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Insomnia 55: A real eye opener

Today we’ve got a guest post from Toby, on behalf of our incredible digital team, Things. The pictures in this blog post deserve a big shout out to the lovely people at Logitech, and are the superb work of Ricci Chera.

 

Last weekend saw our first venture to Insomnia as a group – the biggest gaming festival in the UK, and Holy Grail for LAN parties.

Every three months, thousands of people flock to play the newest titles, test the latest gear and watch their favourite gamers in action live on stage.

Image credit - Ricci Chera
Image credit – Ricci Chera

What’s that I hear you say? Watch other people play games? Why would people do that? Aside from the ongoing debate of whether games can be art, there are people who simply don’t understand the appeal of gaming and its sub-cultures. Jimmy Kimmel did a bit on it recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji9KmXwrA5Y

But it’s easy to ignore them. The critics tend to primarily be older, and are people who aren’t passionate about gaming anyway. Arguments against gaming hold true for other things, “why do you watch people playing games instead of just playing them” could easily be, “why do you pay a lot of money to watch footballers, instead of just playing football.”

Okay, so let’s get back to matters and put this in context. Events like Insomnia used to be the go-to place for marathon LAN gaming parties; fuelled by energy drinks, deodorant cans (for some) and a complete disregard for sleep. They were adored (and still are) by legions of fans, but were never recognised by the masses.

Fast forward a few years. The phenomenal growth of Let’s Play videos online, spearheaded by YouTube and Twitch over the past few years has seen gaming festivals thrust into the mainstream’s view, and with that a new generation of gaming enthusiasts born.

 

Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera

Six of the top 10 most subscribed YouTube channels in the UK are gaming channels and in total, have 15 million more subscribers than the population of our beautiful British Isles. Let’s Play is now a multi-million pound industry, and one brands are flocking towards to reach Generation Z with perceived authenticity and social capital.

That’s why Insomnia is actually quickly outgrowing its environment. After just 18 months at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, it’s now moving up the road to the biggest expo space in the UK; the NEC Birmingham.

Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera

 

Inside Insomnia

Within our first steps into the arena, we knew it was going to be a manic weekend. You could feel the excitement in the air.

Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera

In the main expo arena, streams of people lined the hall with queues extending round corners to snap a selfie with the likes of Syndicate or Miniminter. Between the two stages, hyped crowds went mental to witness their favourite stars go up against each other in Counter Strike:Global Offensive, Minecraft challenges, or zeitgest game of the moment; Rocket League.

Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera

Downstairs saw the hardcore gaming LAN parties kick off with an intimidating buzz of keyboard tapping and curt commands snorted by team members. We hear this lot don’t mix well with the upstairs crowd, but that’s a whole other story.

Once the day’s main activities died down, I got my chance to witness the infamous pub quiz on Saturday. It all sounded very quaint on paper. A couple of drinks whilst guessing which films Keanu Reeves doesn’t play a soulless jackass (the answer is all of them cos he’s a badass). This was not the case. At all. The quiz – hosted in the main tent – was home to 100s of gamers letting their competitive edge take over. As you can expect, it was absolute carnage.

The quiz took us on to Logitech G’s Official After Party, which we – in collaboration with the wonderful team from TMW – had developed a huge game of PONG to keep YouTubers and our guests suitably entertained. The whole thing was controlled entirely by Logitech gear and streamed out live on Twitch.

Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera

A new generation of influence

After a hectic weekend meeting fans, YouTubers and taking in as much of the show as possible, there were two things that surprised me the most.

I was fully aware of the powerful community that existed online among gamers, but with my jaded stereotypes in hand, I was sceptical how well this would translate to the real world. I couldn’t have been proven wrong faster. Tight-knitted comraderies were formed all around me, and whether it was Minecraft or Counter Strike, the sense of collective passions coming together for a major geek-off was genuinely touching.

The second thing that struck me was just how strong the cult of celebrity among the top YouTubers was and how far it has transcended beyond gaming. After their appearance on stage, we witnessed Logitech G’s special guests and Minecraft YouTubers LDShadowLady, SmallishBeans and Yammy_xox as they met fans for over an hour. The adoration on people’s faces as they lined up for a quick snap or hug is testament to the influence this new generation of entertainers has on young audiences. Relatability, a DIY attitude to one’s own success and the chance to make money doing what you love has made YouTubers the decades role models.

Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera

 

BONUS

For Logitech G’s appearance on the Main Stage, myself and Thing’s own Emma Skipper we invited to ‘hype’ the crowd. Check it out below, but just don’t ask why the ‘box’ is a thing…

https://youtu.be/tv0BMyRjnOw?t=16m4s

https://youtu.be/8rYLDEBj-xA?t=27m11s

 

Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera
Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera
Image credit - Ricci Cher
Image credit – Ricci Chera
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Digital Trends: Transient Social, 4D Printing & Everyday Robots

Last week we attended a phenomenal digital trends presentation by the very knowledgeable Emma from Things Unlimited. She reminded us about the amazing way the digital and real worlds are already blending together, and gave us some predictions to keep an eye out for.

  1. Digital Integration

This is pretty ordinary today, you know the drill – your washing machine, fridge or central heating is connected to the Internet. Amazing to think that’s what we can consider normal. The big frontier however, is health. We’re still yet to see someone crack that in a big way – feeding back live readings to a doctor will change millions of lives. There are exciting advances being made, and in a few years you’ll wonder why we didn’t always have health biometric tracking as standard.

  1. New Gen Payments

Beacons and NFC have been a thing for ages but with niche appeal. Now they’re mainstream. Apple Pay, Android Pay, contactless everywhere. That’s going to keep developing – frictionless peer-to-peer transactions are the holy grail. We’ll also continue to see the rise of “social currency” – sharing a brand on social will net you benefits.

  1. Covert Tech

Covert design in the home is to become a huge trend due to its many uses and practicalities.

We have fridges that can re-order groceries, and various smartwatches. However – are we ready for the next level? Google Glass is a prime example – it was a truly forward thinking product but too far-out for people to see as useable. Having tech up close and personal may be something that we’re just not used to yet.

Partly it’s to do with whether the product is aesthetically pleasing or not. A smartwatch is more designed and subtle than something like Glass, but had Glass been a contact lens you can be sure it wouldn’t have been rejected in the same way. In a similar vein, some wearables are seen as luxuries still, but that’ll change as we get more powerful and versatile devices.

  1. Practical Printing

Doctors will soon be able to print a heart and grow stem cells around it, and can already create models of organs to aid in reconstructive surgery and create 3D printed, beating, heart organoids. As well as this and you can create 3D printed sugar cubes and even make-up can be printed.. There’s also 4D printing where the item created can change over time or as it’s exposed to different environments. These creations have wide-reaching implications for future of building materials, cosmetics, healthcare and even the clothes we wear.

  1. Personalisation

Brands will be more discerning and bid on micropayments facilities to use ad-space (such as digital billboards) for a short but valuable time slot. They’ll be more targeted and effective as you’re not constantly being bombarded by all sorts. It will rely on the public ceding control of location data in some form – a prospect which opens a world of possibility, and a massive can of worms.

  1. Transient Social

The trend for “impermanent” social means that there’s more use of Meerkat, Snapchat and Periscope. Brands can use this for one-off content and is especially useful if working with an influencer. Due to the nature, it is less quantifiable in terms of use, but it is also more “exclusive” for followers.

  1. Everyday Robots

We already have exoskeletons helping with heavy lifting, but we’re going to see full robots in a wide variety of places. Think drones that can track forest fires, underwater “bio-cleaners” that can clean up oil spills and even window washing robots. Check out DARPA for more info, or look at this innovation.

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Highs and Lows of Pitch Life

Pitching can be amazing. It’s the thrill of the chase, it’s exhilarating, it’s stressful, it’s heart-breaking. We asked Sarah Shilling, who heads up our amazing new biz team, what life is really like…

A friend said to me, “Wow, pitching must be so exciting. Working as a team, having the opportunity to show a brand exactly what you think they should do, and then they hire you to do it!”

I paused. Yeah, it does sound exciting, doesn’t it? In theory. But the reality isn’t always like that…

Let me try to put it another way. I want you build me a house. I want you to throw everything into creating that house; your best people, most creative ideas, time, effort, the works. I will then come to the house, view it, and spend the next week trying to beat you down on price. Before finally buying a house down the road. Why? Because it was actually nearer the pub and it’s all about location. Was that not clear in the brief?

That’s what pitching is like.

