2011: Branded3’s best bits

With just 10 days left of 2011, we take a look back over the year at some of our highlights, and the defining moments which have brought Branded3 to the forefront of the UK’s digital industry.

B3Labs launch

With the addition of a talented content team, we launched our company blog in April this year. Intended for expert thought and innovative ideas, we named the blog B3Labs. With a team as skilled as this, we needed a platform to not only showcase our expertise and innovation, but to interact and contribute to the digital industry.

Just a few months after launching, B3Labs had already been nominated for a SomeComm award and a prestigious Social Buzz award. We’re looking to increase the number of expert articles we publish in 2012, across all aspects of design, development and SEO.

Competwition re-launch

With some big brand sponsors and a great new look and feel, we re-launched our internally built Twitter-based application – Competwition – in the summer. Allowing companies and brands to gain Twitter followers through prize draws, Competwition is the perfect tool for extending brand reach. With almost 20,000 followers, we see 2012 being a big year for this innovative application.

Yorkshire Three Peaks

Thirteen brave members of our team exchanged their laptops and notebooks for walking boots and rucksacks this summer when they took part in the gruelling Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge. Spanning 26 miles and encompassing the three highest peaks in the county, our team raised £2,000 for charity, and are looking forward to getting involved in many more fundraising activities next year.

Our Head of Design brands Leeds Digital Festival

We might describe ourselves as experts a lot, but we truly believe we have the best digital talent around. As such, it came as no surprise to us when our skilled Head of Design, Andrew Machin, created the winning design for Leeds Digital Festival 2011.

Talented designers from all over the region were invited to take part, but it was Andrew’s ambitious yet innovative design idea which ensured he and his team were voted winners.

Twitition reached one million followers

Beginning the year with 400,000 followers, we’re ending it with over 1.2 million followers. Hitting the one million mark in August, Twitition is now in the top 500 most popular Twitter accounts in the world, sitting above names such as Miley Cyrus and Cheryl Cole. Not bad for a fun experiment eh?

DADI Grand Prix award

Attending the DADI Awards in November, we were excited to have even been shortlisted for three prestigious awards. After scooping the top prize for two of our nominations, we were ecstatic to receive the Grand Prix award for our innovative work on Twitition – our internal application.

This was certainly a highlight for the whole team, and to gain recognition like this on such a high level was an honour.

We win eight awards

2011 has certainly been the year of awards for Branded3, and our team have dug out their best frocks and smartest suits no less than six times this year to attend the most prestigious of award ceremonies.

Take a look at where our nominations have taken us this year:

• The SomeComms Awards in Manchester
• The Digital Impact Awards in London
• The Search Awards at the Emirates Stadium in London
• The DADI Awards in Leeds
• The Digitally Leeds Awards in Leeds
• The Social Buzz Awards at Wembley Stadium in London

Shortlisted for a staggering 21 awards, we’re ending the year on a high after winning eight of them.

Team expansion

Branded3 began the year with 15 employees based in Leeds, we now have over 30. The rapid expansion of the team has been incredible, and is a direct reflection of the amount of client wins and our standing in the industry.

2011 has been fantastic for Branded3, and we’re ending the year as a 33-strong expert team; ready to produce even more award-winning work next year and raise our profile in the digital sector.

More than anything, the highlight of this year for all of us has been working within such a great team of people – so a big thank you to everyone at Branded3 for working so hard and making the agency the success it is today.

Merry Christmas from Branded3!

We couldn’t end the year without saying Merry Christmas to everyone we’ve worked with this year, so here’s a little Christmas message from us, to you…