By Frank Wainwright, director, FMBE Yesterday stood in a dusty, noisy racket, celebrating the emergence from chrysalis. Emerging was a club, a sport and more generally all mass participation events. I was standing on a very special building site. If you work in events, you’ll recognise that hard hat moment, awaiting a big day. […]
By Sarah Hazlehurst, Managing Partner & Head of New Business at MKTG I will state from the off that I am an eternal optimist. However, I think we can all agree that the last few months of lockdown have been very trying for us all in various ways. A long-time fan of Madonna, I took […]
by Frank Wainwright Lockdown has shifted our view of who’s who in the world of brands and influencers. Online stars still exist, but the focus has moved to people who have something genuine or inspiring to offer – or ideally both. Vapid celebrity is definitely in decline. Lockdown has led to new stars – think […]
Neil Foster has spent the last 25 years working in PR and Integrated Advertising agencies in London, Sydney and Melbourne. In his role at Guinness World Records, he leads the creative and commercial records Consultancy, which creates tailor made record solutions for brands and businesses for marketing campaigns. In the light of this weekend triple treadmill […]
Brad Lawless, Director of Solution Architecture, Movista Our world changed in a matter of weeks, and every routine your customers had, from work and childcare to meal preparation and house cleaning, changed with it. Every retail store still operating reflected that change in empty shelves for the things shoppers most valued to help them weather […]
By Nate Thompson, Creative Director, Amplify Public gatherings seem like a distant memory. In London we’ve been blessed with the kind of weather that screams pub garden, not back garden, and whilst the appropriate social restrictions in place due to the spread of COVID19 are denying us the joy of a day in the park […]
First published by, and on behalf of the team at SpaceandPeople 23.4.2020 We have been talking to a number of key agency owners in the last few weeks and have taken the opportunity to reflect on their views on the future of live brand experiences. As anyone who has set up a business knows, tenacity […]
Keeping a track of the many initiatives from FMBE agencies during the COVID-19 lockdown has been challenging as so much of the work is being done behind closed doors and will take a while to emerge into the public domain. An example of the kind of work that I mean emerged a week or two […]
[entry to FMBE 2020 is open – go here for full details] In Autumn 2019 FMBE celebrated wellbeing and leadership, with a morning-after-the-night-before breakfast, with wellbeing employer awards and leadership hall of fame accolades. I presented these awards in my running gear. I was wearing the shirt from the Robin Hood 100, a race where […]
Andy Dixon, CEO, Scene2, discusses how post COVID 19 decent lead times will need to be preserved in order to allow digital and virtual mixed events to succeed to best potential This unusual pandemic situation has seen brands cutting long term live budget, spending less on live events – why would you think of committing […]
Zero hours contracts may not be universally acclaimed but the flexibility that they offer allows much of the brand experience sector to operate and offers some employees in the UK a lifestyle that allows them to balance work with other commitments. In FMBE circles that contract usually does what it should; the agency facilitates work […]
Supplied to #fmbewords as a thought piece from Live Agency With the sampling industry and wider marketing sector evolving at an ever-increasing rate, many brands are looking for alternative and innovative methods of engaging their audience. Marketing campaigns must create bespoke experiences that present their consumer base with the unexpected, unfamiliar and astounding – and […]
by Tom Glover, associate director, Wasserman EMEA First published by Wasserman on 8th April. I’m halfway through my fourth full week of social distancing (and a lot of social quiztancing) and have managed to stay healthy and busy, so far at least. It’s a strange, stripped-back new world and we’re all adapting – not least […]
Frank Wainwright reflects on 2 recent jail sentences for crooks masquerading as field marketers and how field marketing at grocery has since developed into a capable and essential service that is shining during this crisis. One thing I have learnt from lockdown is that our freedoms are curtailed relatively easily when we are in agreement […]