There are highs and lows through the whole process. When you’re picked to pitch, you’re walking on air – they’ve chosen us! Networking at those expensive Awards nights are working.

But then you start to unravel the detail…

We have to complete a 58 page document (Word only, please) to communicate our most creative solution to an intensely complex problem, and then upload that through a portal in a cloud, somewhere to someone… We post our response to the portal and we wait. We keep waiting. We are probably still waiting as you read this.

Or there are those ones which involve knowing all details about your company – what the canteen serves on a Wednesday, inside leg measurements of the team, who’s the best in the agency at hopscotch. And all of that information needs to be provided on 6 hard copies, 5 soft copies, 4 brochures, 3 USBs, 2 disks and 1 email.

Then there’s the ‘no pitch, pitch’ scenario. You go through the whole agonising, highly emotive and stressful (and costly) process to pitch, then don’t get the account because;

  • The marketing director’s mate from uni works at one of the other agencies – done deal
  • The incumbent won as it was just a procurement process anyway – lol
  • They changed the brief to a DM response and forgot to tell you
  • The ad agency already spent the budget on the Christmas party

If you’re looking to take on an agency, here are some things to keep in mind:

Questions need answers

  • It’s more often than not that we want to ask questions about a brief. No, sorry, you can’t. Er, OK. But why? Why can’t we ask questions that will help us answer the brief better?

No chemistry, no point

  • How about a chemistry session, to see if we actually get on. There is no way you would meet someone at the alter on a first date – so why meet in the pitch boardroom for the first time?

Tissues wipe out mediocre

  • Can we have a tissue session? This provides us with an opportunity to test the creativity. If we don’t have tissues – there are inevitably tears at the end

Make ‘post pitch black holes’ illegal

  • Once you’ve pitched there is often the ‘post pitch black hole’. Silence. After that frenetic running around for an intense three weeks and racking up costs to commercial breaking point, after all that, there’s nothing. We wait for a response until we read it in PR Week. Giving feedback is not only courteous but it could even help the agency to deliver something even better as a project

Start-ups, sit down

  • While the energy from a start-up is truly infectious, if you’re not careful you can easily find yourself getting carried away. What? With absolutely no insight you want us to catapult this concept of an idea into the stratosphere? Ambition is great, but at some point you need to have the goods to back it up.

Of course, if you stay in PR long enough, much of the above are in the minority. Here’s what you should keep in mind as an agency pitching:

Trust your gut

  • It’s our best barometer and we often ignore it. When a client questions ‘The Twitter’ on an integrated campaign, then it may not work out long term

Set out your stall

  • It’s much easier to manage expectations if you set out your stall from day one. We often refer to them as ‘parameters of pitch play’ – your terms upon which you are prepared to enter a partnership

Level the playing field

  • Due diligence – try and figure out early on whether these are merely the motions you are going through. Ask all the questions and if you are not comfortable with the answers then politely decline

Have confidence to walk 

  • Even if it’s half way through a pitch – it’s like any agreement. You have the right to walk away. If something isn’t working, say so and if it’s not rectified then politely take yourselves out of the situation

Take the stage and sell it like an ad agency

  • If you managed many of the hurdles then the most important thing is to take the stage and have fun. Sell the dream not the logistics
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Introverts and extraverts: chalk and cheese or bread and butter?

One of the most famous titles in work-themed self-help literature has to be “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. It’s all about dealing with people, making them like you, and generally being a leader. In many ways, it’s a book about how to be a successful extravert.

Dale Carnegie’s book is by no means an anomaly in the world of work. The value of extraversion is clear. We use words and phrases like “alpha”, “bold”, or “go-getter”, and we usually mean them positively. With the rise of the open plan office from their initial conception in the spring of 1962, we’ve placed an additional value on being “chatty” as a method of fitting in. In the PR world more than perhaps any other, we encourage brainstorms, hot-desking and “touching base” as never before. In and of itself, these are all great things – unless of course, you’re just not programmed that way.

For a lot of introverts, that’s their reality. It’s not that they’re shy or antisocial, they just work better in “low stimulation” environments (in fact, that’s how many people now define introversion against extraversion). We’ve all had those moments where there’s a little too much going on and we feel overwhelmed, and for many introverts that can be the experience of chatty, open plan workplaces.

