Adam Stoner

I’m a bit late letting you all know, but Core Blimey Cider – the University of Gloucestershire’s social-enterprise that I’ve been working on for the past year – won Tone Radio an award earlier this week!

In October, Silas – the Students’ Union Social Enterprise Co-Ordinator – and I, rebranded Core Blimey – a 6.4% medium-sweet cider, brewed locally by Severn Cider – as ‘Tone Radio Cider’, and started flogging it.

It formed part of a marketing campaign to re-link the student radio station to university values and acted a nudge to both the Students’ Union and university that their social-enterprises are worthwhile, and that they should keep them alive at all costs.

I like to think we’ve proven their value.

On a whim, I entered the cider in to the I Love Student Radio Awards. The I Love Student Radio Awards is held annually at the National Student Radio Conference and aims to celebrate the commitment and contributions of individuals to student radio. They say ‘it is [for] those people and stations who go the extra mile, putting in time effort and creativity behind the scenes, and whose commitment to student radio is unprecedented.’

Anyway, we got nominated…

And then we won!

Here’s a little extract from our 1,000 word entry. I think it sums up why the cider has done so well:

1. Cheltenham is ‘West Country’, a region traditionally famous for its production of cider. This link to the local community establishes the station brand beyond university walls.
2. The cider is locally brewed and organically produced reinforcing important university ethics.
3. Students love alcohol!

The Student Radio Association called Core Blimey ‘One of the coolest things we’ve seen in student radio’ in a Facebook post, while Matt Deegan said the cider showcased ‘real thoughtfulness about the link between location, audience, and brand awareness’.