Fresh challenges! How could you use corporate marketing to support social enterprise?
"Hold onto those who inspire you"
I am honoured to be invited to support the inspirational emerging social enterprise, GINA.
This incredible opportunity came up through a wonderful friend Marie Yates, as they needed a little guidance in transporting their amazing ideas into action.
I love this brand, and completely believe in what they stand for, but as a corporate focused chartered marketer, how can I use my experience to support social enterprise?
“GINA offers unparalleled opportunities for people affected by rape and sexual abuse to Grow, Inspire, Nurture and Achieve”.
Having confidence in a brand allows me to happily align myself with them. It is a brand that has been carefully and thoughtfully executed and their dream is an ever-developing one!
The team at GINA is inspiring, engaging and has non-stop energy! They really do bring the magic to this brand, and ultimately the client!
Over an early morning Skype from New Zealand to a sunny UK, we created a mind map of dreams, tactics and opportunities – which lead to a briefing paper.
As a chartered marketer with an extensive background in marketing corporate businesses, I am enjoying the challenge of this brief. Marketing a big corporate company or a social enterprise is very similar - budgets can be of extremes, but the core of the proposal is the same – reach and delight the customer with your product or service.
In wider terms, I am a big believer in making things happen and would like to encourage anyone who has an idea for an project to start talking about it to your networks (whether cultural organisations or corporate), put in the hours, but don't think about it too much - just make something happen! It is possible! A story which I regularly tell is that one of my previous projects, Thrift Radiates Happiness was an idea that was stumbled across over a glass of wine. But just by making the commitment, this event proved to be such a success - a quantifiable target for any marketer.
I look forward to a continued relationship with Team GINA!
This incredible opportunity came up through a wonderful friend Marie Yates, as they needed a little guidance in transporting their amazing ideas into action.
I love this brand, and completely believe in what they stand for, but as a corporate focused chartered marketer, how can I use my experience to support social enterprise?
“GINA offers unparalleled opportunities for people affected by rape and sexual abuse to Grow, Inspire, Nurture and Achieve”.
Having confidence in a brand allows me to happily align myself with them. It is a brand that has been carefully and thoughtfully executed and their dream is an ever-developing one!
The team at GINA is inspiring, engaging and has non-stop energy! They really do bring the magic to this brand, and ultimately the client!
Over an early morning Skype from New Zealand to a sunny UK, we created a mind map of dreams, tactics and opportunities – which lead to a briefing paper.
As a chartered marketer with an extensive background in marketing corporate businesses, I am enjoying the challenge of this brief. Marketing a big corporate company or a social enterprise is very similar - budgets can be of extremes, but the core of the proposal is the same – reach and delight the customer with your product or service.
In wider terms, I am a big believer in making things happen and would like to encourage anyone who has an idea for an project to start talking about it to your networks (whether cultural organisations or corporate), put in the hours, but don't think about it too much - just make something happen! It is possible! A story which I regularly tell is that one of my previous projects, Thrift Radiates Happiness was an idea that was stumbled across over a glass of wine. But just by making the commitment, this event proved to be such a success - a quantifiable target for any marketer.
I look forward to a continued relationship with Team GINA!
Christchurch’s Changing Demographics - What does this mean for the marketer?
The Christchurch Art Gallery "War Room"
(Credit Nathan Pohio 2014)
How can a huge arts institution, such as the Christchurch Art Gallery (which is currently closed due to earthquake repairs), respond to ever changing audiences? How can they evolve to respond to the demands of different types of audience?
Potential audiences for any public space change depending on circumstances, none more so than in a city rebuilding itself after a disaster. In Christchurch, we are now 3 years on from a life changing earthquake, and the new city is slowly starting to take shape. This process has made a huge impact on the demographics of the city, and therefore the market segmentation of the city. So how would such an institution respond to this changing demographic and how would they need to tailor their marketing efforts to reach this new audience?
With their (traditional) gallery space out of action, Christchurch Art Gallery is taking art to the public, rather than in a traditional gallery setting. This has opened a wider demographic to ‘encounter’ art, rather than relying on the already engaged arts audiences visiting the gallery space to ‘view’ art. By taking images of their incredible collection onto the streets Christchurch Art Gallery are staying visible and they continue to promote themselves and the culture this city has to offer.
