Me and 'GOD' hang out.

Collaborative Engagement

Over the past month or so we have been paying close attention to our supplier relationships and sitting down to discuss how suppliers and agencies can work harder and be more creative to collaboratively engage with brands to ensure that we inspire the brands we wish to work with. For example we recently ran a full experiential day at the offices of Sledge that gave a group of clients an insight into the strategy and rationale behind some of Sledge’s recent Consumer and B2B experiences.

The day was supported by our friends from Mindstorm who wowed our clients with their installation in the Sledge built ‘O2 Fan Space’ at the Arena. Imagine if the technology from the film Minority Report was available to brands for consumer and internal events… well it is!

Mindstorm is an award-winning software company that helps you do more with surfaces than you ever thought possible. Across surfaces, industries and across the globe, Mindstorm transforms otherwise static surfaces into intelligent displays, and passive customers into active participants.

Also in attendance were our friends from Spoonfed, showing their mobile web services. The number of festivals, conferences and internal business communications events in the UK is rising each year. As this number grows it becomes increasingly important to ensure that customers and employees are highly engaged during events; have the best possible experience; connect with old colleagues and friends; and create beneficial relationships with new people.

Mobienz achieves all of this through mobile applications and interactive mobile web services. We create branded mobile experiences that span the pre-, during, and post-event life cycle and allow event attendees to make the most of their time.

This event then progressed to a fast rib boat trip up the Thames courtesy of London Rib Voyages. The trip was a fast paced tour of London with champagne and entertainment (we were informed that the Kings of Leon had just stepped of the same boat… that upset the ladies in the group!) 

I cannot recommend this Thames based experience enough, we had such a great time and there is no faster boat on the river. If you are going to a gig at the world’s greatest music venue then you MUST travel with these guys to top off the experience.

Once at the O2 Arena, we were given a full VIP tour of the building ending in a visit to the amazing British Music Experience played host to some of the worst drumming, singing and jamming to be seen since Boyzone launched their career. Again, this is a must for any music fan of any age.

In all the day was a huge success and the clients walked away inspired and motivated to lift the bar in terms of creativity and to be brave when considering the use of technology to engage consumers and staff alike.

This event also proved to all involved that collaboration between trusted and likeminded agencies can be hugely beneficial in these quieter times and even in the early stages of client relationships, these collaborations can really work in your favour and show that you are prepared to invest time and effort to ensure that clients are aware of the new developments in our industry.

If any of our friends or suppliers would like to try something similar or perhaps you are a venue or service supplier that would like to work with our client base and you have a unique and engaging proposition then please feel free to contact me to discuss.

The Royal Ballet - Cuba

Britain's Royal Ballet is making its first appearance in Cuba. On Tuesday it began five days of performances that star dancer Carlos Acosta, described as the "event of a lifetime" for his native Cuba.

Ninety-six dancers and band members are taking to the stage in Havana. Performers from Cuban National Ballet will join them for three of the shows. Tickets are priced at 20 Cuban pesos, just under one US dollar and have sold out quickly. Some of the performances will be shown on giant outdoor television screens for free public viewing.

I took interest in this news not because I am a fan but because the interview with the principal dancer Carlos Acosta on the John Humphries show this morning got me thinking about the costs involved in attending such cultural experiences in the UK. During the interview Carlos said “ballet is so important to Cuba and this event is of such historic importance, and it is so cheap in Cuba that anyone can afford to see it”.

 

In fact the event sold out in minutes so the Cuban Government has ordered that giant screens be placed around the city of Havana to ensure that every citizen has the chance to see the performances and guess what, no brands involved and no fee to see!

 

This got me thinking about what this exercise must achieve for the cities and perhaps the nations morale and how nice it must be to experience something of such cultural enormity for free and then it got me thinking about the amount of events that the Mayor has been canceling especially in times of such depression for many Londoners.

 

Wouldn’t it be great to see more events of this type in London and the UK, I had a meeting at the GLA recently were I was informed that they had a serious challenge with taking live immersive experiences that would introduce arts and culture to the more deprived areas of London. An example used was “we could never get a Hackney teenager to attend an event similar to that of the innocent village fete”, “and thus introduce them to healthy living and low tech family entertainment”.

