As I was humbly preparing myself for a day full of promotional joy with a large skinny vanilla, I picked up the Daily Mirror (under no other circumstances, you understand) and flicked idly through. Sandwiched somewhere in the middle of eighteen pages of Cheryl Cole’s nine-hour tryst with her hunky dancer confident, was a tiny story about Thorpe Park‘s new horror ride. Apparently and allegedly, the park’s bosses are asking visitors to donate - and I quote - “smelly wee” to give it a distinctive whiff.

Is this the smell of fear? Can somebody ask Leslie Nielsen? As marketing goes it’s certainly an interesting one.

“So, what are our key messages? It stinks of…”

“But how does this tie in with field marketing?” I hear you ask. Well, I can tell you this with gusto: extremely tenuously.

I’ve been Team Leader for The Staff Republic’s ID Smart campaign, meeting independent business owners face-to-face to discuss the roll-out of the new National Identity Cards which are now available to people living and working in the North West, as well as 16-24 year olds in London. Naturally there are some questions from some business, but many bars, clubs and newsagents take ID really seriously so in general the response has been really positive. Happy Days!

As yet nobody’s tried to get me sucked in to a political debate, but many people are interested in the near fool-proof security features (both biometric and visual checks), not to mention the fact that the National Identity Card (one of three kinds available, depending on situation et al) can be used as a passport within the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Although you couldn’t go to see Robin Williams in Los Angeles (you see what I’ve done there?) it’s much more handy than having a bulky passport to worry about. If you fancy shelling out £30 for one, you can enquire on 0300 330 0000.

I’m off to call Orson.

I’ve spent February working on a campaign for the British Heart Foundation and learned loads of useful information not just about maintaining heart health but also the help that is out there if you or a loved one do have any heart concerns. For one, I was amazed at just what is a “heart concern”. Angina, diabetes, high cholesterol or blood pressure, smoking (you are 50% more likely to suffer from a serious heart condition if you smoke!) and things like family history of heart disease.

You’ve probably seen the adverts on TV this month, and I urge you to give the website a look. It’s great when you are involved in field marketing that you learn from and can actually benefit you. I gave up smoking this year and, after seeing some of the things and hearing some of the stories on this campaign, I can safely say that I’m never going to pick up another cigarette again.

Let me show you another angle, ladies I know you like your fashion and as mentioned us guys we like our boy toys, if the world were a perfect place we could combine these desires!!!..... Wait a minute, we can!!!

This little beauty due for release later this year means that you can wear a bluetooth earpiece without either taking someone’s eye out with the boom microphone or suffering the sniggers of those who compare you to Robocop..( in which case the boom mic could come in useful I guess!!)

Ok, so here it is, it’s called the O.R.B, don’t ask me why!!, maybe it has something to do with the fact that it is actually a mini-transformer, and no, guys that doesn’t mean you get a complimentary mini Megan Foxy lady and girls no mini Shia n the Buff!!, It starts as a spherical Ring which you can wear on your finger and through a simple twist becomes an s-shaped earpiece, genius, and the spec is pretty impressive too. Good sound quality, waterproof, stylish - can be customised to match those shoes… The Orb has a flexible OLED that will display the caller information, calendar items, and voice-to-text information. So the next time you receive a ring, you can look at your ring. Oh lordy lord you have to admit how cool is that…. still just me, wow your a hard crowd to please..

Well the last fact is that you don’t have to mess around with it too much, as the Orb uses bone conduction technology. Some of you have not seen bone conduction before, but it is a way of transmitting sound directly into the brain through touch, sound a bit weird but hey got your attention finally!!

So if you like the look of it, keep your ears to the ground ( I know, no pun intended!!) and look out for this beauty in a few months, not too expensive either.

Checkout the O.R.B Website

The prerequisite that you sign a disclaimer form that simply states “It’s my own Blo*%y Fault I’m Here” really says it all….. however this did not stop 5000 complete lunatics throwing their sanity to the wind and surrendering their sensibilities to the mud underfoot!!

A race of extreme obstacles, this 8, yes EIGHT mile obstacle course has been called the “most dangerous taste of mental and physical pain.”

Competitors knew what to expect when they signed in. The course includes downhill sprints, muddy climbs and even wading through icy “bog” waters.
The event was founded in the 1980s by an ex-soldier who was worried that British men were losing their “manliness.” Though I think in that icy cold water, most of their manliness made a hasty retreat back into the depths of their pelvic girdles, faster than a sex change in it’s latter stages!!

So, here I am stood in the cold wind running a campaign for Organ Donation, suddenly feeling a lot cosier and warm. It would seem that sometimes it clearly is necessary to compare yourself to someone a lot worse off.  You have to admire them and behold that there are now more women getting involved in the race, I guess there to show their manliness as well!!

Anyway, I have yet to hear back from my friend if he actually found the courage to enter this years event, I know that he was keen, it was a question of whether he would have enough time to train beforehand. Maybe he did and is still being hosed down after becoming so ingrained with dirt!!

The winner was Paul Jones, 40 years of age, 30 when he started the race!! And he claims the Prize which is full Bragging Rights when he returns to work, unquestionably the alpha-male, that is of course when his testaments come back out again later in the spring!!

