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At approximately 5.41pm on Wednesday afternoon, we made history… Well, Albion history at least. We created our first trending topic on Twitter, from a single photograph taken on Shoreditch High Street, by one of our Account Directors Matt Roskill.

The photo in question, a rather dubious scene of a hearse being towed, sparked serious rage amongst the Twitterverse with cries of ‘Have they no shame?’ and ‘No Way?!’. At least until our frenzied followers took a second look to spot a sound crew’s boom sneaking into the shot.

Within a couple of hours, we had hundreds of replies and ReTweets and thousands of views of our original photo, catapulting the phrase ‘Shoreditch High Street’ to the number 1 Trending Topic in the UK.  Rumour has it even Loraine Kelly and Chris Evans jumped aboard our band wagon.

The outcome of a sophisticated viral seeding strategy…maybe not. Proof that the unpredictable beast known as Twitter can grab hold of a photo, news story or piece of gossip and make it famous almost instantly…definitely. It even made the Dalston People.

For those of you who want to spoil the illusion that we set this up – click here.

What do Apps have to do with Affairs of State? When are Memes a Political Matter?

Whenever we plan our Albion Society events (where we provide the speakers and the big themes and the breakfast goods) we look for the most pertinent ideas in society and think about how they relate to what’s going on in our industry. And what could be more pertinent right now, than the looming election?

We started building a panel and have secured an amazingly diverse and relevant selection of heavyweights!

Politicians and Journalists have always been intimate (if sometimes antagonistic) bedfellows. Discussing that special relationship, how it’s been changing and the great paid vs. free content debate we have none other than Alan Rusbridger, Editor in Chief of The Guardian. We’re really excited to have him.

Something else we’d noticed to be a new theme in this election was the rise of coordinated blogging as a force with political sway. We were thinking that blogging seems to be the new lobbying and that online communities could be the new block votes (you know, like the Christian right is in the U.S.). To talk about this we know no one better than Justine Roberts. As the Founder of Mumsnet, she’s second to none when it comes to organising an online community and using their collective clout. Impressive.

Approaching the subject from the other end of the media spectrum is Tess Alps, Chief Executive of the television umbrella organisation, Thinkbox. We really wanted her involved because this will be the first election to have the televised debates that are traditional in the U.S. So among other things she’ll be talking to us about what our first TV election will mean. Interesting stuff.

This is all very “Post-Obama” and can be seen most in the way technology has enabled a different model of online electioneering. The expert in this is Dan Thain, from Blue State Digital. They’re the people who enabled the micro donations to Obama’s campaign, and Dan’s the man in the digital driving seat for numerous local and national campaigns including those for the Labour Party.

So that’s the plan. It couldn’t be more interesting than that. Now all that remains is to fill the very few seats we have left.

If you’re interested (of course you are) sign up here. But I warn you, we released places today and they’re nearly gone. So be QUICK!

I’m saving some seats for people who suggest the most interesting questions for our panel. All suggestions welcome, and if you’re really lucky, you might win a place to ask them in person.

Hope to see you there!

Digital Democracy, February 24th 8am (for 8.30 start) Patisserie Valerie, Spitalfields

Further information: http://www.albionlondon.com/society/
Follow us: @albionsociety

This Tuesday at the Marketing Society, Howard Schultz shared some of the marketing story behind the Starbucks brand, and as it’s a business we’re fascinated by, I went along to find out more, accompanied by Anne MacCaig, CEO of Cafedirect. Midway through a media tour publicising the company’s involvement in the Red project, and fresh from an encounter with the Today programme, Howard gave a polished performance, with a big emphasis on the company’s CSR efforts including a whopping $300 million investment in staff healthcare in the US. Coming from relatively humble origins in the Projects, he was keen to explain his personal motivation:”I wanted to create the kind of company my father never got the chance to work for.”

