In its quest to discover and help develop emerging and early stage technology based start-ups, Cisco has launched the next stage in its British Innovation Gateway (BIG) initiative - The Big Awards - Powered By Cisco I-PRIZE™.

With support from partners including JP Morgan, Bird & Bird, DNX and Octopus Group,  the BIG Awards will take the form of an annual open innovation competition to discover and reward the finest examples of the UK's most innovative start-up digital businesses and SMEs. The overall winner will receive a total prize package of approximately $200k, made up of $100k cash, 12 months of mentoring from Cisco and a 12-month support package covering PR, marketing and legal services.

Running from 1 February 2012 until September 2012, it will involve a four stage judging process which will take place annually throughout the five year duration to help create a community of innovative industry leaders.

Runners-up and semi-finalists will also receive cash and technology prizes to support and accelerate the development of their brands and businesses.

The BIG Awards is the latest development in Cisco's British Innovation Gateway (BIG) initiative, a significant five-year investment of cash, technology and human resources, which aims to develop Britain's innovation eco-system and create an environment in which start-up digital businesses and their ideas can flourish.

Open to individuals, groups of individuals and legal entities in the UK, applicants can enter their technology concept or prototype idea into one of five categories which represent some of the most relevant technology challenges and mega trends we are seeing across the globe today.  For each category, the entry should showcase how the concept can benefit the public and private sector, utilising the network as the platform to deliver economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The categories are:

• BIG Data inc. Datacentre/Virtualisation
• Collaboration inc. Video and Social Media
• Future Cities
• Internet of Things
• Mobility

For more information on each category and competition entry requirements, visit the BIG Awards website at www.thebigawards.co.uk. Registration is now open and entrants will be able to submit their initial business or technology ideas from 1 February 2012. Entries will close on the 31 March 2012.

Software giant SAP, the market leader in enterprise application software, has selected Octopus Communications to manage its UK SME PR.  

Working closely with SAP's SME & Ecosystem team, Octopus will develop a series of creative campaigns to drive awareness of SAP's solutions for high growth businesses in the UK.

Octopus director Laura Slade said, "We are thrilled to have won the SAP business after a very competitive pitch process. Our extensive experience in the tech sector - plus our knowledge of the SME landscape - means we are well placed to support SAP's objectives here in the UK. We have some exciting campaigns to kick-start and look forward to making a major contribution to SAP's business in 2012".

Octopus Communications selected for PR support in the UK for new Government-launched graduate programme Entrepreneur First.

Octopus Communications has been appointed by new Government-launched graduate programme Entrepreneur First to develop and lead an ongoing PR and communications campaign in the UK.

Entrepreneur First is a not-for-profit scheme launched in March this year by Prime Minister David Cameron and corporate sponsors McKinsey & Company and Microsoft. It is a two-year programme providing a new route into entrepreneurship for graduates, backed by some of the UK's leading entrepreneurs, student groups and major employers.

The programme aims to help graduates start their own business by offering: mentorship from successful entrepreneurs; training in a curriculum developed with entrepreneurs to cover what they wished they had known starting out; networking with leading entrepreneurs, investors and corporate business leaders; access to funding via a network of investors; and in-kind support, including free legal advice, software and other benefits.

The PR brief will see Octopus develop an awareness campaign in the national, regional and university media to drive interest in Entrepreneur First among the under-graduate and post-graduate population of the UK and encourage them to think about starting their own business.

Alice Bentinck, COO, Entrepreneur First, said: "In order to help develop the next generation of Britain's entrepreneurs, it is important for us to promote the Entrepreneur First message and attract as many graduates as possible to the programme. PR is going to be a crucial part of this process. We are thrilled to have Octopus onboard to help us achieve this and are excited about what they will bring to the campaign."

Jon Lonsdale, MD, Octopus Communications, added: "I think most people agree that entrepreneurship is vital to the future of Great Britain. The next Branson, Dyson or Sugar could be studying at university right now, so it's hugely exciting to be part of the team that will be providing this new generation of entrepreneurs with the support and advice they need to make their vision a success. Octopus is delighted to be working with Entrepreneur First to help spread this important message."