Enjoy the video………

On 7th December Starbucks organised a worldwide sing-along, signing people up in every single country around the world to record All You Need Is Love, by The Beatles on camera. The aim was to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa, which still blights millions on the continent. The message is clear - that while it’s easy to get your head in a newspaper and a caramel latte, if we truly want to get out of this mess there can be only one thing that will help us rise above the bilge.

It’s called the Starbucks Love Project and as event marketing goes the result is truly amazing. The videos edited together show how easy it is in the global village to connect with an audience, and who wouldn’t want their brand to be associated with such an important message. So, once you’ve watched the video and been moved to tears (and check out how cool the group from Indonesia is – I’m thinking the guy on the right hand side with the massive hair. Genius.) you can record your own version and upload it to the website http://starbucksloveproject.com/#/addvoice/ along with others from around the globe.

I mean, if a group of people in Afghanistan can record a version, surely you can, right? Starbucks will donate a massive 5 cents for every submission (maximum 1 million submissions), coming to a total of $50,000 to fight AIDS. And this from a company that earned $6.4billion in revenue in 2008.

So, while I’ll still be getting my morning cappuccino from Café Nero, have a look and dare yourself not to get a lump in your throat and then get together with some friends or colleagues and share something. After all, that is the whole point.

Now, before you go at it like a crazed Mary Witehouse, just bear with me and all will become clear.

To us, the Super Bowl seems like a fraidycat’s game of rugby, but it is the most-watched event Stateside, having an audience nearly twice as large as the World Series. It’s no surprise, then, that advertising costs are eye-watering – around $2.5million for a thirty second slot. But the marketing around the event itself has traditionally lent on the light-hearted fence and, much like the best promo gigs we get, is all about having fun.

Enter Tim Tebow, darling of the college football fraternity and already a nationwide star, who stars in an anti-abortion advert funded by Christian group Focus on the Family that has been preliminarily accepted by broadcaster CBS. The perfect subject for such a campaign (Tebow was nearly aborted by his mother by the recommendation of consultants), he wears make-up citing biblical passages during a game.

Which is all well and good - and I’m not even going to go into the freedom of speech equals freedom to choose debate – but as Gregg Doyel wrote of his own network, “[this] is simply not the day to have that discussion”. After all, The Who are playing at half time. Can you imagine Pete Townshend coming on the mic (no pun intended) and leering, “And remember kids, don’t wear a condom”? Like any brief that we’ll get, certain rules like no sexual innuendo have to be heeded for very good reason. I mean, in no sense could a discussion on abortion be anywhere part of a 5-Star brand experience. Could it?

Im getting better with my video editing! I used a green screen this week! If there is anything you want me to VLOG on - email me!

The clip is courtesy of http://www.adsoftheworld.com

I accept that some of you may not have heard of this tv drama from across the pond but this one is different, it has an accumulative thrill that grows with every episode, now I know that all good tv dramas have a plot that thickens with each twist and turn, however this one leaves you questioning whether the lead guy is either bad to the bone or acceptably / justifiably good!!!

How often is the good guy a serial killer!!. Now I like to start the day with thoughts of murdering a bowl of cornflakes, making me a “notorious cereal killer” in my neighbourhood, but hey this guy chops up people, bad people (like that is some kind of acceptable justice!! ), but still people.  His angle to dangle that keeps him one step ahead of the electric chair is that he works for the Forensic Department with the Miami Police Department.
And…...so you see it starts to get interesting, because just how good is he and just how many steps ahead of the rest of the members of his Police Department is he!!  At times you even feel for him, wanting him to get away with it, such is his gentle demeanor and the fact that all his victims are murderers themselves!! 

Wow there are some pretty big bolders heading for the glass in this glasshouse of a drama!!

So to the recognition, Michael C Hall plays the part of Dexter and has finally won an award, a Golden Globe no less, this week. When you watch your first episode you see where I am coming from, this guy when in character has an approachable warmth combined with an almost retarded vacance to him that makes him appear completely harmless, you are drawn in by this, so much so that the moments of barbaric behaviour almost wash over you, it is really scary!!! I have read many blogs by the makers and they agree the intention was to get people to talk about topics like vigil-antis, good vs evil etc and boy they hit the nail on the head!!

So Dexter is in its fourth series now, so plenty to catch up on, you will not regret it..

This week and I make no connection with the above as it’s a serious campaign, I am managing a campaign for the NHS to get members of the public to sign up for Organ Donation. I know it sounds like a grisly link from above but did you know that you could save up to 9 lives when you pass on and that sadly 3 people a day die waiting for an organ!!

If you have been thinking about it and havn’t got round to it for one reason or another check out Organ Donor Registration  or call the Organ Donor Line: 0300 123 23 23 for more information.

Well that’s it for this week, I will be out braving the cold and rain again tomorrow, saving lives with the NHS campaign. You see the thing about promotional work is that regardless of temporary discomforts like bad weather you are almost amongst your friends, working in a professional environment with the constant reward of enriching peoples lives, be it a information based campaign like this one or introducing members of the public to a new product just out. Every job is different with new information, a new product, a new environment all this giving you a creativity and excitement about your day, how cool is that…....