***Update 30 April***

Sue won Silver in the Business Person of the Year category!

We weren’t so lucky with Enterprising Business but it’s truly an honour to be finalists, and we can definitely say we had a fun night out, even if it was all taking place over Zoom.

And we were over the moon to see our friends at Cambridge 105 Radio - where Sue is a Director and also hosts her business show - win Gold in the Community category. Well done!

***Original post***

We’re so delighted to shared that we’re finalists in the SME Cambridgeshire Business Awards 2020 in two categories: Enterprising Business of the Year and Business Person of the Year.

The nominations follows on from our success in 2019, when we won gold for Website of the Year and silver for Community Business of the Year. The 2020 awards schedule has suffered a bit of a gap because of the big C word, but the event is back on track online.

Enterprising Business of the Year

This category says it’s for the true movers and shakers, leaders in the market. As a nominee in this category, we're in the company of other businesses that show initiative and willingness to undertake new projects.

Our goal for the year was to get match fit for the Brexit uncertainty and be ready to meet any challenges head on. Little did we know that obstacles travel in threes - Brexit, plus our building nearly burning down, plus global pandemic.

But we came out fighting. When lockdown began, we didn’t pause for breath. We went straight to our clients to lend a sympathetic ear and find ways of solving their problems.

Video shoot cancelled? We repurposed existing content, used animation or got clever with stock footage and created something new. We put together promos to demonstrate our approach and won new contracts off the back of it.

Training postponed? Let’s break it up into shorter sessions over Zoom. Polls and online chat make it interactive. We ran free, bitesize webinars - up to 500 people at one point. We created whole new Sookio School courses online, full of practical tips.

Schools closed, exam centres shut? Our mix of livestreamed learning and fun social media challenges kept students engaged; campus tour videos and Google Ads campaigns brought in new applications and a solid return on investment.

Business Person of the Year

Initiative. Boldness. Imagination. Entrepreneurship.

These qualities, together with brilliant management skills, are what defines SME Cambs Business Person of the Year.

These challenging times didn't set Sue Keogh back for even a split second. She's been steering the Sookio ship through choppy waters all this time, expanding our services to offer more video and animation, and focusing on targeted social media campaigns.

All this while launching a successful business show on Cambridge 105 Radio, now in its second series!

About the Awards

The Cambridge Independent SME Cambridgeshire Business Awards celebrate small and medium businesses - the drivers of innovation and competition in many economic sectors.

As a small (but mighty!) digital marketing agency and a constant supporter of fellow local businesses, we believe the awards do great work in highlighting the hard work and brilliance of SMEs. Needless to say, we’re super proud to be listed as finalists alongside some of Cambridgeshire’s best and brightest!

"I'm so proud of the team and what we've achieved in this crazy period,” says Director Sue. “Awards are nice, but what it's about for me is recognition, a moment to step back and think you know what, we did work bloody hard and didn't drop the ball even when everything was turning upside down around us. We've strengthened bonds with our clients, delivered great work, and are still smiling. I'm happy with that!"

The awards will take place online on 29 April 2021 - wish us luck!

And good luck to all the other finalists, especially our pals Krishna Solanki Designs and Onespacemedia.

Find out more about the SME Cambridgeshire Business Awards on their website.