What difference does winning a BIMA Award make? Cancer Research UK won 2017’s Advance Award for Talent. Here, Chris Flood, Content Strategy Lead at Cancer Research UK, tells us the effect winning has had on the organisation – and why they’ll be entering again this year.
We’re still seeing the impact on our reputation, and on the calibre of talent we’re able to attract. We’ll definitely be entering the awards again this year. Chris Flood, Content Strategy Lead, Cancer Research
What did immediate difference(s) becoming a BIMA Award winner make?
Our goal at Cancer Research is that by 2034, 3 in 4 people diagnosed with cancer will survive. That’s ambitious, so we need to attract the best talent to help us do it. Winning a BIMA award has raised our profile and demonstrated the scale of our digital transformation program. Both of which have helped attract great people to come work for us.
How did winning make you (and the team) feel?
Fantastic! It’s always nice to be recognised, but it also gave us the chance to celebrate our success with the rest of the organisation. So it’s made for a great story for us to use when we talk to the rest of the charity about the work we do.
In what other ways has winning had a positive effect?
Being able to say we’re part of a BIMA award winning team has been a big source of pride for us. And I think it’s been good for our industry too, helping showcase some of the great work that goes on in digital in the charity sector.
12 months on, how are you still benefitting from having been a BIMA Award winner?
We’re still seeing the impact on our reputation, and on the calibre of talent we’re able to attract. We’ll definitely be entering the awards again this year.
If someone was considering making an entry but was struggling to find time to get around to it, what advice would you give?
Grab yourself a strong coffee, stick your headphones in and knuckle down and write your entry. It doesn’t take that long to do and it’s totally worth it.