From their first public ‘grafitti’ piece by Wayne Youle: ‘I seem to have temporarily misplaced my sense of humour’, they have set the trend for public art to take over the city. While the number of people who have attended these ‘Outer Spaces’ events is relatively small - especially when compared to the Gallery's visitation pre-quake - the 'recognisability' of the Outer Spaces programme is higher.
Tourism figures in Christchurch have risen and although official summer holidays are over for this year, it is tourists from around the globe who are visiting to see the destruction for themselves. This (so called) disaster tourism is helping us to rebuild and promote the exciting developments in our city.
Plus with such positive recent developments in the hotel industry, people are coming to Christchurch to stay in style, enjoy some of our fabulous hospitality and see for themselves all the new building work and innovative ideas.
This city is in flux; now decorated by the people that still live here, that still love it here.
Click here for further details on the exciting programme from Christchurch Art Gallery.
Potential audiences for any public space change depending on circumstances, none more so than in a city rebuilding itself after a disaster. In Christchurch, we are now 3 years on from a life changing earthquake, and the new city is slowly starting to take shape. This process has made a huge impact on the demographics of the city, and therefore the market segmentation of the city. So how would such an institution respond to this changing demographic and how would they need to tailor their marketing efforts to reach this new audience?
With their (traditional) gallery space out of action, Christchurch Art Gallery is taking art to the public, rather than in a traditional gallery setting. This has opened a wider demographic to ‘encounter’ art, rather than relying on the already engaged arts audiences visiting the gallery space to ‘view’ art. By taking images of their incredible collection onto the streets Christchurch Art Gallery are staying visible and they continue to promote themselves and the culture this city has to offer.
From their first public ‘grafitti’ piece by Wayne Youle: ‘I seem to have temporarily misplaced my sense of humour’, they have set the trend for public art to take over the city. While the number of people who have attended these ‘Outer Spaces’ events is relatively small - especially when compared to the Gallery's visitation pre-quake - the 'recognisability' of the Outer Spaces programme is higher.
Tourism figures in Christchurch have risen and although official summer holidays are over for this year, it is tourists from around the globe who are visiting to see the destruction for themselves. This (so called) disaster tourism is helping us to rebuild and promote the exciting developments in our city.
Plus with such positive recent developments in the hotel industry, people are coming to Christchurch to stay in style, enjoy some of our fabulous hospitality and see for themselves all the new building work and innovative ideas.
This city is in flux; now decorated by the people that still live here, that still love it here.
Click here for further details on the exciting programme from Christchurch Art Gallery.
Can Twitter Support Marketers in New Zealand?
The power of social media is immense. 60% of New Zealanders own a smart phone, which is up from 33% last year. That’s over 2 million kiwis.
One of the most important aspects of social media is that 20% of users are seeking pre-purchase validation from their friends via social media. But is there more to social media for business? And how as a business would you get a key message across through the mindless trivia of every day social media chat?
I am a huge advocate of Twitter as a business tool. Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting. Simply look up the accounts you find most compelling and follow the conversations.
Twitter connects businesses to customers in real time—and businesses should use Twitter to quickly share information with people interested in their products and services, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and influencers.
Put simply, Twitter is easy to set up, manage and reach your audiences. Why not get in touch, and ask for a consultation with PlatformE. For a short period only, I can offer 20 minutes of Twitter action for your business for $20!
In the meantime, here’s a few ideas of how you could use Twitter for your business:
• Help others with problems to build credibility in your field
• Post original thoughts on your topic, industry and business
• Join industry and topic groups related to your business
• Research prospects before meeting them. You can gain a lot of valuable information just from scanning their tweets, profile and contacts
• Discover trends
• Give referrals
• Track conversations mentioning your name or your brand
• Publish your Twitter ID on all marketing collateral
• And the key point - Avoid hard-sell tactics: focus on relationship building!
