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, […]