 

Events like the Thames Festival achieve this so I don’t see why this should be such a challenge for the GLA, perhaps some pop up events that screen empowering and inspirational cultural events to areas of London that are “deprived” and that no doubt have communities that would enjoy such opportunities.

 

Any comments?

The Air Tattoo

Some Journalist friends and myself are off to Fairford this Sunday to the Royal International Air Tattoo. I have been asked to consult the on the Experiential and Brand Partnership potential of the event. 

This is an event that my father has attended for many years, he is ex RAF and particularly poignant at this year’s event is the flight of the Vulcan Bomber an aircraft my father worked on during his time in service.

You may not be aware but this Cold War Nuclear bomber flew one of the most daring bombing raids in RAF history during the Falklands War as revealed in Rowland Whites number one bestseller Vulcan 607 (a great read!).

I am really flattered to have been asked to consult and cant wait to take in the enormity of this event, the attractions and interactive content appears to be vast and I am sure to be impressed by the production value of the event and the work carried out by my host Francesca Heap and her colleagues.

RECIPEASE

Those that know me will know I am a bit of a food nut and cook and have a number of courses and cooking experiences under my belt, but I’m thinking I’m behind the curve a little when it comes to my discovery of Jamie Oliver’s new venture, RECIPEASE.

These Deli come Cookery School outlets have popped up in Clapham Junction, London and Western Road, Brighton and not only offer Jamie branded products, a wide range of good produce but also really useful experiences to help your confidence in cooking to grow.

I have just booked a lesson so watch this space for an update on the quality of the experience and any hints and tips gained.

Another shout out for Shoot Nations

I just thought I would help out Alexandra in the press office at Shoot Experience with another big up for this fantastic event. A panel of judges including representatives from Plan, Shoot Experience and MTV will choose their top images, which will then be exhibited at the Oxo Tower from 23rd-27th September 2009.

Last call for entries for the 2009 Shoot Nations photographic competition
 
Time is running out to submit your entry for the Shoot Nations MTV worldwide photography competition.
 
With just a few weeks left hundreds of budding young photographers have already entered their best efforts in a bid to be crowned the 2009 winner.
 
The competition is open to anyone between the ages of 11 and 25, with winning entries showcased at the powerhouse of global decision-making – the UN headquarters in New York.
 
Run by in international children’s charity Plan and photographic organization Shoot Experience in partnership with MTV, the competition offers young people a unique opportunity to express how they feel about the world they live in through pictures.
 
Georgia Arnold, Senior Vice President, Social Responsibility, MTV Networks International, says: “We are delighted to be the media partner for the 2009 Shoot Nations competition, helping to give a voice to thousands of young people all over the world, through which they can make a difference to their own community.”
 
Shoot Nations is free to enter and the deadline for this year’s competition is July 31st. This year’s theme is ‘Growing Up in the 21st Century’.
 
Shoot Nations is an online competition, making it accessible to young people all over the world. Entrants are encouraged to submit photographs, drawings or graphic designs relating to their own changing world.
 
Over the past three years the competition has received over 2,500 entries from 108 countries. Over 15,000 people have attended exhibitions of Shoot Nations photographs on four different continents.
 
This year, selected photos from the competition will be presented to the United Nations Headquarters as a light-box installation in New York to celebrate International Youth Day on August 12th.
 
Plan spokesperson Sharon Goulds, says: “A great photograph can tell you so much about a person’s life; it’s such a powerful, immediate and impactful medium.

“I’m always very impressed by the standard of the entries from young people right around the world, and I’m sure this year will just as good if not better.”
 
Two age group categories will be open for entries, 11-16 years and 17-25 years.
 
Competition organisers expect about 2,000 entrants to submit up to three images each, with a brief explanation of why each photo demonstrates the photographer’s feelings towards growing up in the 21st Century.
 
In particular, gender will have a strong influence over the competition, with entrants being asked to look carefully at their place in the world and whether they feel there are any limitations or opportunities that come from being born male or female. The briefs for the competition are: Because I am a girl/Because I am a boy, What’s holding me back? and Taking control – what could I be? 