Follow me on Twitter @KateSEagle
One of the most important aspects of social media is that 20% of users are seeking pre-purchase validation from their friends via social media. But is there more to social media for business? And how as a business would you get a key message across through the mindless trivia of every day social media chat?
I am a huge advocate of Twitter as a business tool. Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting. Simply look up the accounts you find most compelling and follow the conversations.
Twitter connects businesses to customers in real time—and businesses should use Twitter to quickly share information with people interested in their products and services, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and influencers.
Put simply, Twitter is easy to set up, manage and reach your audiences. Why not get in touch, and ask for a consultation with PlatformE. For a short period only, I can offer 20 minutes of Twitter action for your business for $20!
In the meantime, here’s a few ideas of how you could use Twitter for your business:
• Help others with problems to build credibility in your field
• Post original thoughts on your topic, industry and business
• Join industry and topic groups related to your business
• Research prospects before meeting them. You can gain a lot of valuable information just from scanning their tweets, profile and contacts
• Discover trends
• Give referrals
• Track conversations mentioning your name or your brand
• Publish your Twitter ID on all marketing collateral
• And the key point - Avoid hard-sell tactics: focus on relationship building!
Follow me on Twitter @KateSEagle
Christchurch: The Impact of the Arts
An international arts curator is coming to visit Christchurch - one of the fastest growing arts focused city’s in the world; why the panic?
No worries. Charlie Levine is an international contemporary arts curator and critic. She has travelled from Japan, through India and is due to arrive in our tiny island in a matter of days. So, where do you take such an influential professional who has seen it all over her prestigious career?
Being new to Christchurch, I am constantly throwing myself in the deep end to try and make connections, develop my career and ultimately to make my life here. My initial impressions after landing fresh off the boat four months ago were that New Zealand is a very welcoming place where everyone is keen to help you on your way if you are keen to help yourself too. And in this instance, I have been proved right, by making cold calls to arts organisations in the city – institutions, private galleries, community groups and artists – and being overwhelmed with how excited people have been about a visit from myself and my curator colleague.
So if you have an imminent visitor to this wonderful city, here’s an overview of what we achieved just to help you along your way. It just shows that with a few calls and a genuine interest in what people are up to you can make a number of new contacts, learn a lot, and have a little fun along the way.
Christchurch Art Gallery
The gallery space is currently closed for repairs, however they have two off site spaces which are programmed for the long term; plus a number of exciting initiatives in public spaces. We were lucky enough to be invited to the press launch of Sara Hughes’ mesmerising Flag Wall installation in Cathedral Square; and a subsequent meeting with the curatorial team in the hub of the gallery headquarters – a one off opportunity that we were honored to have been granted.
http://christchurchartgallery.org.nz
Dog Park
Dog Park is an incredible independent artist run space, just to the east of the city. Wind your way through a maze of industrial buildings to stumble into a cool white walled oasis, perfectly suited to their eclectic curated programme.
http://dogpark.co.nz
Jonathan Smart Gallery
Jonathan Smart Gallery has been showcasing contemporary New Zealand art since 1987. The Gallery is dedicated to the exhibition of top drawer, contemporary visual art, ranging from painting and photography to sculpture and moving image work.
The team at this acclaimed commercial gallery have been extremely generous by welcoming us into their unit and treating us to an unforgettable introduction to the arts community in the city. We were also excited to be invited to the launch of a new exhibition by the amazing local artist Rob Hood.
http://jonathansmartgallery.com/index.php
The Physics Room
The Physics Room is a contemporary art project space based above one of Christchurch Art Gallery’s off site spaces and a brilliant café C One Espresso. We were given a tour of this great space, with amazing views over the city, and got a sneaky peak of their latest exhibition.
http://www.physicsroom.org.nz
Canterbury University Ilam Arts Centre
What’s the chances of a famous British artist exhibiting and acting as a visiting lecturer at Canterbury University when a famous British curator is in town? Well, we were extremely excited to meet Benedict Drew between his lectures and have a private view of his latest exhibition which is part of his residency here in New Zealand. What an interesting artist who I think will be huge.
http://www.sofa.canterbury.ac.nz
Room Four
Room Four is a gallery of which dreams are made of. It is located just out of the main tourist drag in the same building as the most decadent bar and a record shop where you could while away the hours. A great little space, which we viewed, but missed the latest show by a matter of days. I will be back.
http://www.roomfour.co.nz
A parting word, if you are really interested in what is going on in the city, just make a few calls and take the time to experience the inspiring initiatives which are going on behind a city which is working hard to rebuild itself.
