24/09/2007

A family of websites - including a jobs one - owned by The Herald publishers has been nominated among the best ever brands in Scotland - despite being on the go for just seven years.

s1 received the accolade as part of a series of awards commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Scottish Advertising Awards. Other nominees include Tennent’s, Irn Bru and Glenmorangie. s1 has 30 staff.

Says John Denholm, founder of The Leith advertising agency (and nominated in the Most Influential Person category): “Having been involved with great Scottish brands like Tennent’s and Irn Bru over the years, I’m delighted that we in Scotland are today still creating great new brands, of which s1 is a shining example.”

Adds Gordon Young, publisher of awards hosts, Carnyx Group: “What’s really striking about s1 is that there haven’t been too many new Scottish brands in recent years that have made a comparable impact. Its success is of course partly due to great advertising and specifically an impressive consistency in message and tone. It’s a brand that Scotland’s marketing community should be immensely proud of.”

The launch of s1jobs, in January six years ago, saw the debut of a celebrated advertising campaign that featured the ‘just a penny chew mister’ ice cream commercial (later voted Scotland’s favourite TV ad). The site itself was an instant hit, attracting 10,000 job seekers in its first month, a number that has since risen to more than 400,000. 

Further sites followed, including s1homes, s1play and s1learning.

Says s1 head of marketing, David Craik: “For the ads guy at a ‘little’ Scottish brand like s1, this feels like the marketing equivalent of taking six points off France. I think the nomination is great news not just for us but for Scotland’s digital and marketing communities, because it highlights how new indigenous Scottish brands can succeed in the digital age.”

The awards take place at the Glasgow Hilton on the 26th of next month.

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