Jeff Koons: Popeye Series – 2nd to 13th Sept at Serpentine Gallery

80’s nostalgia artist Jeff Koons has his first solo show in a British public gallery will combine paintings and sculptures that combine historical art references with everyday images and objects.

This series revolves around the cartoon figure Popeye, who I am informed was invented around the time of the Wall Street Crash, could there be any relevance to the current boom or bust cycle we are in at the moment, or is it just that Koons was a former Wall Street broker and he is making a statement and laughing on his way to the bank?

Shoot Nations – Ends 26th July in Liverpool

This is an international photography competition for young people and sees many youngsters choosing to document serious issues like climate change and pollution in their photograph’s, I’m informed the results are very impressive.

See Shoot nations to see some stunning images.

And that a child can shoot an image like this is amazing, makes me realise I still have a very long way to go with my own photography.

Bastille Day Garden Party - 12th July at Battersea Park

July is going to be a great month for sunshine and interesting events and exhibitions around the UK. Here are just a few that I have been looking at and hopefully will attend.

Bastille Day Garden Party - 12^th July at Battersea Park

New to London, this celebration includes a French food market and picnic areas, tons of family-friendly activities and best of all a petanque competition.

Enjoy-Work initiative

It has become very apparent that there is a considerable dip in external events this year and a substantial rise in traditional live events created to engage, motivate and inspire staff and B2B audiences.

We have been busy looking at a number of briefs for clients and we came across a very nice initiative by the development and management team at Chiswick Park. The Enjoy work on site team organise a wide range of events, challenges and activities that engage all those that work in the business park.

Take a look at the site to see the breadth of activities on offer and take some inspiration for your own staff.

Great Agency Website

Arts council presentations

Following a number of live presentations I have given over recent months to the events industry, I am very, very pleased to announce that I have been asked to speak to the Arts Council and its members at a number of regions across the UK, starting with Nottingham.

The Arts council is determined to encourage the growth of live experiences across the nation and has asked me to show how live experiences can change perception and behaviours of consumers as well as creating touch points and engagement channels for the public. I intend to show how live experiences can help to bring communities together and how using digital platforms can amplify these experiences and give an event a life beyond the experience.  

My presentation titled Life beyond Live and the power of digital amplification will be available soon via my digital networks.

As the bond between Live events and Digital grows ever stronger and ever more important to advocacy numbers and the longevity of your message, Sledge is soon to announce a very exciting digital partnership that will see the agencies full service proposition through collaboration go from strength to strength. We have a number of case studies available that show dazzling statistics in terms of advocacy levels created through digital amplification.

Presentation dates and venues to follow shortly.

Jack Rouse at The Event Design Summit, Experience Trends

The past year has seen me truly embrace the power of the digital space as both a powerful advocacy and amplification channel and as a incredibly powerful new business mechanic. I have had the pleasure of connecting with very interesting colleagues from across a variety of industry sectors, none more so than Mr Jack Rouse In a multi-faceted career that spans more than 30 years, Jack Rouse has embraced the worlds of academia, entertainment, education, culture and community development, and a quote of Jack's that resonates with me and the experience world I live and breath is “All of these worlds share one common element,” Jack has often said. “They all want to connect with an audience.” 

Jack recently spoke at the Event Design Summit with nothing more than a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, no powerpoint no whizz bangs and no fluff, yet the audience hung on every word. I have acquired his every word from Event Design... Enjoy, it makes for an interesting read. 

After the past month it’s fair to say that all bets are off, and trying to predict 10 trends you can count on would be the height of folly. Only a designer living alone on an island would be foolish enough to think that the global economic meltdown doesn’t affect the design world in several very serious ways. So perhaps an economist would have been a better choice for this speaking slot. But you’re stuck with me. And I want to focus on the fundamentals of the business of design with an emphasis on consumers, audiences, and clients. Others here are dealing with projects, materials, technology, and a wide variety of other design specifics.