by Frank Wainwright, editor, FMBE Magazine, director, FMBE Awards The Covid 19 Pandemic, such an awful thing, has split the FMBE community in a very good way. We’re all doing different things. It is already showing off the versatility and flexibility of our collective skills. This people powered industry will always show its best in […]
By Rasha El-Shirbini, Head of Strategy at The fresh Group The offline marketing vacuum that will be left after this crisis passes, will be one of the greatest the world has seen. Today, it is safe to say, businesses are re-grouping constantly, having socially distant “Cobra” meetings of their own to decide on what steps […]
By Davide Bianca, Head of Entertainment @ UNIT9: tech-led creative and strategy partner that helps brands develop highly original marketing innovations such as a 5G-enabled AR celebrity BAFTA dress for EE, a vast immersive and personalised treadmill-powered video game for Nike and a World Record breaking giant playable game of Candy Crush As the world grapples with […]
by Keith Austin, CEO, EMS, the global roadshow agency We’re in the midst of an extraordinary period of change in the events sector, with multiple major events, exhibitions and fairs having been postponed or cancelled due to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). The 90th Geneva International Motor Show, Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress, Hanover Messe and […]
First published on FrankPublishing.com. Frank Wainwright met the ROKiT team and some of the glitterati of motorsport at the classic London pub, The Nag’s Head, Covent Garden Got to be honest with you, until Monday I didn’t have a fantasy business conglomerate. But I have one now. I mean they just put together an event […]
Blackjack’s Centre for Excellence is now fully open as the video shows. The news beneath it is from the first major client event hosted there. Blackjack’s Centre of Excellence hosts 18 liquor brands
It seems my Valentine’s Day Round Up wasn’t complete. This activity, from Saatchi and Saatchi is even more baffling, but I think the idea here is to create shareable content of a campaign for a phone company that is saying how uncool it is to share stuff via your phone. To use and oldie reference […]
TikTok dominated London’s OOH landscape with a unique cut through campaign to celebrate its new tie-up with the Brit Awards on Tuesday. The campaign included a live-stream of the BRIT Awards red carpet to Piccadilly Lights, Europe’s largest digital OOH screen, plus 30 large-format projections in and around the city, including user images from TikTok’s popular […]
The trip ahead of me was immense. Manavgat Ultra beckoned, a 41-miles run with an upwards trajectory of 9000 feet, scrambling up Mt Hatmalar up over loose brambly boulders and scree, with freezing wind and snow flurrying down from the icy cap. Then, after Manavgat, I had a further mission to run across snowbound tracks […]
A romantic round up doesn’t sound altogether romantic does it? Just reading my headline back I find myself thinking it might just make a good Valentine’s slogan piece for Monsanto’s popular weedkiller Roundup. If that prospect sounds like a lurch beyond offbeat then that might be down to my own mental process. My Valentine’s Day […]
73% of consumers are concerned about excess packaging associated with online purchases and deliveries Surprisingly 18-24 year olds care far less about eco-footprint of online shopping than older shoppers 70% of consumers are concerned about the impact of online shopping on the High Street and local economy As high street retail continues to deplete and more people […]
Showpad research reveals that over half of sales leaders will make customer-centricity and improved coaching programmes their key priorities this year, as over a third (39%) admit that their sales team is under-performing. The new research showed that barely a fifth (19%) of organisations in the finance, healthcare, technology and manufacturing sectors believe that their […]
I came home last night with make-up mogul Bobbi Brown’s smoothie recipe in my pocket. “Think of it as the “little black dress” of smoothies”, she says, and so I did. Bobbi’s chocolate collagen smoothie isn’t billed as complicated. It is, in fact, your go-to collagen smoothie. Ingredients: 1 cup almond mile or preferred plant-based […]
Here’s an action shot from last weekend’s Abarth experience by agency Initials, The Takeback. The team seem really in the moment.