In such workplaces, introverts can gain a bad reputation. Some of the most prevalent negative perceptions of introverts are:

  • Introverts are not leadership material
  • Introverts are not team players
  • Introverts need “help” in social situations

This isn’t to say that introverts don’t have a similar list of gripes about extraverts, but as a rule, they tend to be quieter about them! As extraverts (perceived as better leaders) tend to be in positions of authority, and are likely to be the ones considering promotions, introverts can often feel pressured to become “fake extraverts” in order to get ahead.

That’s the real shame – because in screening out introverts we lose a different style of leadership that can be incredibly complementary to the already-established extraverted model. While an extravert can run away with ideas, introverts tend to consider something carefully before they speak. As a result, team members under introverted leadership are more likely to feel they can speak out and run with their own ideas than they might under extroverted leadership (according to Bruna Martinuzzi, on the American Express Openforum) , and often make better listeners. Introverts can also be more creative (as seen in research by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Gregory Feist et al). With about 50% of the population being introverts, it’s an awful lot of people to be passing over because they think differently.

We’re living in changing times though; with the digital revolution and changing methods of working (working from home, for example), the world is beginning to re-welcome introverts back into the fold. However, as much as we give with one hand, we take with the other, and introverts and extraverts are often seen as speaking different languages.

This doesn’t need to be the case. Last month, the FT ran a piece on pairing introverts and extraverts to create a “dream team”. Some of its most famous examples of introvert-extrovert pairings include Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg and Apple’s Steve Jobs with Steve Wozniak. It’s hard to deny that these partnerships have had incredible success from blending the two personality types to produce better, more rounded teams.

So what’s the advice for introverts working with extraverts and vice versa? In many ways it’s simply common sense. According to Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of a recently published book on the subject, extraverts need to give introverts their space, and learn to be quieter. Introverts, on the other hand, should prepare for conversations in advance, and learn to paraphrase what an extrovert says; this helps extraverts realise that they are being heard while giving introverts time to think about their own thoughts on the matter.

Working as we do in an extraverted field like PR, especially alongside a more introverted field like technology, it’s incredibly important to learn to bridge the gaps between the two mentalities.  We’re great at being loud and chatty and communicating messages, but the ability to appreciate and understand quiet is one of the things that lets us excel at our job.

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Compass Network newsletter – October 2015

Welcome to the latest Compass Network newsletter.

As winter approaches, we’re nearing the end 2015 with 31 Compass Partners and some great client wins and campaigns across the network.

As always, if you have any questions or suggestions about the Compass Network, please email: Compass AT nelsonbostock.com

Below are updates from some of the network on what has been a great few months!

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Nelson Bostock Group Unlimited gave our long-standing Financial Director Phillipe Bobroff a send-off he’ll never forget at our Hawaiian themed agency summer party, and welcomed our wonderful new Financial Director Rishma Shah, who is already well and truly settled as a member of the Nelson Bostock family!

Nelson Bostock has enjoyed a fantastic summer and it’s only getting busier. We supported HTC’s events programme this quarter, preparing nearly 200 media demos for the HTC Vive VR kit at both gamescom in Cologne and IFA in Berlin. Back home, we have placed Lookout, Appraise Digital and Buyapowa at the heart of industry commentary on recent Google and Apple news, alongside delving into the latest Rentokil research for the next leg of project planning. In July, we were very pleased to be awarded Best Integrated Campaign at the CorpComms Digi Awards for Telecity’s ‘Hot in Helsinki’ campaign.

Fever has had a sizzling summer producing campaigns that entertain media and consumers. The Fever team celebrated Mr Bean’s 25th anniversary with a hair-raising stunt in front of Buckingham Palace for Universal home entertainment and worked with an artist to re-create the London skyline for the launch of Playstation game Tearaway. Fever’s Canon Europe team have been helping city-dwellers and visitors see European cities from a different perspective by producing guides of major cities across Europe – the guides can be found here.

Buman Media has been selected by App Annie, a market leader in app store analytics, app rankings and market intelligence. The agency will deliver integrated campaigns and strengthen the brand’s position in Russia. Buman Media has been also appointed to devise and implement communications plan for Altium Limited, a public software company that provides PC-based electronics design software for engineers. The firm has been tasked with delivering media outreach activities, expanding content development capabilities and support anti-piracy campaigns.