Oh yeah—fair warning—part of the next few minutes may be depressing, but it does have a happy ending. So I won’t bore you with a PowerPoint, and great images of JRA projects, but I will mention that our work is primarily in history museums, science museums, kids museums, museums of conscience, corporate visitor centers, sports facilities, location based entertainment—and increasingly in the huge market of urban development and urban revitalization. While these areas are slightly different than some of your projects, the principles and skills are the same, so I hope some of what I have to say will be relevant. At JRA, geographically we focus on the U.S., Middle East, China, Eastern Europe, and the Asia-Pacific Rim. There are about 40 of us fulltime and dozens and dozens of partner firms and individuals assembled for the needed skills and talents of each project. 

I’d like to do two things today: One—provide my overview on how I think the current global mess—and what else would you call it—affects our world and, two—what trends may emerge in the future following the straightening up of the mess.

As I tried to organize my thoughts for today’s session, I started by looking at some of the sectors where JRA works to see if I could feel better about what’s swirling around us. Part of our firm’s client list is in entertainment design—theme parks—usually a very unreal world where you leave your troubles behind and go skipping down the yellow brick road to Cinderella’s castle where you live happily ever after. Maybe this sector is ok because people will always want to be entertained. So I could quite easily go into my Pixie Dust mode and pretend that what’s been happening on Wall Street and in the global financial markets doesn’t really impact us here in the Land of Happy. But I don’t believe that and it would be a lie.

Another part of our firm’s work is in the arts and culture sector: history museums, science museums, kids museums, zoos. This is a slightly more esoteric world than the Land of Happy, because in this sector we satisfy the audience’s need to understand other cultures and the world around them. This is a basic human need and the housing meltdown and the demise of Lehman Bros. won’t impact this sector. So I could just as easily go into my Dr. Rouse mode and maintain that what’s been happening in the real world really doesn’t impact us here in Quest-for-Knowledge Land. But I don’t really believe that and it would be a lie.

Another part of our firm’s work is in the area of corporate visitor centers where corporations in all sectors strive to “connect with their customers in a meaningful and emotional way.” So they use experiential design to bond with the consumer and win clients for life, blah, blah, blah—you know the drill. What we do is not retail or trade shows, but rather bricks and mortar ego pieces for Coke, Ferrari, Packers, and others. Creating brand loyalty is particularly important in down economic times.

So I could put on my corporate communications hat and maintain that regardless of what’s happening on all the stock exchanges around the world, corporate clients will always find ways to support these initiatives and in Reach-Out-and-Touch-the-Consumer World, it will be business as usual. But I don’t really believe that either.

While these are all different sectors, they all live in the space we call leisure time. And long term that is what gives me hope. Globally, that broader world of leisure time is very accustomed to change. That world has seen sectors, trends, and fads come and go for centuries. The sector has experienced financial ups and downs and has lived through social and political upheavals—-and yet it is still here. So it would also be easy for me to put on my audience-focused leisure time hat and claim that this isn’t the end of the world and that with patience, planning, a willingness to accept major change, and with flexible strategies things will be OK. And I do believe that, and it is not a lie.

So in spite of what is to follow, this session will not end on a gloom and doom scenario, for people will always want to laugh and smile, they will always want to learn and open their minds, and they will always feel a need to connect with the customers they serve. One of the young co-op designers in our office asked me last week if she should consider changing her major in college. She was worried about the future. “Of course not,” I said. The role of experiential and event design may be hitting a major bump in the road and evolving in different ways, but the profession is not going away. But changes are coming and they likely won’t be minor.

You can look at it two ways, I added: “Is the glass half full or half empty? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Optimist here,” I said. Half full. (You get a bit Pollyanna-ish when you live in the Land of Happy too long.) Smiling she replied: “Half full here too.” That’s the future and that’s cool. Economic history teaches us that when economics get rough, the focus of most individuals narrows and turns inward. This has happened in every single economic decline since the Great Depression.

The focus understandably turns to family, personal needs, non-discretionary finances and the necessities of life. The focus in depressed times is not so much on discretionary leisure time. So one could make a strong argument then that what we do for a living (supporting the leisure time sector) may seem a bit frivolous when financial worlds and social structures are crashing down around us, our clients, and our audiences. But one could also argue that no economic downturn lasts forever. That some of the greatest periods of creativity happened during periods of economic, social, and political upheavals, and that in times of stress, leisure activities become even more important.

Radio, tv, and the movies all matured during some very rough economic times.

