Rochdale Online Awards 2008

Reporter: Jan Harwood
Date online: 08/06/2008

The third annual Rochdale Online Awards, sponsored by Howdens Joinery, saw the magnificent Great Hall at Rochdale Town Hall packed for an evening of food and drink, music and dancing, and of course to see the winners of the 'Rochdale Online Awards' presented with their certificates and prizes.

The evening began with a Bucks Fizz reception, with live entertainment from pianist Peter Taylor, before guests moved upstairs to the Great Hall.

The guests were welcomed by Rochdale Online Founder and Chairman Malcolm Journeaux, who then presented a surprise outstanding service to Rochdale Online award to programmer Tim Makin before the first course of a sumptuous meal was served. Guests were entertained during the meal by Frank Sinatra tribute Jonathan Swift.

Interspersed between courses were the awards, announced by Rochdale Online director John Kay and presented by Rochdale Online Managing Director Pauline Journeaux.

Each winner received a framed certificate, signed personally by Malcolm Journeaux, and a stunning piece of unique Blanthorn luxury glass worth hundreds of pounds (www.blanthorn.com).

The Awards:

Best content for a Business website

A Business website is effectively a full page or multi-page advert on the Rochdale Online website. It gives businesses the opportunity to put across in detail the services and products they offer and much more. The judges wanted to see content that would be likely to persuade site visitors to make contact.

Shortlist:
• Old Hucky’s Restaurant
• Ollie K's Lancashire Brasserie
• On Track Dog Training


The winner:

• On Track Dog Training

Cath Phillips, the proprietor of On Track Dog Training said: “It is really fantastic, it’s an honour and it means so much.

“The website has really helped my business enormously, a lot more than I thought it was going to do. It really has made a big impact.”


Best content for a Rochdale Online developed bespoke website

Rochdale Online has a very large portfolio of bespoke websites developed for small and large clients, local and national. The judges were looking for compelling quality content, text and photos. Content that sold the products and services on offer without over-selling, and that gave site visitors confidence that they were dealing with a high quality trustworthy company.

Shortlist:

• AST Hampson
• Brecrest
• Equity Release Bureau

The winner:

• Brecrest

Joanne Fleming and Linda Gillespie of Brecrest said: “It’s brilliant; we’re really thankful and completely chuffed to win.

“Our website is a massive improvement on what we had before.”

“It has given us a fantastic lift, it really has been great to win.”


Best content for a Community website
Rochdale Online believes that it is important for companies to give back to the local community. We do this by providing the opportunity of a significant presence on the Rochdale Online website to community and voluntary groups completely free of charge enabling them to benefit from the sort of exposure they otherwise could not dream of affording.

The judges were looking for content that was useful, informative, easy to read and well laid out. Good quality photos were also considered favourably.

Shortlist:

• Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club
• Make Rochdale a Fairtrade Borough Action Group
• Rochdale Round Table

The winner:

• Rochdale Round Table

Tony Pockney, Chairman of Rochdale Round Table said: “I’m extremely surprised. I am delighted with the facility provided by Rochdale Online. It’s a great way to get our message out to the community and we find we get a lot of interest through the site. We look forward to developing it further in the next few years.”


Best content for a Business Sponsored Link
The purpose of a sponsored link is to persuade readers to take action, either to follow the website link or to contact using email or telephone. Persuasive text, particularly explaining what is in it for the reader, along with a strong call to action, is what the judges wanted to see.

Shortlist:

• Bettaprint Garment Decorations
• East Lancashire Services
• RAM Clearances

The winner:

• Bettaprint Garment Decorations

Jenny and Alan Thompson, the owners of Bettaprint said: “It’s a tremendous award and we are really pleased. It’s the first award we’ve received.

“Rochdale Online have been really helpful and without them we would not be the business we are.”


Councillor Diary of the Year

The idea behind the Councillor Diaries is to give councillors the opportunity to use Rochdale’s most popular media outlet to record their activities on behalf of constituents. With page views of 35,000 a month the diaries have proved popular with site visitors’ way beyond expectation.

The judges were looking for a diary that was informative and interesting, well written and that avoided overuse of negative politics.

Shortlist:
• Jean Ashworth
• Ashley Dearnley
• Susan Emmott

The winner:

• Councillor Jean Ashworth

Councillor Jean Ashworth said: “It’s absolutely brilliant and a great honour.

“I want to thank Rochdale Online for giving councillors this chance.

“I didn’t expect to win, but I am really chuffed.”


Message Board Member of the Year

The Rochdale Online Message Board is an immensely popular section of the site. There is a real sense of identity and community amongst the participants, and for every person who posts another there are dozens more who simply read.
The judges were looking for a member who contributed to debates in a useful and informative way.

Shortlist:
• Charly – Linda Phillips
• Hinch – Pete Hinchcliffe
• Rainbow Lady - Glenys Harrison

The winner:

• Charly – Linda Phillips

Linda Phillips said: “It’s brilliant to win. I’ve been on the message board for a long time and I really enjoy it. I’ve met a lot of nice friends and we get together every so often.

“The message board is the first thing I look at in the morning and the last thing at night.”

After the meal and the presenting of the awards, a raffle took place the proceeds of which were ring-fenced for local charity, Re-Build and raised the sum of £650.

The prizes were donated by local businesses:

• First Prize
  Men’s Suit (value £250)
  Donated by Denis Hope 
• Second Prize
  Gift Box
  Heroes Fine Foods 
• Third Prize
  Meal for two
  Donated by the Moss Lodge Hotel 
• Fourth Prize
  Bottle of Scotch
  Donated by David Hennigan

Rochdale Online’s Malcolm Journeaux said: “Tonight was a very special night as this month is the 10th anniversary of the Rochdale Online website. To see just how far it has come and what a good influence it has had locally is something I am very proud of.

“My congratulations to all the winners and commiserations to those short-listed who didn’t win, as John Kay said earlier, every one short-listed is a winner really, and it really was very difficult to choose the standard was so high.”

“Finally, my thanks to all at Rochdale Online who worked so hard over the past few weeks to make this night happen, and to the guests who made it such a wonderful night, I always enjoy myself but this night was extra special.”