Communication agency AD VERUM has won the tender organised by Wizz Air for the next three years and will be responsible for communications in the Baltic countries of the biggest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe. AD VERUM moved its office to the heart of Vilnius – the city’s main street – Gedimino Avenue. From now on, AD VERUM partners and clients are welcomed in the spacious office with amazing old town views.

Corporate Image recently spearheaded publicity for South African supermarket giant Pick n Pay’s highly addictive ‘Stikeez’ campaign, a reward-incentive collectible toy programme that’s graced magazine covers, radio commentary, and even satirical cartoons. Other work includes announcing economic impact results for the iconic V&A Waterfront, and ensuring the smooth announcement of a marketing partnership between Transnet’s iconic Blue Train and Sun International. Corporate Image recently added Redefine Properties to its national client portfolio.

Schwartz PR is proud to announce the team is now consulting for HTC, the creator of many award-winning mobile devices, in cooperation with Nelson Bostock (UK). Another new client win Steelcase, a global and leading provider of innovative workspace, which Schwartz is responsible for the corporate and education segment of Steelcase in the DACH region.

Schwartz PR welcomes Judith Zahringer and Alexander Seiche as new PR consultants. Judith will be responsible for Travel and Tech topics. Alexander will be responsible for the new client HTC.

During the summer, Clearbox won new client Disability Needs, helping to organise the brand’s annual national cycling event to encourage people of all ages and abilities to ride bikes. The team has also been busy launching Digital DNA, Ireland’s most impactful digital technology conference, in Belfast in October which brings speakers from Facebook, Google and Twitter. Clearbox helped Universal Pictures Ireland launch new adventure blockbuster Everest. The team organised a special screening with two Irish Everest conquerors for a Q&A about what it takes to climb the world’s highest mountain. It’s a great movie – go and see it!

In spring, Fink & Fuchs Public Relations was assigned as the PR and communications mandate for Salesforce in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for both corporate and product communications for the company’s cloud solutions. A second outstanding customer win; Fink & Fuchs PR has been awarded the contract to develop and execute PR activities on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany. This includes all Federal Ministries and subordinate authorities. Finally, the renowned Holmes Report ranked Fink & Fuchs fourth in the category “Best Continental Consultancy to Work For”.

Insights

Buman Media‘s latest survey about typical Russian PR pros has been published in PRWeek.

Corporate Image looks at the media landscape in South Africa

Online media is growing rapidly, but slower than the developed world. Mobile usage is high, but prohibitive data costs limit the adoption of online news. Traditional journalism is still strong, but is of course under pressure. City Press, Sunday Times, Financial Mail, Business Day and the Mail & Guardian remain the most respected newspapers in SA, and radio remains the most widely consumed media platform.

Fink & Fuchs share insights on the status of communication of SMEs in Germany

A research project from Fink & Fuchs Public Relations and Prof. Dr. Ansgar Zerfaß from the University of Leipzig has brought forward a so far unmatched overview and array of results on the status of communication of SMEs in Germany (“Mittelstandskommunikation 2015” – download Executive Summary here). Among the main findings: Four out of ten internationally active German companies so far don’t have any coordinated communication activities outside of Germany in place. International PR is perceived as a real challenge, although the global possibilities of the Internet (31,6 percent), collaboration with foreign communication agencies (26,6 percent) and coordination with offices or partners abroad are not considered problematic (26,6 percent). The biggest challenges are the consideration of local mentalities and cultures (70,6 percent), difficulties to understand media landscapes (66 percent and public opinion formation (63,3 percent).

A study about the daily routine of journalists from SchwartzPR

PR agencies are of increasing in importance for German editors. The results of a survey with 450 journalists draw a picture of the daily routine of German editors and found, that face-to-face contacts with PR-agencies or press spokespeople are becoming more important due to their increasing workload. The influence of PR-contacts has risen – over 70 percent of editors stated to use original content provided by agencies or press spokesmen. Further, the study tells: press conferences are more and more perceived as a waste of time and not helpful for researching stories.

