1. One Show beams Dydd Miwsig Cymru live into living rooms across the UK
Last night we kicked off the tenth anniversary of Dydd Miwsig Cymru with a jam-packed gig in Cardiff’s Portland House. The One Show broadcast live from the event with presenter (and former Steps star) Ian ‘H’ Watkins presenting Adwaith with the Sound of Miwsig for most influential band of the decade and song of the decade for their track Eto. Cardiff-based producer Don Leisure was also there to give a taste of his upcoming record, Tyrchu Sain, which samples iconic Welsh tracks from record label Sain’s back catalogue with Ynys and Mali Hâf sampling their sounds from stage. Our launch event was the first of over 40 gigs across Wales and the world, with Mellt, Gillie and Wrkhouse set to play London’s Old Blue Last in collaboration with DIY Magazine tonight. Miwsig Cymraeg will be in full swing nationwide with artists taking to the stage from Bangor to Barry over the weekend so head to @awniawniawni to find your nearest gig. You can read more about this year’s celebrations in The Guardian, DIY and BBC.
2. Water Efficiency with Dŵr Cymru
Legend has it, it was American comedian W.C. Fields who coined the phrase “never work with children or animals” but W.C. never worked on a water efficiency campaign for Dŵr Water Welsh Water – missed opportunity considering his name. Convincing customers to take a range of steps to save money, and protect the environment, is no easy feat and so we decided to fly in the face on this famous adage, and work with a gifted young star (minus her front teeth) and two aged, but incredibly well-behaved feline companions. Throw in some FX magic (because we couldn’t find a taxidermy dog paw, long story), a yellow raincoat, a shower (obviously), and some more FX magic and the result is a series of 15 second ads for YouTube with the aim of making a difference, when we add up all those little changes. Right then…time to fix that leaky tap.
3. Changes to Qualifications in Wales
Starting in September, national qualifications in Wales will undergo big changes, and we’ve been working with our client Qualifications Wales to run targeted ads for key audience segments. For parents, we’ve been using Meta ads; for teachers, we’ve focused on LinkedIn, and for learners, we’ve turned to TikTok. For each group, we created engaging animated GIFs that explain the key changes to the qualifications and encourage them to learn more by visiting the website. The ads have so far generated over 70,000 impressions and 900 clicks-through to the website.
4. Cooking up a storm at Coleg y Cymoedd
Coleg y Cymoedd took home the crown for the ‘best college’ at the Welsh International Culinary Championships this January for the second year in a row, alongside 31 individual awards for its talented cookery learners. We’ve been working with the South Wales college to share this impressive new record, sharing the stories of the learners who aced the weeklong competition, grabbing golds for specialities such as mixology and cocktails, to patisserie and risotto. Check out our coverage in The Caerphilly Observer, Wales 247 and News From Wales.
5. Finalists announced for the first ever HR in Wales Awards
Launched by Lesley Richards, former head of the CIPD in Wales, with support from industry experts, the finalists for the first ever HR in Wales Awards were announced this week. More than 50 organisations and business have been shortlisted across eight categories and include: Monmouthshire Building Society, BBC Cymru Wales, Mrs Bucket Commercial Cleaning, Creditsafe, Atradius, Ogi and Joseph Heler. We bagged media coverage for the finalists’ announcement on Business News Wales and Wales 247 and can’t wait for the awards ceremony on March 14th, hosted by Wales’ first Traitor Andrew Jenkins.
