Summer Season
30 July 2011 – 11:22 am
Approaching August, we are now mid-season in the race calendar. Last weekend saw the ever growing Silverstone Classic, which is now Silverstone’s second largest event after the recent British Grand Prix.
Flying In
30 July 2011 – 11:15 am
So it is nearly here, last summer at the Aston Martin factory we saw mock ups and now one is actually ready to drive away. Presenting the Cygnet. The baby Aston Martin is modelled on the rather attractive (for a city car) Toyota iQ. Boasting a few luxury modifications, the Cygnet helps Aston Martin meet EU emission standards.
Manufacturing or Art?
16 July 2011 – 10:51 am
This fantastic sculpture is based on the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team’s 2010 car. Every part has been suspended from the ceiling on fine wire, and can be seen at Mercedes-Benz World, Brooklands, near London.
This glammed up Mercedes car showroom, dealership and workshop is located at the centre of what was once one of the world’s first race circuits. The track has largely long since been carved up for housing and little of the original world famous Brooklands banking remains. Although there is a short stretch, and it is visible from the top floor of the glassy, airy, on-brand building.
Completed in 2006 the brand experience is an attempt by Mercedes to gain more control over its distribution network in the UK. While standing out from its competitors by offering something different for customers and potentials. The brand is expert at drawing on its long and illustrious history. Design, quality and reliability being key.
Leads to Leeds
19 May 2011 – 12:02 pm
It was with great delight to recently re-visit lecturers and students on the marketing related degrees at Leeds Business School; the new central Leeds campus pictured above. A highly engaged and diverse educational audience added to the day.
In the seminar, we covered international relations and the position of the media sector now in 2011.
They key observation highlighted, was the sector is changing at a breakneck pace, (which to a degree it always has done).
The current acceleration of change is mainly due to the Internet and associated technology.
Nowadays everyone with a camera or video phone is a potential journalist, a current example witnessed on a daily basis in Libya and other global hotspots. The once rigid editorial filters of the press and traditional broadcasters, no longer carry the same sway and influence. A member of the public is now at liberty and fully able to record and upload news in a matter of seconds.
As the media changes, so too does the communications sector. It needs to understand and work with this new world. While attempting to rigidly control a message may be an approach of the past, change is not all bad. This new world of many independent news gatherers, has benefits to professional communicators, for example many organisations now have an instant bank of brand advocates at large. This can be very positive, Apple and Waitrose in the UK, are often cited examples of this.
Attempts at traditional methods of message control are now proved to be largely flawed, note the recent run of super-injunction traffic on social sites such as Twitter, the courts said one thing, the public did another. The news gatherers found out what they wanted to know in a matter of a few keyboard clicks.
To summarise, there will always be a requirement and role for professional communicators, but the environment in which they operate is changing. To be successful, communications practitioners need to adapt and change to the times and ever moving environment.
Lisbon 2011
16 May 2011 – 7:30 am
This week I have been working in Lisbon, the historic Portuguese capital.
Increasingly keen to push itself as a conference destination, it is taking on Barcelona and other European cities as a place for corporates to have break outs and incentive trips. Good weather, food, entertainments and a mix of colonial and modern architecture make it a powerful proposition.
My last visit to Lisbon was over ten years ago for Expo ’98. An event which is widely agreed re-positioned Lisbon on the business and tourist map.
Part of Lisbon’s recent success following Expo, has been an excellent transport system around the City, using a range of vehicles. Travelling around the world, large infrastructure projects are often complained about while under development, but heavily used once completed. Think Eurostar and its success linking London, Paris and Brussels, and contrast this with the current opposition to the proposed London-Birmingham HS2 line.
Expo itself brought a whole new city of modern sky rises and large open public spaces, on the fringe of the old capital. A modern station in the area, pictured above, is as impressive as anything currently under construction globally.
Bridges, rail, commuter boats, trams, garish half green coloured taxis and a modern airport make access to and around the city straight forward.
Most charming and iconic of all the modes of transport have to be the abundant yellow trams. The 500 series we rode in was British built, and had been totally re-conditioned in recent years, although still retaining a historic aspect and charm. The steep streets of Lisbon mean the tram is helpfully equipped with several brakes of different configurations, for example, electric mechanical and gas. Should one fail, there is in theory a back up to prevent a catastrophe.
While not as large as Barcelona and some other European destinations, Lisbon offers plenty for the business host and traveller.
Historics Are Go!
22 April 2011 – 7:18 am
As the sun beats down, another race season begins. Testing this Easter Week are the pre-1966 Historics. With a field of Coopers, Jaguars, Astons, Alfas, Ferraris, Maseratis and Fords, it looks like a summer of action in this gentleman driver league.
Delta Five
22 April 2011 – 7:12 am
Based next to the world renowned Silverstone Circuit, Delta Motorsport has developed an enviable client book in its five years since inception. With some UK Government funding assistance, Delta Motorsport has produced five of the above electric four seater concepts. With proprietary parts and some borrowed from well known manufacturers such as Aston Martin, this all wheel drive fully electric car looks and drives the part. Another example of engineering and innovation, which is rife in this corner of the UK.
Old and New
17 April 2011 – 6:33 am
This is the second type of graphic I have seen this year mixing old and new London. The new City development, One New Change, adopted a mix of Georgian and modern London in their promotional opening marketing. This iteration of the theme, pictured above, is for the 2011 Royal Ascot Week.
NMK
23 February 2011 – 12:04 pmA few brief comments covering MWC 2011 courtesy of the excellent digital industry newszine, NMK.
Xavier Adam, managing director of marketing consultancy AMC Network, said that Android talk dominated MWC 2011, but that there were signs of emerging market players from Asia.
“[There were] probably more Chinese and Asian companies than before and these are now moving up the value chain,” he concluded. “BlackBerry continues to talk of new products with not so many firm commitments. They may look back and wish they had stuck to the knitting, instead of trying to be all things to all people. The eco-excitement of last year seems to have gone. Were base stations powered by renewables a passing fad?”