 

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Ad:Teching Across the Universe

You know when your boss tells you to come to them with solutions, not problems? At this year’s Ad:Tech London – through the fog of acronyms and #marketing buzzwords – we glimpsed an awful lot both. And it’s all because technology is grabbing the entire marketing industry by the shoulders and giving it a good old shake. There were a whole host of themes up for discussion, including:

  • How can brands communicate more effectively with consumers via their phones, without being ignored or frozen out by one of the many readily-available ad blocking apps?
  • SHOULD brands even be attempting to market to people via their phones, and if not what does that mean for marketing, when people spend more time looking at their phones than pretty much anything else nowadays?
  • Do consumers REALLY want better targeted advertising, or do we need to rethink advertising’s core function in this age of consumer choice and abundant information?
  • Do consumers REALLY want a ‘dialogue’ or ‘relationship’ with your brand? Or is it something else entirely?
  • What are the biggest trends in ad tech right now, and are they helping to address the issues that keep marketers awake at night – or just adding to the ‘to do’ list?

And so on. There’s almost too much to talk about; the conference organisers clearly had a challenge on their hands, running seminars for novices on the ins and outs of programmatic advertising alongside C-level keynotes from the likes of AO.com and Shell focusing on social engagement.

One of the biggest challenges marketers are facing is how to make advertising relevant and interesting again in the digital world. Blippar, a hugely innovative company, which describes itself as the “first visual discovery browser using augmented reality and image recognition technology to transform how people connect with the world,” may just hold the key to overcoming this challenge. The mobile app – which recognises and provides information and experiences related to objects in the real world, via your phone’s camera – is a real-life example of nascent machine learning technology, the bedrock of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and many of the latest predictions from tech thought leaders including Mark Zuckerberg.

We were excited to see a demo of the app at the company’s expo stand, and to hear from the company’s CEO, Ambarish Mitra, about the future of AR (augmented reality) in marketing. As Facebook’s Steve Hatch said during his keynote, “People don’t dislike advertising, they dislike advertising that adds no value to them.” However, Blippar is one company that’s adding real value to consumers by providing a platform for brands such as Pepsi and Heinz to deliver truly engaging content and experiences. We can’t wait to see how it develops.

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When in Paris … Canon EXPO 2015!

From 13-15 October 2015, Canon descended upon Paris for its quinquennial event, Canon EXPO. Teams from across the Nelson Bostock Unlimited Group and sister agency TMW have been working with Canon to bring the press programme to life and after months (and months!) of preparation it was finally lights, camera, action at the Grande Halle de la Vilette in Paris.

Canon EXPO is an opportunity for the company to showcase its vast range of products and solutions for today, tomorrow and the future. Technology from all areas of life were on show, including intelligent imaging for the home of the future, medical solutions and business devices – even concept technologies from its R&D in Tokyo.

Ahead of the event the NBU team worked with Canon on content creation, a social media programme, influencer engagement and media outreach with 12 of the team also travelling to Paris for on-site event support. Over the three days we welcomed over 400 journalists, with NBU on hand to support the press programme as well as liaising with 22 country hosts from across EMEA.

We are yet to see a full picture of the results as coverage continues to roll in, but so far we’ve counted more than 174 pieces of coverage across EMEA, 11.2M Facebook impressions and 4.7M Twitter impressions. It was an incredible cross-agency project and we’re delighted with the results – now to start planning for Canon EXPO 2020!

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Why is China’s Singles day such a big deal? And why does it boost the online economy in particular?

In the run up to Black Friday, we took a look at another huge shopping holiday elsewhere in the world. China’s Singles day has had a far reaching impact in the retail space. The day generates over nine billion dollars for ecommerce giant Alibaba alone, and it’s only set to grow.

From humble beginnings as an anti-valentine bachelor university group – it has now grown into a behemoth holiday for both men and women. Unlike their parents or grandparents, young Chinese singletons have more disposable income and more opportunities to spend it.

Wholesale, multi-variety websites like JD.com and Taobao cater to this, from foreign luxury goods to electronics and novelties, all budgets and tastes are thought of. Alibaba started the online shopping trend by creating a yearly Singles day sale after seeing a lull in November, which was in between more traditional national holidays. This was in 2009 when ecommerce in China was still developing and there was next to no in-store competition.

Another reason why Singles day is such a hit online is because now more than ever, the use of mobile is growing at a rapid rate. Currently 594 million people use their mobile devices to shop, search and socialise online and home grown Chinese mobile companies like Xiaomi and OnePlus are reaping the benefits, as are international brands like Apple. Online sales however are set to increase rapidly in the next decade or so as China invests more money into growing the internet infrastructure.

