on the best approach for an I Love Wisbech relaunch, establish guidelines for future communications and outline a best practice framework for future engagement.
Funding for Keystone’s involvement comes from Support Cambridgeshire; a three-year project funded by Cambridgeshire County Council that brings partner organisations together who work to support community groups and organisations across the County.
Delivering impactful online events
For many organisations, an annual conference, seminar series, or awards ceremony has always been a key date in the calendar. A chance to get in front of clients, prospects, members and stakeholders; to shake hands, meet old friends and make new connections. And for many businesses, a revenue-generating activity too.
Unsurprisingly, virtual events have become a much bigger entity in the last 12 months. Event organisers and businesses have adapted quickly to create online events that deliver the goods in place of traditional face-to-face activity.
As the communications lead for membership body National Enterprise Network, Keystone has supported the delivery of its flagship event for many years – the NEN Annual Conference and Awards.
For obvious reasons, the 2020 event required a new approach – and here we share some of those top tips and tricks that made the event so successful. And not just because we say so, in the post-event feedback, 91% of delegates rated NEN’s “What’s the Future” digital event as Outstanding or Good!
1. Serving your audience matters the most, so prioritise this to be the best host
Ask yourself – Why is this event important to this audience and what are their expectations? Answering this is absolutely essential. Virtual events risk a lot of distraction and disengagement. For NEN, we knew exactly what delegates expect from the NEN Annual Conference and Awards – high energy, motivational contributors, and unbeatable networking opportunities. Above all, our delegates expect to leave the event feeling inspired and motivated. We needed to translate that online. And with this showcase event taking place annually, there is always a need to excel on each year’s successes, so that was in our mind too.
2. Teams, Webex, Google or Zoom… are you addressing that elephant in the room?
It’s important to acknowledge and mitigate key online event challenges:
1. Screen fatigue
2. Physical disconnect
3. Potential technical difficulties
3. Don’t send your delegates off to sleep… Keep it short and keep it sweet!
It’s obvious that interactivity is crucial for making an online event successful. But what might be less obvious is how quickly delegates start to switch off – literally in some cases! What works for a face-to-face event doesn’t necessarily fit as well for online. Ask yourself how you can break content into bite-sized chunks to reduce audience switch off.
4. Mix it up, split it up… And use a host to pep it up!
Don’t give your delegates the chance to zone out. Keep the programme constantly moving with short segments and mix it up with live and pre-recorded footage. Use online “rooms” to run breakout sessions with small groups if relevant. Consider the role that chat functions can have to build networking and engagement. And tie it all together with a host who can tread that fine line between bouncy enthusiasm and gentle humour.
5. Not all your script needs writing… impromptu can be much more exciting!
The “live” nature of an event may feel amplified when it takes place online, so it can be tempting to script and rehearse every moment. Your audience isn’t really there, so you can just read from notes, right? Keep it natural where possible to create a deeper connection, to build anticipation, and to create joy.
6. A group ticket price is a great way to entice!
Pricing online events is tricky, especially when so many events are offered at no cost. Online events may not incur venue hire or catering costs, but don’t sell yourself short. Planning and delivering an event still takes time, and if the event is usually a revenue earner for you, you may still need to sell tickets. Just think carefully about pricing. With no travel times or expenses to worry about, an online event is suddenly accessible to more people than ever – so why not encourage whole teams to attend?
Virtual events aren’t going anywhere any time soon, but event management expertise is still important. We can help your next online event make a big impact.
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Keystone insights to reach a wider audience through a new Hunts Post column
To coincide with the recent relaunch of The Hunts Post and its milestone of 125 years in print, Keystone’s Hayley has been announced as one of the new monthly columnists for the paper.
A local newspaper has a significant role to play within a community – a powerful communication tool, reflecting the place in which you live. Despite the growth around digital, there’s nothing quite like flicking through its printed pages to understand more about what’s going on around you.
As a long term St Neots resident and a small business owner in the town, Hayley will be taking a look at local business insights and unlocking examples of community spirit from across Huntingdonshire. Observations gained from her day to day work within the Keystone marketing consultancy, and also from here experiences from living in the town.
The first column was published w/c 8th February 2021. Read here.
Bringing a community into the conversation
A new community engagement campaign is set to run in the Bedfordshire town of Potton this autumn, with communications executed by the Keystone team.
Potton is a thriving town of approximately 5000 residents in the heart of rural Bedfordshire, and Keystone’s work centres on the potential new community facility for the town, Potton Hall for All.
Running from 19th September to 23rd October 2020, the campaign will share more details as to how the funds for the new facility have been identified and asks Potton residents for formal agreement to enable the final funds for the Hall to be secured.
Keystone was chosen to develop and roll out the five-week community consultation during a competitive pitch process run by the registered charity set up to build and run the hall (Potton Hall for All), in partnership with Potton Town Council.
The campaign launches with a stand at the Potton Seasonal Market on Saturday 19th September and includes online and offline communication to residents, as well as dedicated stakeholder engagement activity. The campaign messaging and plans for execution were built following a bespoke workshop with key Potton Hall for All stakeholders; an event facilitated virtually this summer by the Keystone team.
Orchestrating community engagement impact is a core skill at the heart of Keystone’s approach, which was evident to the Potton team during the pitching process. Experience also comes from similar community focussed campaigns delivered for St Neots and Huntingdon Town Councils, as well as Huntingdonshire District Council.
Further information on Potton Hall for All and the Keystone led campaign can be found on the Potton Hall for All website or by following the campaign on Facebook.
Keystone moves into a new St Neots office as the business continues to grow
They say that home is where the heart is, and we certainly love our new Keystone office!
Our new home, still in the centre of St Neots, is a light and bright creative space for our team to deliver great things. And our new dedicated meeting room is the perfect space for our increasing brainstorming sessions and workshops for Keystone clients.
You won’t be surprised to know that we’re very excited about our move – just one of many exciting developments for us as a business and a team – following on from our rebrand just last month.
We can’t wait to welcome guests to the new Keystone HQ – just a splash of colour, and a few more things on the wall – and it’ll be perfect.
In fact, we will be spreading some official festive cheer for our Keystone friends with coffee and mince pies on Monday 9th December between 10.30am and 12pm. Want to pop in? Just drop us a line so we reserve a festive treat with your name on it.