Social commerce trailblazers HotUKDeals, which provides a platform for its 400,000 active members to share deals and offers, has selected Octopus Communications to develop a campaign that will target influencers, and drive awareness and registrations for the community-focused site.

Founded in 2004, www.hotukdeals.com recently hit the news when a member spotted an opportunity for Tesco shoppers to take advantage of a combination of two offers which allowed them to buy Terry's Chocolate Oranges for just 29p. Savvy shoppers quickly cleared the shelves as a result and the story was covered extensively in the national media.

HotUKDeals founder Paul Nikkel said: "The increased interest in consumer sites has led to us needing to develop a comms strategy that ensures HotUKDeals maintains a clear voice and presence in the consumer media. Octopus understood the needs of a brief where the client was a community rather than a company."

Octopus Communications will work on a consumer and trade PR brief with the aim of giving the brand an increased presence in the highly competitive and rapidly growing online voucher and deal space.

Octopus Communications MD Jon Lonsdale said: "Up to this point HotUKDeals has grown organically and gained exposure through viral stories. We're going to help tell its story, grow its users and make sure it doesn't get left behind."

We're delighted to announce that Octopus Group has been nominated by The Holmes Report for its prestigious Global Sabre Award for Outstanding Technology Consultancy for 2011. This follows the Group's award for European Outstanding Technology Consultancy, awarded earlier in the year.

The nomination highlights Octopus Group's strong technology expertise, international service capabilities and integrated approach, demonstrated by a growing client list that includes Cisco, Verizon, Sony, Trend Micro, Colt, Computacenter, Meltwater, Basware, Iris and the IET.

"It's great to be recognised at this level for the kind of work that we're doing. These are times of big change in the comms industry and we've been incredibly successful in helping brands manage that. It's paying off for their businesses and for ours - we were able to grow by 22% last year and we're on track to significantly beat that this year on the back of integrating PR, research, marketing and digital on an international scale. We're seeing significant growth across all areas even in these tough times," said Sandy Purewal, Octopus Group CEO.

Octopus Group is focused on helping brands change the way they are talked about through customer-driven integrated communications in the UK and internationally, delivered through specialist brands - Octopus Communications, Rocket and Loudhouse - and our international network, ION.

The Group is 152nd in the global PR agency rankings according to the Holmes Report and 7th in PR Week's UK Technology League table. The economic outlook may remain uncertain but things at the Group are looking pretty good!

Octopus Communications selected following competitive pitch to support PR for leading payment processing provider

Octopus Communications has been appointed as the retained PR and communications agency for WorldPay in the UK. Following a competitive four-way pitch, Octopus Communications will develop and lead integrated PR and communications campaigns for WorldPay's eCommerce and Streamline businesses.

WorldPay is a leading provider of electronic payment processing solutions, processing millions of online and face-to-face transactions every day. Headquartered in London, WorldPay operates in over 40 countries, providing businesses of all sizes with secure, reliable payment processing services. In the UK, half of high street transactions are processed by the company through its Streamline brand.

The brief will see Octopus implement a full-service PR and marketing programme, with campaigns to target key WorldPay audiences, through national, trade and vertical media, as well as online and social media channels. The campaigns will run in the UK for the Streamline brand and extend into key overseas markets for the WorldPay eCommerce brand, using Octopus' international partner network, ION.

Polly Adams, Head of Marketing for Streamline, commented: "The next year is set to be incredibly exciting for us, both in terms of growth and innovation, and we have some extremely compelling stories to shout about. We selected Octopus based on its insight into our business and market, and because of its creative and integrated approach to addressing our PR and marketing challenges."

Jon Lonsdale, MD of Octopus, added, "This is a great brief for us in what is a dynamic, issues-heavy space- retailers are in the spotlight and eCommerce is booming. Our campaign will be a mixture of education, to break through the confusion which surrounds payment processing, and creative thought leadership campaigns to highlight the importance of fast and secure payment processing to all businesses."

Octopus Communications selected following a competitive pitch to support European PR strategy for leading e-commerce expert, ChannelAdvisor

Following a competitive three-way pitch, Octopus Communications has been appointed by ChannelAdvisor to develop and lead an ongoing PR and communications campaign for the company as it ramps up its activities in the UK and Europe.