You can find out more about Charlie Levine’s ‘The Moving Image Project’ here.
No worries. Charlie Levine is an international contemporary arts curator and critic. She has travelled from Japan, through India and is due to arrive in our tiny island in a matter of days. So, where do you take such an influential professional who has seen it all over her prestigious career?
Being new to Christchurch, I am constantly throwing myself in the deep end to try and make connections, develop my career and ultimately to make my life here. My initial impressions after landing fresh off the boat four months ago were that New Zealand is a very welcoming place where everyone is keen to help you on your way if you are keen to help yourself too. And in this instance, I have been proved right, by making cold calls to arts organisations in the city – institutions, private galleries, community groups and artists – and being overwhelmed with how excited people have been about a visit from myself and my curator colleague.
So if you have an imminent visitor to this wonderful city, here’s an overview of what we achieved just to help you along your way. It just shows that with a few calls and a genuine interest in what people are up to you can make a number of new contacts, learn a lot, and have a little fun along the way.
Christchurch Art Gallery
The gallery space is currently closed for repairs, however they have two off site spaces which are programmed for the long term; plus a number of exciting initiatives in public spaces. We were lucky enough to be invited to the press launch of Sara Hughes’ mesmerising Flag Wall installation in Cathedral Square; and a subsequent meeting with the curatorial team in the hub of the gallery headquarters – a one off opportunity that we were honored to have been granted.
http://christchurchartgallery.org.nz
Dog Park
Dog Park is an incredible independent artist run space, just to the east of the city. Wind your way through a maze of industrial buildings to stumble into a cool white walled oasis, perfectly suited to their eclectic curated programme.
http://dogpark.co.nz
Jonathan Smart Gallery
Jonathan Smart Gallery has been showcasing contemporary New Zealand art since 1987. The Gallery is dedicated to the exhibition of top drawer, contemporary visual art, ranging from painting and photography to sculpture and moving image work.
The team at this acclaimed commercial gallery have been extremely generous by welcoming us into their unit and treating us to an unforgettable introduction to the arts community in the city. We were also excited to be invited to the launch of a new exhibition by the amazing local artist Rob Hood.
http://jonathansmartgallery.com/index.php
The Physics Room
The Physics Room is a contemporary art project space based above one of Christchurch Art Gallery’s off site spaces and a brilliant café C One Espresso. We were given a tour of this great space, with amazing views over the city, and got a sneaky peak of their latest exhibition.
http://www.physicsroom.org.nz
Canterbury University Ilam Arts Centre
What’s the chances of a famous British artist exhibiting and acting as a visiting lecturer at Canterbury University when a famous British curator is in town? Well, we were extremely excited to meet Benedict Drew between his lectures and have a private view of his latest exhibition which is part of his residency here in New Zealand. What an interesting artist who I think will be huge.
http://www.sofa.canterbury.ac.nz
Room Four
Room Four is a gallery of which dreams are made of. It is located just out of the main tourist drag in the same building as the most decadent bar and a record shop where you could while away the hours. A great little space, which we viewed, but missed the latest show by a matter of days. I will be back.
http://www.roomfour.co.nz
A parting word, if you are really interested in what is going on in the city, just make a few calls and take the time to experience the inspiring initiatives which are going on behind a city which is working hard to rebuild itself.
You can find out more about Charlie Levine’s ‘The Moving Image Project’ here.
The Tale Tellers
I am honoured to have been selected as a 'tale teller' for the brilliant project 'The Taler Tellers'.
Artists, writers and
thinkers have been invited to interpret their favourite stories, songs or poems
via a series of images that represent key plot points within that story. Each selection of images
tells a complete tale.