One significant cause for Singles day growth is the sizable gender imbalance. The one-child policy as well as cultural norms and property law, has led to a male surplus in China. This means that singledom is the norm and that there is a huge cultural shift from family and community based attitudes to more independent thinking and living.

With more income, technology and internet than ever, the holiday is only going to grow with China’s aging population, and what’s interesting is that it seems Singles day is reflecting China as a society, as well as an economic superpower.

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A personal statement from our Group CEO, Lee Nugent

As some of you may have already read elsewhere, I’m very sad to confirm that I’ve chosen to step down from my position as CEO of Nelson Bostock Group Unlimited (NBGU).

This has not been an easy decision to take, but it’s one that I’m confident is right for me – and I’m delighted to leave behind a tremendously strong management team who I know will continue to help you to produce excellent work on behalf of our clients.

When I joined the agency in 1996 as its thirteenth employee, I made a commitment to myself that I’d “stay with this one for at least two years”. Little did I know that I’d be around for the nearly twenty years that followed.

In that time, I’ve occupied a number of seats in the business and for more than eight years I’ve been proud to call myself its leader – first as MD of Nelson Bostock Communications and more latterly as the CEO of a wider group of agencies and as a member of parent company Creston’s Communications and Insight Board.  During this time, our teams have achieved so much.

In the last few years, Nelson Bostock has changed beyond recognition. And I’m so proud to have played my part.

Five years ago we created Fever, and Nelson Bostock Unlimited has continued to grow, going from strength-to-strength. They are now both well-established, successful, high-profile agencies in their own right. We’ve launched and continued to develop Things Unlimited in partnership with sister agency TMW Unlimited and built an enviable content offer from the ground up through MediaWorks and our Studio team.

Over the same period, we’ve been named Consultancy of the Year twice; our teams have been nominated for more than 80 industry awards; and we’re continually recognised as a great place to work. We’ve grown from being one agency of 40-odd people, to being a group of agencies numbering not far short of 100.

The business is in fantastic shape, with fantastic people and a fantastic client list. I hope my teams are as proud as I am.

I’m especially pleased that the recent modernisation initiatives we’ve undertaken across the agencies have enabled us to re-invent our client offer and seen us recognised by the PRCA as an ‘Agency of the Future’.

And how we shape ourselves for the future is now what’s most important. The foundations here are solid and the agency leadership team is talented, visionary and capable. I believe that now is the time for our core agencies to be allowed to flourish.

In Bruce McLachlan, Nick Clark and Susie Clark we have three great Managing Directors who are experienced, determined and – just as importantly – collaborative, intelligent thinkers. They are ready to take the challenge on from here. They are, and will continue to be, brilliant.

For me, it’s time for a new challenge outside of the Creston Group. I’m keen to continue to shape and build teams that can deliver next-generation communications programmes for clients and I’m determined to put the skills we as PRs offer at the centre of ‘integration’ initiatives. I believe the future for PR has never been brighter.

Finally, I want to thank Martin Bostock and Roger Nelson for hiring me and then appointing me to lead Nelson Bostock Group Unlimited. They were the most inspirational, challenging and caring bosses anyone could ever hope to have. I’d also like to thank the senior leadership team at Creston and NBGU for all their encouragement and support.  And of course, I’d like to thank the amazing, incredible people that have worked with me, and for me, over the last twenty years. This is a very special company.

But it’s not over quite yet. My final day as CEO of Nelson Bostock Group isn’t until late January 2016, so I will be enjoying one last festive season with the teams here.  After that, I’ll be taking my family – including baby twins – over to spend six weeks with the in-laws in Australia and New Zealand. My longest holiday for 20+ years WITHOUT EMAIL.

Thank you for reading – I’m sure you’ll agree there’s an exciting future ahead for me and for all of the Nelson Bostock Group agencies.

With much love and best wishes,

Lee

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Pigment

Inspiring our design team today is this specialty painting store in Tokyo.

Instead of minimalist wallpaper or busy installations, Pigment has meticulously lined the walls with 4,200 different… pigments! As well as 200 antique paintbrushes and ink sticks, and 50 kinds of animal glue. The effect is simply stunning, combining the traditional and modern worlds.

The surrounding interior, which is inspired by the patterns of traditional bamboo blinds, beautifully matches the Japanese store which runs workshops on traditional painting methods.

Let’s hope no one knocks one of one of these pigment bottles over :/

Read more here.

 

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