ChannelAdvisor is a leading e-commerce software provider, founded in 2001 and with European headquarters in London, which works with retailers of all sizes to define and streamline their online sales strategies and channels. Its key industry partnerships include the likes of online giants Amazon, eBay, Google and Facebook. 

The brief will see Octopus develop an issues-led PR campaign that tackles the dynamic and complex issues facing retailers as they engage with new online and social media markets, raising the profile of the company amongst core audiences through national and trade media, as well as marketing communities.

Johan Valind, EMEA Marketing Manager for ChannelAdvisor, commented, "We're in a really vibrant and dynamic space right now and we need help to tell our story in the UK and other European markets. For us, it was Octopus' integrated approach to PR, marketing and insight, along with a highly creative approach to telling our story that really set them apart during the pitch process."

Jon Lonsdale, MD of Octopus, added, "Social commerce is one of the hottest topics amongst retailers right now as they struggle to get punters to 'like' them. Our campaign will be focused on myth-busting and providing some practical advice to brands who are struggling to know which sales channels to choose in their quest for online success."

Octopus Communications will be taking the law into their hands with new client, QualitySolicitors. The agency has won a project to promote the legal brand, which is set to transform access to legal services in the UK.

The consumer and trade brief comes at a real turning point in the legal industry, which will see one of the UK's oldest professions put through its paces as the Legal Services Act opens up the provision of legal services to non-legal entities.

The project involves the launch of QualitySolicitors' exclusive retail partnership with WHSmith, on both a regional and national level. The collaboration will see QualitySolicitors place 'Legal Access Points' in hundreds of WHSmith stores. These points will be manned by the local QualitySolicitors firm in each location, making accessing legal advice as easy as picking up a newspaper or pick 'n' mix.

Jon Lonsdale, managing director, Octopus, said: "It's always great to work with companies that are truly descriptive and are doing something totally different, especially in such a traditional market." 

Craig Holt, chief executive, QualitySolicitors, added: "We worked with Octopus back in April to announce the first phase of the WHSmith partnership. They achieved some fantastic results for us in a short timescale so it was a no-brainer to consider them for the next stage of our journey."

This morning the CIPR announced the shortlist for the annual PR Excellence Awards, and for the second year running Octopus Group has been shortlisted for Outstanding Agency of the Year.

As you can imagine, we are all feeling pretty chuffed this morning.

2010 was pretty monumental for us. Priding ourselves on being astute at all times, in 2010 we went around the entire agency questioning everything we do and changing it if it was the right thing to do. The result was new processes, new approaches and some pretty amazing campaigns that took our clients into totally new leagues.

Internally, our team grew by 21% and our training investment went up by 70% which enabled 20% of the team to get promoted. Our staff satisfaction showed a record level of engagement - four times the national average according to Gallup.

We beat much older, bigger agencies to win business with some incredible international brands including Cisco Europe, Trend Micro, BMW and Meltwater. And 40% of our existing clients increased their spend with us because we were able to provide them with more services and prove greater value to their businesses.

We have now been shortlisted for outstanding consultancy eight times in six years (three times by the CIPR).  Will we bring home the silverware this year?

Will this year be our year, we shall have to wait and see. Fingers crossed.

Octopus Communications selected following a competitive pitch to support internet security leader

Following a competitive three-way pitch, as previously reported by PR Week, Octopus Communications has been selected by Trend Micro to lead its ongoing UK and Ireland PR campaign.

The 2011 brief will be primarily focused on positioning Trend as the security choice for family protection, as the worry-free option for small businesses and as a leader in the fast-growing cloud security space for large enterprise customers.

Tony Larks, Senior Marketing Director for EMEA, for Trend commented; "Trend has been investing heavily to communicate the value of their brand and needed to find a PR agency able to cover the broad and diverse customer segments we cover. Octopus had the creative ideas, track record and personality that we felt would support Trend best in achieving our goals. This set them apart during the pitch process."

Jon Lonsdale, MD of Octopus, added; "Octopus has a strong heritage in security and so it's fantastic to get the opportunity to work with one of the leading players.  The push into the family and consumer market is particularly exciting for us and Trend has some great products and stories to tell here."