Here I 're-tell' my favourite story, 'The Shepherd' by Frederick Forsyth. In my opinion, he is the master storyteller, and this is the book that I was read as a child by my Pa – I now believe it was a little scary as it involves war, ghosts, impending death; but it is an incredibly heartwarming tale, showing that how ever much planning you put in, sometimes you need a little divine intervention. Something we should all remember in our daily challenges!
Check out the full tale here: http://www.thetaletellers.com/the-shepherd-by-frederick-forsyth.html
Here I 're-tell' my favourite story, 'The Shepherd' by Frederick Forsyth. In my opinion, he is the master storyteller, and this is the book that I was read as a child by my Pa – I now believe it was a little scary as it involves war, ghosts, impending death; but it is an incredibly heartwarming tale, showing that how ever much planning you put in, sometimes you need a little divine intervention. Something we should all remember in our daily challenges!
Check out the full tale here: http://www.thetaletellers.com/the-shepherd-by-frederick-forsyth.html
'Living the Dream'
I am honoured to have been invited to write a role model blog for the truly inspirational personal development and motivational coaching business - Indigo Turtle.
"Marie Yates’ much used phrase of ‘living the dream’ is the most fabulous concept, one which she made me realise that I should use in everyday life, not just when something (which I conceived as crazy) happens. However, making the move to a new country, to make new friends, embrace new challenges is something I can vary happily call ‘living the dream’."
The full bog post can be found at http://indigo-turtle.co.uk/category/rmb/ and I encourage you to 'live your dream' ever single day and hold onto those who inspire you.
"Marie Yates’ much used phrase of ‘living the dream’ is the most fabulous concept, one which she made me realise that I should use in everyday life, not just when something (which I conceived as crazy) happens. However, making the move to a new country, to make new friends, embrace new challenges is something I can vary happily call ‘living the dream’."
The full bog post can be found at http://indigo-turtle.co.uk/category/rmb/ and I encourage you to 'live your dream' ever single day and hold onto those who inspire you.
Event - 6 March 2014 - Birmingham, UK
"You Never Wash Up After Yourself & Other Observations"
PAPER, PORTAL, LIMBO
IT’S PAPER, PORTAL, LIMBO AS BPN ARCHITECTS LAUNCH CONTEMPORARY ARTS INITIATIVE IN THE JEWELLERY QUARTER
Award winning architects and urban designers BPN, have partnered with the team that brought you Thrift Radiates Happiness; and is proud to announce a new 9 month long programme of contemporary art exhibitions entitled ‘three’.
Three‘s programme reflects the most current and exciting art talent found in the West Midlands right now. The aim to present to audiences a cross section of art practices and artists, offering recent graduates their first solo show exhibitions as well as adding a couple of more established artists into the mix.
The practice will showcase the work of emerging local artists in their Jewellery Quarter studio, opening with the works of emerging talent Edward Wakefield who will be presenting collages and performance art.
Edward Wakefield’s collages, as shown at three, will explore the endless possibilities of portals and ellipses. These portals act as windows, gateways, doors and tunnels whereby things enter, escape or beckon. He is particularly inspired by science fiction and horror imagery; the underpinning theme of these strange spaces that interest Wakefield is that of the unexpected and the unusual.
Gavin Orton, BPN Architects associate said “For the last two years we have run a variety of art events within our studio, and we are delighted to have partnered with the PlatformE Marketing team, plus international curator Charlie Levine, to create an established nine month programme to support and further link with the creative sector in the city.
“Such partnerships, along with the endorsement of the programme being funded by Arts Council England, make this type of event possible, and we look forward to an exciting few months.
“We welcome all guests who would like to come and view the exhibitions outside these planned events. The first official show will be amazing and I look forward to working with a host of different artists going forward. “
three launches in October 2013 with a solo show by Edward Wakefield and will be held at 3 Mary Street, BPN Architects Jewellery Quarter studio in Birmingham.
Those interested in viewing the show should email [email protected]
Award winning architects and urban designers BPN, have partnered with the team that brought you Thrift Radiates Happiness; and is proud to announce a new 9 month long programme of contemporary art exhibitions entitled ‘three’.