With this as his start-point, his focus has been on building the company, not building a brand. This year the Starbucks marketing drive during the economic downturn has been single-mindedly on reconnecting with the core customer and the brand is now number one on both Facebook and Twitter. And this energy and engagement has been sustained by social initiatives like giving away a free coffee on the day of the US presidential election to anyone who came into any branch of Starbucks and proved they’d voted.

Howard was keen to point out that CSR is not marketing for him; it’s part of the Starbucks ethos As you might expect, Anne asked a searching question about Starbucks’ relationship with the growers – one of Cafedirect’s greatest passions in life. It was an interesting discussion to open up – whilst Starbucks is one of the biggest buyers of Fairtrade coffee in the world, it’s still a tiny proportion of their whole product, but Howard’s justification was that the Starbucks product strategy is to put quality first above all else. Howard also pointed to a micro-lending scheme and a water programme. Anne’s view was that in reality a corporation of that size could be doing a great deal more to help growers achieve the right product quality with fairer trade, and that with their scale they could have a massive, immediate impact. Howard’s philosophy in business is about rising to the challenge; as he described it “you have to take the hill everyday” Now leading a business that has grown from 3 stores when he first joined to 16 000 worldwide with 180 000 employees, that’s one hell of a lot of hills he already has under his belt. Given Starbucks’ commitment to being a responsible employer, embracing the people who supply their product, as much as the people who serve it, seems the logical next step for the business. Maybe that’s Howard’s next hill…

Watch ‘An Audience with Howard Schultz’

I went along to the IPA’s 44 Club talk at the London College of Fashion on Tuesday night. It was a talk from three of the marketing industry’s top clients: Peter Buchanan (COI), Alex Lloyd Davies (P&G), and Ian Armstrong (Honda).

They were brought together to explain to a room full of account handlers exactly what it is that clients want. Having worked for a period of time in both camps (ie. client and agency side), I was particularly interested to see whether my impressions of what makes a happy client, based on my personal experience, aligned with the opinions of these industry experts.

The presentations that ensued were varied and extremely insightful. Peter (COI) launched the event with a detailed look at how public sector advertising differs from the commercial sector. This was followed by Alex’s (P&G) top tips on how to create the perfect client-agency partnership, based on her experience of having worked with a host of different creative agencies. To complete the session Ian (Honda) approached the question from a more personal perspective, outlining the Honda company ethos, and illustrating how all his colleagues (both agency and internally) belive in the same fundamental set of values.

I’ve pasted by notes of the main points from each speaker below to share my newfound knowledge. In resonse to my personal quest – to discover whether there were similarities between what I felt clients were looking for, and what the clients who worked in vastly different industries had articulated – I found that the overwhelming desire was to be treated as partners – regardless of the industry.

Peter Buchanan (COI) – important factors to consider when working on a public sector account:

• You will often be dealing with unconventional audiences
• Insight into the attitudes and behaviour of the target audience is very important (and often difficult to get hold of)
• Bear in mind the different factors that might influence the message reception (ie. try and look at the ad through the eyes of a journalist, as the political context may mean that the ad has a political message that can be spun out of it…)
• UK offline can be as valuable as online marketing in the public sector (people still expect traditional response mechanisms) as well as a large proportion of the population still don’t have access to a computer

Alex Lloyd Davies (P&G) – top 11 tips

• Show how the creative/strategy work will make the client’s business grow
• Show why the work is clever – what is it that makes it quicker/cheaper
• Work with the client like they are a partner – use inclusive vocabulary when addressing them – talk about ‘our brand’ etc
• In a large business, ask up front who you should talk to if you have a particular idea or some interesting data you have received
• Ahead of a meeting, call the client up and give them a brief heads up on the idea and running order of the meeting
• Try and weave the idea in to an initiative/strategy that is already planned (as marketing budgets are so tight at the moment the only work that will run is one that is aligned with the core objective of the brand)
• Show how the work is measurable (and be honest if it isn’t) – do not be afraid that work will be rejected on this basis alone
• Proposals should be short and sweet
• Show the client what the consumer will actually see (ie. show the work in situ – whether banners on a website or POS material)
• Think whether you would spend the money if it were your own? Do you think you are giving your client good value?
• Value the small jobs as much as the large ones (as small jobs done well can instil confidence in your agencies competency which can lead to larger jobs)