Escapism is sometimes just what we need. So, half full or half empty? Optimist or pessimist? You can drive yourself crazy with pessimism, or look for opportunities within the storm and prepare for a changed world after the storm passes. So what’s the role of experiential or event design as we sink into this period of crisis? And what’s our role when this passes—when the sun comes out and we all skip and dance again into the Land of Happy Profitability? I think our role is to understand that when the sun comes out, there will likely be some fundamental changes in the way people look at leisure time.

No one knows how long his down-turn will last of course, or what the world will look like when the upturn kicks in. But we might find some insights by looking at the five stages of a global melt-down and seeing how they might relate to our world. First from a pure business point of view. (As the oldest guy in the room, I’ve lived through some of these before). Mild Amusement: This is just a blip. A correction. Ha, ha, ha—Let’s go have a drink. Shock: Well maybe this is more than a blip. Blips and corrections shouldn’t last this long. Let’s go have a couple of drinks. Disbelief: This can’t be real! I’m too paralyzed to drink. Fear: Damn!

What’s next? Trepidation: I better modify my behavior and my business models and be very careful going forward. According to most analysts, consumers now are somewhere between disbelief and fear.

Now here are those same five stages as they impact our studios. Curiosity: Will this economic mess impact us as designers? Bewilderment: Hey, the RFPs and RFQs aren’t coming as frequently. What’s going on? Realization: We better seriously look at our studio and business model with capital and credit drying up for us and for our clients. Investigation: What will our clients and various business sectors be looking for when this ends? Reinvention: What does our studio look like in a changed, more cautious world? At JRA we are moving from realization to investigation—knowing that some form of reinvention is out there. I think design and economics share one important reality here: periods of flamboyant excess are always followed by periods of change and cautious restraint. What trends come out of all this? Here’s a few I think you might be able to bet on:

Trend One: Design in the future may be more conservative, understated, and non-flamboyant. When the mood of the world is somewhat cautious and hesitant, location based and non-location based experiences usually do not want to look ostentatious. The trend will also be toward quality and doing a better job with a smaller footprint and a reduced investment. Happily this trend preserves the trend toward green design.

Trend Two: Green design itself may be increasingly challenged as capital dollars get tight, for we all know that green often costs more initially. So the focus for the designer must be on the long-term benefits more than ever before. We must become sales people for green. The financial argument that in the long-term, operating efficiencies will offset the higher initial capital costs, is still valid. But when clients struggle to get any capital, that argument becomes a little thin.

Their focus, like most of ours, is on the short-term. The fact that design strongly impacts the health of the planet is indisputable—but financial realities are also indisputable. The successful designers will be those who understand the increasingly important intersection between aesthetics, green, and finances; and who can make cogent business cases, not just design and environmental cases.

As I said before, doing a great job with a smaller footprint and less bravura may be both financially and environmentally the best way to go.

Trend Three: Another trend will be that more than ever we need to get into the heads of our clients. We need to understand their business, their financial models, and their quantitative criteria for success. Meeting their business mission and goals with creative solutions will be the price of entry going forward. I challenge all designers in our studio to see design as an extension of a solid business plan, not just as an extension of a brand or a mission. In many of our sector’s purchasing departments, project managers and bean-counters are influencing all kinds of creative decisions. They talk differently! Lamentable maybe, but a reality.

So many financial and business forces will be intersecting in the future—not all of them will be directly related to design, but they will have a strong impact on design. So I am highly confident that the composition of the studio will change to include skill sets that anticipate these intersections.

Trend Four: When the world rights itself again, audiences will have reevaluated their priorities in terms of leisure. We know that attendance is down at location-based and non-location-based venues, traffic on show floors has dropped, as has attendance at a variety of galas and fundraising events. This is no surprise, of course. But what it may signal for the long-term is that consumption and expenditures may not be viewed the same way as they once were when we get out of this mess.

People will still have leisure time of course, but maybe during this economic downturn they will have discovered different activities to pursue with their leisure time that are just as satisfying. This will definitely have some impact on the worlds of event and experiential design. Not the end of those worlds, but the coming perhaps of different worlds.