My first run on 2020 as part of the Run 202020 series took me to the Neujahr’s Marathon in Zurich. Health insurer Generali made a good effort at this event with a takeover of the start finish gym in support of their very good www.runforit.ch. It was a lapped event, so this mini stadium had […]
Tanya Brookfield, CEO at creative agency ELVIS The significance of ‘The Experience Economy’ has been steadily growing since the phrase was coined in the Harvard Business Review, way back in 1998. The IPA’s Bellwether Report showed that investment in brand events continued to increase during 2019, meaning that as we kick off 2020, it feels […]
The opening of Samsung KX on Tuesday night (03.09.2019) with its vertical gig by Mabel was an inspiring attend. This was a rare event, one where I felt a personal connection with as it envisioned a hopeful and engaging future. So I wrote about the experience on my personal blog. Here is the link
Some invitations have a certain stand out. Could I stomach an egg mayo bagel whilst whirlybirding around the Shard in a stunt helicopter? Okay. Thank you for thinking of me Deliveroo. Put me on that rota! The invitation had come my way of course courtesy of a brand promotion, in this case as one of […]
An Interview with food and drink revolutionary Craig Sams Fashion, we understand, is cyclical. Certainly, today’s growing enthusiasm for overnight oats and green tea is a phenomenon that 75-year old hip entrepreneur Craig Sams has seen before. Craig’s 1960s saw him fascinated by microbiotic food, driven by the yin and yang of dining and serving […]
By Frank Wainwright I went to Paddington to “uncover the mystery of the Jarlsberg holes” and discovered this colourful barge, a fantastic free burger and an amazing chilled vibe on a hot day. Jarlsberg, guided by the Circle Agency, has found quite a few flavour sensations to make the cheese the hero this Summer. Jarlsberg […]
Frank Wainwright opened the innings at the MLB Fanzone It is 2016. You hear that there are plans afoot and that in 2019 the Red Sox and the Yankees are coming to good ol’ London Town, so what would you do? Create a bustling, bubbling slice of home-run-strike-one cherry pie? How else are you going […]
Jill Ross, Interview by Frank Wainwright In August 2018 a major talent arrived agency-side of FMBE when Jill Ross made the move from Unilever and took the reins as CEO of McCurrach. 21 years at Unilever saw Jill take on an expansive career path. Arriving at the FMCG giant initially as part of the graduate […]
Every year, Harlequins Rugby hold a Big Game charity match at Twickenham Stadium and release a limited-edition rugby shirt to be worn by the players on the day. With the 18/19 edition featuring innovative Flash Technology from Adidas, Harlequin FC enlisted RedHotPenny to unleash the full potential of the exclusive design and meet their retail targets. Harlequins wanted […]
43% of businesses have no fixed digitisation plans in place, according to the latest research from the DMA and WLT Almost half of businesses could be falling behind in an increasingly digital world, according to the ‘Evolving the customer journey’ report from the DMA and Williams Lea Tag (WLT) released today. The survey of over […]
With Singles’ Day fast approaching, Rakuten Marketing finds UK marketers are missing a major sales opportunity. According to proprietary insights, 74% of UK marketers are focused on the local market, despite seeing huge potential in affluent APAC shoppers. Singles’ Day 2017 saw online shoppers from at least 225 countries and regions spend more than $25 […]
by Frank Wainwright The Emperor’s New Clothes Scale (ENC) is my personal scaled scoring system for how pretentious a brand experience is. Sampling a microwave burger by Rustlers in Tesco Extra in Swindon, would be a low 1 on this scale. Someone smiles and hands you a taste of microwaved meat in a bun and […]
Publicis Media agencies Zenith and Starcom were named a Leader and a Strong Performer, respectively, in The Forrester Wave: Global Media Agencies, Q3 2018. Both agencies were among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate in this evaluation of the media agency landscape. Zenith received the second-highest score in the Strategy and Current Offering […]
by Frank Wainwright Semi-improvised contortionist dance met extreme mixology in this elite high fashion hotel encounter, where beetroot-laced cocktails were pirouetted into the hands of an agog throng. Well, that’s a sentence I have waited my lifetime to write and at last an event has turned up to fulfil the fantasy. And what a […]
Today’s Throwback Thursday celebrates all that is good in the world of Integration and Amplification. Below are a selection of Field Marketing and Brand Experience Gold winners who have demonstrated how live activity has been supported by above the line, below the line, recording and content generation, social media and PR, as well as other […]
Petlife – words by Frank Wainwright The UK’s dog friendly festival was certainly an odd mix. Would Kezzie prefer The Vamps, Jessie J or Kaiser Chiefs, we really didn’t know beforehand and left none the wiser. That doggone dog don’t dance. Nevertheless, as humans we were able to explore a dual passion for dog walking […]
