One of the social events of the dance music calendar took place
last week with the aid of not one, but two PR agencies.
The 1999 Ericsson Muzik Awards was held at the Gainsborough Film Studios
in Islington and was attended by 600 leading figures from the dance
music industry, including the Chemical Brothers, Faithless and Fat Boy
Slim.
PR for the event was split between youth lifestyle agencies Slice and
Cake. The awards, which are in their fourth year, were hosted by Radio
One DJs Zoe Ball and Pete Tong, while the after show party featured DJ
sets from the likes of Carl Cox.
The evening got off to a rocky start when a problem with ticket
allocation meant that people who normally do not have to queue for clubs
had to wait for up to an hour before gaining entry.
Apparently, the hold-up was because each guest had to have a laminated
pass made up on the door. Lucky, then, that two PR agencies were on hand
to smooth the ruffled feathers.
’It is hard to try and entertain that type of crowd which is not used to
queuing, but overall the event gained a lot of positive coverage,’ said
Cake MD Mike Mathieson.
Cake focused on the event’s concept and production, including choosing
the unusual venue, where Alfred Hitchcock made several films. Press
relations were handled by Slice, which has been involved in all four
Muzik awards.
Slice chief executive Damian Mould said press coverage was positive,
despite the hitch.