Trend Five: In a global world the opportunities for experiential design are much larger and much different than they once were. Here’s a happy trend that is not linked to the current global mess: Our studio used to design just for the sectors where we have expertise. More and more, we take a proactive business development approach to integrating that multi-sector expertise into large (sometimes massive) urban mixed-use developments. This involves a studio with different skill sets than we had just a few years ago. Huge global developers are increasingly realizing the importance of arts, culture, sports, and entertainment in differentiating their mega-billion dollar projects. We want to get in early—and in many cases they want us in early. So we have notched up our participation at MIPIM, CityScape, ULI, and ICSC.

Trend Six: I believe that it is inevitable that design firms and studios will be smaller after this economic crisis has passed. But the trend was already there as the world became flat, as project teams supplanted full-time staffs, and as the trajectory of everyone’s career path changed to accommodate a changing, more mobile workforce with changing requirements for personal job satisfaction. I believe this is a good thing as collaborative design trumps ego-centric design; as audience satisfaction is placed ahead of studio satisfaction; and as business realities exert an increasing influence.

These trends will play out in different ways and in different timeframes. But the future is still bright, partially because as I learned from that co-op designer last week, who considered changing careers, the passion for design still burns in many, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, that’s cool. Experiential and event design opportunities will continue to exist and eventually grow all over the world. Audiences will want meaningful new experiences—they will want to smile and learn and connect, and our role in facilitating those connections will be as strong as ever.

Yes, I am 100-percent certain that what is currently happening on Wall Street and on the global scene will fundamentally change the way we do business—perhaps forever. I think it has to, for it will certainly change the way our clients think and the way they do business. This isn’t all bad in the long-term perhaps. In some ways it will be a bit cathartic. I’ve lived through catharsis before, and painful though it may have been, looking back I can honestly say that I and “we” emerged better for it.

We all live in a world of creativity and innovation. That spirit of creativity and innovation will be essential as we sustain ourselves and reinvent ourselves for the next cycle.

 

Discovered this awesome initiative via a twitter friend. this a beautiful way of bringing a global network of real life stories and experiences through photography and text... 

The disposable memory project have placed 128 disposable cameras in 33 countries across the globe in the hope that people will find them, use them and pass them on. It is hoped that the cameras will then be returned along with the story of their journey.

I love it!

Check out the site here. 

Real Time Searching at Scoopler.com

I have started meeting some interesting people through my Twitter community and picking up some great tips on how digital can support the campaigns we create for our clients, but perhaps even more importantly in these times of 'downturn' the digital space and the tips and pointers are leading me to some clever ways to raise the profile of the agency and spread the word with no cost.

Some new found friends, Dilan Jayawardane and AJ Asver have created Scoopler, Scoopler is a real-time search engine that aggregates content being shared on the net as it happens. Add your search topic and see the latest news and comments, films, images and stories.

Also see Digg for more up to date news.

Dorito's Dodgeball Live

I was just Twittered by an industry colleague and informed a stunning and very amusing example of just how powerful the collaboration of Digital and Live can be. The Dorito's Dodgeball Challenge went 'live' a short time ago and is very much a manifestation of the sporting event brought to our attention by the most amusing Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn film of the same name. It also further enhances Dorito's foray into the digital and gaming space, also see Unlock XBOX

This unique and well executed campaign allows online users to fire 'Dodgeballs' from 6 cannons placed in a secret London location at a member of the public who's one desire is to be part of a team to compete in the Dodgeball World Series in Vegas against the 'San Diego Crossfire'

31 teams are traveling to London to do battle at the secret location, i will endeavour to find out more and keep you posted.

Go see it at Dorito's Dodgeball

I tilt my hat to the agencies involved a stunning example of Live meets Digital.

The Mid Century Show

Mark the beginning of Summer and quell your addiction for design classics by escaping to the Seaside for our much loved South Coast show. 

Enjoy top furniture, ceramics, glass and lighting while taking in sea views, great food, a free art exhibition from one of the UKs leading artists Susan Collins and creative Lift the Lid workshop for kids. Headlining our show is exciting new designer Zoe Murphy www.zoemurphy.com who will be unveiling her first Bexhill piece of customized vintage furniture following her Margate series. Murphy was recently shortlisted for the BBC’s New Designer of the Year Award and we love her work. 