Ian Armstrong (Honda) – top 10 tips

• Clients want good, creative work
• Show an understanding of the client’s strategy
• Demonstrate that you have the emotional intelligence to work with others (you need to be able to work well with people from all over the world from a diverse range of backgrounds)
• Honda works with people whose attitudes and values are aligned with theirs – their colleagues have strong behaviours (the visible manifestation of attitudes and values) that get the job done
• Their agency must be passionate and embrace challenge
• Agencies must be consistent in their delivery
• People must be open minded and receptive to new ideas
• Operate in a state of ‘mild agitation’ – have a sense of urgency to the work to get the job done
• “We can all be doers” encapsulates the attitude of Honda

This week it was exciting to see Contagious magazine reprise their September coverage of the giffgaff launch with another great article on their website.

This time it was focused on the great user generated content that is coming out of the Tool Hire campaign.

giffgaff even made it onto the prestigious “If you only read one article…” spot on the Contagious homepage.

But proof positive that giffgaff is not just the reserve of trendy marketing types came when GMTV picked it out as the best example of a new brand catering for a generation of web savvy savers who are want to develop an active and mutually beneficial relationship with the brands and products they use.

Exciting times indeed for giffgaff, and we are really excited to be involved.

Interesting commentary in the FT today on crowd sourcing – it was good to see giffgaff being covered alongside some other success stories like Dell and Walkers.

The last Albion Society of 2009 took place yesterday at Patisserie Valerie, Spitalfields. George Magnus a Senior Economic adviser at UBS and someone who is widely credited with being one of the first economists to foresee this year’s credit crunch hosted the event talking about the ageing population; an The Age of Ageing.

For the first time in history life expectancy is currently rising and at the same time fertility is falling. This is increasing the number of dependents (people too old or too young to work) relative to the size of the workforce which is having major implications for economic growth and public finances.

George covered 3 potential solutions: increase the retirement age, (thus making people work longer), increase immigration (substitute workers from overseas for UK workers); improve Total Factor Productivity so that we can increase economic output even though the labour force will be smaller (get more from fewer people working).

In a room predominately filled with people below 60, it stirred up much debate as they conjured up thoughts of  their own futures. David Wethey from Agency Assessments raised the question of how far we will be able to solve the problem if we manage to address the prejudice of ageism?

The morning was wrapped up by one of our very own Senior Planners, Sam Ashken who highlighted the possibilities and opportunities an aging population can have for businesses and entrepreneurs – there are tremendous opportunities to target this ‘growing’ market  - answers on a postcard.

Have your say on the Game Changer of the last decade and vote now by going to goviral. One of our very own pieces of work has been entered The Skype Nomad

The Turkeyoff began on Thursday afternoon when we launched www.turkeyoff.com to help our friends Michael and Phil at the Christmas Farm. They are newbies at the farm and have grown attached to two of their turkeys.

So we’re helping them save one by getting people to vote for the turkey they think should stay alive and the turkey that should be eaten. Remember that’s why the turkeys are at the farm, so if we can help keep one alive then our work has done good.

People can follow the turkeys Brad and Beyonce by becoming a fan of them on Facebook, Digg, Linkdin or Twitter. The agency has been split down the middle with half on Team Beyonce and the other half on Team Brad – the battle has commenced!  Now it’s your turn to join in.

Yes it’s been a busy few weeks for Lily’s Kitchen. Getting in 3 books in 3 weeks. But we just received confirmation (The book finally arrived on our desk) and it’s true. Lily’s Kitchen made it into the D&AD annual 2009. We’re so proud. Sniff. Go on girl.

She also made it into these lovely publications.