The hall at the Banqueting House

So, then, to the sumptuous surroundings of the Banqueting House in Whitehall for the Walpole‘s Awards for  Luxury.

It was a well-attended and extremely well-orchestrated event and the awards (of which there were seven, plus a special award for Dame Vivien Westwood whose, er, distinctive speech I really hope to be able to track down on YouTube and treasure forever!).

I was really pleased to see Bremont Watches get an award  (I’m a fan of their ALTI-Z, cream face) and Net A Porter picked up a deserved award for best online luxury site.

In all, a fun evening and good to catch up with so many people.

e-Consultancy are running an interesting take on awards this year – the focus being upon Innovation in the key areas of digital marketing, rather than achievement per se. This should allow plenty of room to dig underneath the normal approach of “vote for famous big company”. In these awards we can look inside the monoliths that are the leading UK companies by size and reputation and acknowledge some of the many initiatives, experiments and inflexion points that in aggregate can lead to success.

Best of all, one can celebrate initiatives that fail (for good reasons and worthwhile learning) as well as things that otherwise might be under the public radar.

The award categories (below) give plenty of opportunity to enter.

I’m pleased and rather humbled to have been invited to judge (there’s a pretty stellar list of judges – plus me) and I accepted in seconds (before the offer was withdrawn ). I’m really looking forward to seeing the entries and it’s going to be a privilege to see the nominations.

Entries close on 24 October so don’t delay! Remember too to be generous in nominating the person you think has been most innovative.

The Award categories are:

• Innovation in Affiliate Marketing
• Innovation in Email Marketing
• Innovation in Online Advertising Innovation in Multichannel Marketing Innovation in User Experience Innovation in Social Media and Communities Innovation in SEO/Natural Search
• Innovation in Paid Search/PPC
• Innovation in Web Analytics and Optimization
• Innovation in Online Conversion
• Innovation in Online Retention
• Innovation in Online Acquisition
• Innovation in Digital Marketing and Team Management
  This category will recognise innovative approaches to team management/HR, recruitment and retention strategies and managing significant team growth
• Most Innovative Person in Digital Marketing
  There’s no fee for entering this additional category, so be generous of spirit: tell us which innovative person you admire and why.

Ah, it’s a tough life! Last week saw me in my black tie at the Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane for two award dinners: that for Retail Week on the 16th of March, and the Revolution Magazine awards dinner (for which awards I’d played a small part as a judge).

I was a guest of Conchango at the Retail Week awards and Mike Altendorf and his team were hospitable, generous and highly convivial hosts. The table was just great, with people from M&S, Ann Summers, Comet and Currys, as well as the esteemed CIO at Littlewoods, Martin Wyke.

Our table was a small “digital enclave” and my overwhelming thought about the awards (the next day, as the headache cleared) was how traditional the retail industry is. The people I met all seemed to have worked in the industry for many years, often working through either M&S or GUS or both. These companies clearly provide the basis of training and networking for the industry and I’m sure that an award is due to them for that!

eCommerce is clearly making an impact, but it’s still “other” and “new”. Companies like Conchango (and also Javelin) are championing “integrated commerce”, building upon the tradition capabilities in buying and distribution, but it’s still a matter of turning oil tankers…

The Revolution awards could not have been more different. The gathering was younger, focused on digital marketing and ecommerce, and there was a confident, “up” feeling to the evening from the start.

At some point in my career I’d hope to have the buzz, talent, can-do creativity and digital sparkle from the Revolution evening meet fully the experience, merchandising and capability in the Retail Week camp. Then we’d know that the 21st Century eCommerce aspirations are becoming a reality!

Phil Buxton did really well on the podium and will shortly be tying the knot at his wedding: congrats to Phil – let us know which speech was the most nerve-wracking (my money’s on the wedding speech!).

My final resolution though is to go and see more live, stand-up comedy: The Pub Landlord (Revolution) and Dara o’Brien (RW) were both great: sharp, funny and clearly bemused by (aka not giving a toss about) the events – wonderful!

More shots from the CrapCam after the jump.

Yes, these were the Revolution awards. No-one stormed the stage though: the Purple Revolution?

Mad amounts of chatting: this was during the meal and general announcings – people were just up, about and chatting like mad. A really great atmosphere. I was, of course, totally well behaved and sat in my seat politely. Oh yes.

Behind the “curtains of exclusivity” of the ballroom… the reality of the hotel building. Nice.

The alcohol flowed and no-one had heard about impending smoking bans Digital marketing drink and smoke more than retailers, imho (and recent experience!).