https://www.facebook.com/Duracelluk/videos/2376684352342498/ Words by Frank Wainwright AJ Odudu would be a pretty smart character to choose for any brand. The boundless energy and vivacity that brought her to the Channel 5’s attention for her presenter work on Celebrity Big Brother is born out of Blackburn, with all of the positive clichés of ‘down to earth’ and […]
More of us are having lunch at our desks than ever before, or eating ‘on the move’ as we go about our hectic lives. Research shows that many of us opt for a pasty or sandwich (Kantar) – often the same one every day, as inspiration deserts us while perusing the supermarket shelf. ‘Meal deals’ […]
Dear FMBE VIP, FMBE’s Brand Ambassador LIVE is just around the corner. The vision for this event is to make the best brand ambassadors and staff teams the sole focus of industry VIPS. We’re pleased to say that we seem to have achieved this – but still I will have my heart in my mouth […]
The Brand Ambassador’s Reception 16th October, Oxo2, 6pm – 10pm, by Invitation Only The Brand Ambassador’s Reception was an idea conceived by the FMBE team. It is a night out when we can introduce the leading industry clients and agencies in FMBE to the very best brand ambassadors in field sales, experiential promotion and tech […]
The use of technology within exhibition marketing can make it easier to attract visitors, present them with information and showcase products or services. Technology can also help exhibiting businesses to store contact details, transfer data and even track the physical location of visitors. As a result, the inclusion of useful technology into a display stand […]
Harriet Cramer and Frank Wainwright overview what the brands were hatching at Goodwood and Silverstone this year. A companion piece, together with client interviews will appear in print in our Autumn issue. Goodwood Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) is an event that keeps moving ahead and broadening its appeal. Whilst the setting is one steeped […]
Over 80% of customers tell friends and family about their positive experiences with a company, finds new research commissioned by Yonder Digital Group. The research found that consumers are just as likely to share a good experience as a bad one. In an age where one negative tweet can send a company’s popularity into free-fall, […]
Rachel Bateman, Head of Live Engagement, Initials looks at the drive for engagement in the automotive sector and the consumer confidence challenge The automotive industry has had a turbocharged year, with new car sales in the UK hitting an all-time high this April. However, the economic outlook for 2017 paints a different picture with business […]
by Frank Wainwright The Apprentice is now mid-season and once again the series has drawn reference and candidate humiliation opportunities from the retail and brand experience sector. Pop-up stores, PR Stunts, Exhibition Experiences, Direct Selling and Promotional Costumes abound. In truth, the candidates’ collective failure to knock out a next day market stall or create […]
by Frank Wainwright Not all event spaces offer a chance to step in the footsteps of royalty let alone to caper and slide in front of the palace but thanks to a fantastic build by Arena Group at Hampton Court with creative agency Amazing Media we could do just that. We went with two children. […]
BY FMBE director, Frank Wainwright When we announce our special award each year I often hope for something that will light up our event, showing what can come about when the best of the best emerge. I’m delighted to say that this year we have truly cracked it, six best of the best contenders from […]
Bristol Harbour Festival (this year 15th-17th July) has been going since 1971. It routinely attracts 250,000 visitors. It must be doing something right. And so it is. It is a festival that embraces and transcends community and celebrates oldness and newness extremely eclectically. From invigorating dance, through world music to maritime seafaring tales and even […]
Not every brand experience has to be an Oculus Rift, high voltage show-off-and-share-the-moment #pointandlaugh at your hapless mates participation sport. It isn’t that these things are not fun, it’s just that we can’t keep that going all day and all of the night even when one weekend has been blessedly set aside for capturing the […]
In London at the weekend I was proud to be a voice in support of the experiential events industry as three large scale events conspired to present the capital city as a global stage for new ideas and thought leading initiatives in science, engineering, transport and sport. On a sunshiny day, 3 diverse but thematically […]
Businesses are increasingly using misleading marketing methods on social media, risking significant legal, financial and reputational damage. That is according to CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing), which has today released new research into the prevalence of questionable marketing on social media sites. The Keep Social Honest study by CIM – the body that […]
We have been asked to provide greater insight into what makes a good entry, specifically for the field marketing categories. So, here is an example of a well-structured Field Marketing award entry – to suit categories A-F. It is about launching a new product variant via store presence at a major grocer. We have anonymised […]