30 top European dealers specialising in furniture, lighting, ceramics, glass, art, sculpture and fabrics will be on hand to sell and chat about their twentieth century design classics. The De la Warr pavilion, a modernist masterpiece in its own right, is the place to be with funky design junkies flocking from all over the country and especially from Brighton, Hove, Hastings, St Leonards and Rye for their vintage fix and snort of sea salt.

For more info see link

New Nivea Sun Roadshow

NIVEA SUN® has appointed leading agency Sledge to create a nationwide ‘Sunwise’ experiential roadshow to promote sun safety and the NIVEA SUN® Children’s Sun Spray range.

The Sunwise roadshow will promote sun safety to families in a fun and educational way whilst they are visiting family attractions throughout the summer. This activity builds on the work that NIVEA SUN® currently undertakes in educating primary schools about the power of the sun and importance of sun protection. The activity is part of a national integrated campaign incorporating TV and press advertising 

The experience will take place in and around the NIVEA SUN® bus which features interesting areas for kids to explore and interact with.  Five cartoon characters in the NIVEA SUN® ‘Sunwise Set’ will introduce the 10 Golden Rules of Sunwise Sense. The five characters come alive in their own areas of the bus:

The Sunwise Science Lab is where children can discover the science of the sun with ‘Indria’ the Sunwise Set character that brings sun science to life

The Weather Station will be where children can make their own weather reports with Geography nerd ‘Nigel’ who can make Geography a fun subject.

The Adventure Corner is stuffed with story books telling adventure tales children will love.  With ‘Alice’ bringing the stories to life, this is no ordinary English department.

The Sunwise Games area will contain ideas for games and sports to play in the sun with ‘Emilio’ whose favourite subject is PE.

The Sunwise Roadshow will also incorporate a stage for the five Sunwise Set characters to perform, sing ‘the Sunwise Rap’ and entertain the audience at set times throughout the day. Many locations will also incorporate a NIVEA SUN® Children’s Sun Spray station so that families can sample the Sun Spray themselves and make sure they are protected for the day.

The roadshow began in May at the NIVEA SUN® Yellowave centre in Brighton – the UK's first permanent beach sports venue. It will then tour family attractions nationwide throughout the school summer holidays (July and August). Other locations include Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo and LEGOLAND Windsor.

Nikki Seery  at NIVEA SUN® says: “The campaign Sledge is creating for NIVEA SUN® is focused on engaging with and educating families. Sledge understood our brief exactly and met all our objectives to communicate, interact and, above all, engage consumers. They have created a campaign that compliments our existing marketing and really brings it alive.”

The Spirit of London Awards 2009

Had a great meeting with the Digital Guru’s behind the forthcoming The Spirit of London Awards. The awards are an inspirational new awards scheme for young Londoners.

The awards will celebrate young people from various walks of life whose common bond is that they are sons or daughters of the greatest city on the planet. Whether London born or adopted Londoners the Spirit of London Awards will go to young people who are a credit to the local communities whose culture and heritage light up the City by adding passion to the prestige of London life.

In its great history the metropolis has survived much conflict and trauma. Through every challenge faced the spirit of London has always prevailed. It is the people of Britain’s capital city that provide its backbone and its young people that provide its future.

Take a look at the site and consider a vote or two. 

Entertainment and the Recession...

I have been waxing lyrical of late about the fortunate opportunities that the current unfortunate economic downturn will afford our industry particularly in terms of the need for more Live Experiences closer to home and across our wonderful nation.

You see, I totally buy into the thought that consumers of all demographics will still seek out and in fact need ‘Experiences’ (more than ever!) and these Experiences are far more likely to be here at home now that we’re all feeling the effects of this economic ‘Blip’ ‘Glich’…Nightmare!!

Less money is likely to be spent traveling to Europe and the rest of the world and we Brits will be thinking ‘Less is More’ and looking to other options in terms of entertainment. Festivals and Live Brand experiences in theory should be holding their own this summer and brands should realize the factors involved and stay brave.

For examples of new and interesting things to do here at home in wonderful England, check out enjoyengland.com and then for the more culture focused check out enjoyengland.com/culture