Three‘s programme reflects the most current and exciting art talent found in the West Midlands right now. The aim to present to audiences a cross section of art practices and artists, offering recent graduates their first solo show exhibitions as well as adding a couple of more established artists into the mix.
The practice will showcase the work of emerging local artists in their Jewellery Quarter studio, opening with the works of emerging talent Edward Wakefield who will be presenting collages and performance art.
Edward Wakefield’s collages, as shown at three, will explore the endless possibilities of portals and ellipses. These portals act as windows, gateways, doors and tunnels whereby things enter, escape or beckon. He is particularly inspired by science fiction and horror imagery; the underpinning theme of these strange spaces that interest Wakefield is that of the unexpected and the unusual.
Gavin Orton, BPN Architects associate said “For the last two years we have run a variety of art events within our studio, and we are delighted to have partnered with the PlatformE Marketing team, plus international curator Charlie Levine, to create an established nine month programme to support and further link with the creative sector in the city.
“Such partnerships, along with the endorsement of the programme being funded by Arts Council England, make this type of event possible, and we look forward to an exciting few months.
“We welcome all guests who would like to come and view the exhibitions outside these planned events. The first official show will be amazing and I look forward to working with a host of different artists going forward. “
three launches in October 2013 with a solo show by Edward Wakefield and will be held at 3 Mary Street, BPN Architects Jewellery Quarter studio in Birmingham.
Those interested in viewing the show should email [email protected]
Birmingham Municipal Bank: Retrospect
The purpose of the entire project was to showcase the beauty of this incredible building in the only way we know how - by allowing artists to respond to the space and encouraging interest in the past lives of those who have known and loved the building.
Therefore, to pro-long the legacy of this project, we were keen to continue to promote it's historical interest, and that of Birmingham. Pete James of Birmingham Library, kindly allowed us to view an archive souvenir catalogue from the Municipal Bank when it was first opened in 1933 by His Royal Highness, Prince George. It is this beautiful catalogue which we have lovingly replicated into a souvenir of our own - Thrift Radiates Happiness: Retrospect.
This offers the reader a history of the bank and it's employees, images of the building at the current day which we commissioned; plus archive images as a comparison; and acts as a thank you to the partners who supported us along the way. There is also a new piece of work by Caitlin Griffiths which responds to the stories of previous employees of the bank.
As designer of this catalogue, I have been honoured to work from such an outstandingly clean design, with the freedom to make it my own. The final version is, I think, has been carefully and thoughtfully executed, and hopefully showcases the magic that our artists brought to this great building.
The catalogue will be launched:
Thursday 27th June 2013 - 6 - 8pm
MADE, Newhall Square, Off 144 Newhall Street, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham
Please join us at MADE, Newhall Square on Thursday 27th June and pick up your copy! There will be a BBQ, drinks, talks from project partners the BAA and RIBA and, of course, the catalogue.
The catalogues will be available for the special price of £4 during the launch event, and available online and at the RIBA London Bookstore afterwards.
http://www.lovearchitecture.org/region.html?region=West%20Midlands
Therefore, to pro-long the legacy of this project, we were keen to continue to promote it's historical interest, and that of Birmingham. Pete James of Birmingham Library, kindly allowed us to view an archive souvenir catalogue from the Municipal Bank when it was first opened in 1933 by His Royal Highness, Prince George. It is this beautiful catalogue which we have lovingly replicated into a souvenir of our own - Thrift Radiates Happiness: Retrospect.
This offers the reader a history of the bank and it's employees, images of the building at the current day which we commissioned; plus archive images as a comparison; and acts as a thank you to the partners who supported us along the way. There is also a new piece of work by Caitlin Griffiths which responds to the stories of previous employees of the bank.
As designer of this catalogue, I have been honoured to work from such an outstandingly clean design, with the freedom to make it my own. The final version is, I think, has been carefully and thoughtfully executed, and hopefully showcases the magic that our artists brought to this great building.
The catalogue will be launched:
Thursday 27th June 2013 - 6 - 8pm
MADE, Newhall Square, Off 144 Newhall Street, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham
Please join us at MADE, Newhall Square on Thursday 27th June and pick up your copy! There will be a BBQ, drinks, talks from project partners the BAA and RIBA and, of course, the catalogue.