The other night I was harmlessly minding other people’s business on Facebook when up scrolled an advert for ‘The Future of Food’ or more specifically, bags of balanced powdered ‘Human Food’ called Huel. Made of pure desiccated whatever, just shake into a gloop with water and drink it. No need to encroach on even the […]
Join event professionals on Friday 3 June to netwalk for 10 miles through London to raise money for pancreatic cancer charities. Starting at Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal F.C., this year’s walk will take you past some of London’s iconic landmarks and parks finishing at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea F.C. Details: Date: Friday 03 June […]
According to the stats from the last few years at FMBE, these agencies are the royal rajahs of the most effective roadshow. These are the agencies that have orchestrated campaigns that have allowed creativity to thrive through great planning and logistics – and delivered fantastic return on engagement back to the client. Sense The agency […]
Suzanne Malhotra, director, 4D Design discusses the power of authenticity to make experiences more memorable It is nothing new to suggest that ‘experiential’ has drifted into the pool of marketing buzzwords event attendees have added to their spam filter. Whereas once, pop-ups, socially integrated events and quirky photo ops were exciting and new, now they […]
A guest blog by Lee Thomas, managing director, Aesthetics Providing staff is a very competitive business. At Aesthetics we never compromise the quality of our staff to win a pitch however this becomes increasingly difficult when clients are cost sensitive. What impact could substandard staff have on your client and your event? If event cost […]
By Frank Wainwright, Editor Cadbury’s hero Dairy Milk bar has inspired some landmark advertising, often creative and often eclectic, but laying down some bubble wrap? ‘Tastes Like this Feels’, are you serious? Dairy Milk isn’t even bubbly. I thought it was Aero that was bubbly? Coke is also bubbly. Isn’t Coke the brand of ‘Taste […]
Global delivery experts Fastlane International says High Street stores with attractive web sites and delivery options will succeed; but fragmented approaches will fail. The battle for British retail has moved from the High Street to the web; with delivery options fast becoming as important to consumers as price. The global delivery expert Fastlane International says […]
Suzi Thrift, Jack Morton Worldwide tells the production story behind the big adult Candy Crush bounce by the Thames As part of a team of agencies, experience specialists Jack Morton Worldwide produced and built Bouncingham Castle on the Thames at the start of March. Suzi Thrift led the team that made sure the idea became multi-sensory […]
Want field sales? Who are you going to deal with? FMBE looks at the leading award performers in recent years and selects 7 agencies to consider CPM Outsourced sales agency CPM’s absence from the awards last year meant we were without the team who owned the category in 2012 and 2013 with two golds and […]
01.03.2016 FMBE has not been political before now but this essay came our way and we are putting it out there. It speaks of fan/voter behaviour at least. Why politics is the new gameshow Today is Super Tuesday only it doesn’t feel so very Super. There is a horrible inevitability about the rise of Donald […]
A guest column by Tim Lark, Service Innovation Group Diageo’s futures director has been in the press recently discussing the future of the brand and how technology is impacting on how we shop. He brings up the question of whether supermarkets will still exist in a decade. He didn’t know the answer – but does […]
Back in the Summer of 2015, when Kevin Jackson was still VP at George P Johnson, I caught up with him to enquire about his next big venture in the world of Brand Experience. Kevin is now back in action as the owner of The Experience is The Marketing April 2015 What does the […]
Rock’n’roll caterers Eat to the Beat, part of the Global Infusion Group, have worked with the Hammersmith Apollo for over 30 years and the relationship is set to reach a new high as the iconic building launches as a corporate venue tonight.
Sponsored by Avantgarde Pool 2 This is online Pool 2 of the 2014 Brand Experience Creative Campaign of the Decade award, an award which culminates in a LIVE final in front of 4 judges and an audience online via Google Hangouts on October 21st2014. How this competition works Just 4 finalists will emerge to be chosen […]
Nicola Harding, account director, FS Distribution, discusses how social media can keep a logistics firm connected We live in the era of social media. How many of us have a Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Instagram account? Or all of them? Or all of them, plus a raft of others? We love to interact, converse and […]
Sebastian Coe discusses the technology that is driving cultural change in event consumption It occurred to me when I was in Brazil for the World Cup that when the 2010 tournament kicked off in South Africa, the iPad was just a couple of months old. Apple have shifted more than 200 million tablets since then […]
Today, your experiential campaign can end up in places you never dreamed it would, but most brands aren’t prepared for that journey says Alex Smith from agency Sense You know the feeling you get when someone tells a story, and ends up trailing off with “well, I guess you just had to be there”? Well, […]