The catalogues will be available for the special price of £4 during the launch event, and available online and at the RIBA London Bookstore afterwards.
http://www.lovearchitecture.org/region.html?region=West%20Midlands
A Confident Outlook
Today it has been reported that there has been an increase in foreign investments and large corporations making Birmingham their home (courtesy of The Business Desk.com).
This is the same month that the Chartered Institute of Marketing release wave two of their Marketing Confidence Monitor, showing increased levels of confident attitudes, sentiment and outlook across the industry.
With the professional & business services being reportedly the most confident sector (+30.91%), we need to establish how we should be taking this forward in the built environment.
This sector still faces a challenging environment with a lack of funding, suppressed levels of building and a lack of domestic growth.
It therefore is time to innovate through:
This will lead to:
So, what do you think?
This is the same month that the Chartered Institute of Marketing release wave two of their Marketing Confidence Monitor, showing increased levels of confident attitudes, sentiment and outlook across the industry.
With the professional & business services being reportedly the most confident sector (+30.91%), we need to establish how we should be taking this forward in the built environment.
This sector still faces a challenging environment with a lack of funding, suppressed levels of building and a lack of domestic growth.
It therefore is time to innovate through:
- Innovative communication tools, such as the latest social media techniques
- More flexible analytical and modeling tools
- Better focused business development activities
This will lead to:
- A clearer understanding of the market, its opportunities and our clients
- Opportunities to creatively communicate and engage with clients
- Better and quantifiable ROI for business development and marketing activities
- Opportunities to drive growth
So, what do you think?
- How have your attitudes, sentiments and outlook changed in the last 12 months?
- How are your colleagues in the industry facing this challenging environment?
- How is the city reacting to business performance and potential; budgets and investments; careers and development; and macro economic factors?
Arts & Architecture: On Reflection
It is an absolute honour to be nominated for an Arts & Business Cultural Champion Award, let alone be selected, with the added bonus of winning the 'Champion of Champions' Award! This renowned annual award was won through initiating both the Aedas Presents and Thrift Radiates Happiness projects.
Arts & Business was formed 35 years ago on the principle that a strong relationship between the arts and business is mutually beneficial and encourages both to prosper. So it is key that through these projects I have been able to spark new partnerships between commerce and culture and offer the expertise to both parties.
It is only through developing ongoing relationships, as I have with the Royal Institute of British Architects, Birmingham City Council and TROVE Gallery; that has meant that we, as established partnerships, can make such exciting dreams into reality.
So as this years 'Champion of Champions' (I will not get sick of using this!) that I would like to encourage anyone who has an idea for an event to start talking about it to your networks (whether cultural organisations or corporate), put in the hours, but don't think about it too much - just make something happen! It is possible! A story which I regularly tell is that Thrift Radiates Happiness was an idea that was stumbled across over a glass of wine. But just by making the commitment, this event proved to be such a success: Over 1,500 people through the door: Over 600 favourites, comments and retweets on social media alone: Extensive coverage in local and national press including amazing reviews: A sell out of investment pieces before the end of the show!
Nearly four weeks on from Thrift Radiates Happiness I am still overwhelmed with the success of the event, and indeed loved every second of it, so am keen to get going on the next project!
I wish you all the success with your own projects!
Arts & Business was formed 35 years ago on the principle that a strong relationship between the arts and business is mutually beneficial and encourages both to prosper. So it is key that through these projects I have been able to spark new partnerships between commerce and culture and offer the expertise to both parties.
It is only through developing ongoing relationships, as I have with the Royal Institute of British Architects, Birmingham City Council and TROVE Gallery; that has meant that we, as established partnerships, can make such exciting dreams into reality.
So as this years 'Champion of Champions' (I will not get sick of using this!) that I would like to encourage anyone who has an idea for an event to start talking about it to your networks (whether cultural organisations or corporate), put in the hours, but don't think about it too much - just make something happen! It is possible! A story which I regularly tell is that Thrift Radiates Happiness was an idea that was stumbled across over a glass of wine. But just by making the commitment, this event proved to be such a success: Over 1,500 people through the door: Over 600 favourites, comments and retweets on social media alone: Extensive coverage in local and national press including amazing reviews: A sell out of investment pieces before the end of the show!
Nearly four weeks on from Thrift Radiates Happiness I am still overwhelmed with the success of the event, and indeed loved every second of it, so am keen to get going on the next project!
I wish you all the success with your own projects!
Arts & Architecture: The Demand
There is clearly a demand for more Arts & Architecture Events in our City
As ‘Aedas Presents’ celebrates a successful 18 month term, (including an Arts & Business Cultural Champion Award!) I wanted to examine the impact that this region-wide arts and business initiative has had on local emerging artists and look at what the future holds for this programme that has gained significant momentum in the city within a very short space of time.
‘Aedas Presents’ has enabled the work of more than 30 artists from West Midlands’ universities and colleges to be showcased to over 2000 of Birmingham’s business and arts community at its Colmore Plaza home.
Aedas Presents is the brainchild of myself as Marketing Coordinator at global architectural practice Aedas and independent curator Charlie Levine. Key supporters include the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design at University College Birmingham, the Birmingham Library and the Royal Institute of British Architects.
It was founded to support and showcase the work of emerging artists, students and graduates from local universities and colleges and to help them get on the first rung on the career ladder. Aedas is a progressive practice dedicated to design excellence, sustainability and providing solutions for the built environment that benefit communities from around the world.
This ethos remains very much the way forward for the built environment and Aedas wanted to help invest in its future. One way of doing this was to find a way to engage with young up and coming talented designers and provide them with an opportunity to showcase their work. Helping them to climb that first rung of the design ladder will enable them to be seen and heard in what is a highly competitive work environment.
At the time of the idea’s inception we had recently moved into our new regional office home, Colmore Plaza. With floor to ceiling glazing and an active frontage to the building this huge atrium was simply ideal to hold the types of showcase events we had in mind.
There is clearly a demand for this type of city centre showcase venue as we have already received an overwhelming expression of interest from a number of art quarters which means that we have showcased exhibitions beyond our initial one year goal. It’s a great achievement and we look forward to continuing the Aedas Presents brand – in this hugely anticipated event, Thrift Radiates Happiness.
As ‘Aedas Presents’ celebrates a successful 18 month term, (including an Arts & Business Cultural Champion Award!) I wanted to examine the impact that this region-wide arts and business initiative has had on local emerging artists and look at what the future holds for this programme that has gained significant momentum in the city within a very short space of time.
‘Aedas Presents’ has enabled the work of more than 30 artists from West Midlands’ universities and colleges to be showcased to over 2000 of Birmingham’s business and arts community at its Colmore Plaza home.
Aedas Presents is the brainchild of myself as Marketing Coordinator at global architectural practice Aedas and independent curator Charlie Levine. Key supporters include the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design at University College Birmingham, the Birmingham Library and the Royal Institute of British Architects.
It was founded to support and showcase the work of emerging artists, students and graduates from local universities and colleges and to help them get on the first rung on the career ladder. Aedas is a progressive practice dedicated to design excellence, sustainability and providing solutions for the built environment that benefit communities from around the world.
This ethos remains very much the way forward for the built environment and Aedas wanted to help invest in its future. One way of doing this was to find a way to engage with young up and coming talented designers and provide them with an opportunity to showcase their work. Helping them to climb that first rung of the design ladder will enable them to be seen and heard in what is a highly competitive work environment.
At the time of the idea’s inception we had recently moved into our new regional office home, Colmore Plaza. With floor to ceiling glazing and an active frontage to the building this huge atrium was simply ideal to hold the types of showcase events we had in mind.
There is clearly a demand for this type of city centre showcase venue as we have already received an overwhelming expression of interest from a number of art quarters which means that we have showcased exhibitions beyond our initial one year goal. It’s a great achievement and we look forward to continuing the Aedas Presents brand – in this hugely anticipated event, Thrift Radiates Happiness.
