Our Logbook » Slacking Archive

After an excellent kick off meeting with STA Travel, the team grabbed a late lunch at Pret A Manger in Kensington tube station. It turns out that Sam, one of our planners, used to work at Pret “when he was 18 or 19″. He said it was an excellent place to work until he got fired. Apparently whilst preparing sandwiches in a hungover state, Sam would kip in a quiet corner instead. Nice work if you can get it. Sadly, Sam couldn’t, and was given his P45 to take out. He wasn’t even offered a napkin to go with it.

Our conversation then turned to why Pret gets you in the door even when right next to an (arguably better) EAT. We decided that Prets are much nicer places now the acres of stainless steel are gone, and that you just can’t out Pret, Pret. The stories are deeper, better communicated and more believable. Whereas unlike Leon, EAT is just another sandwich chain, neither the underdog or more natural. But maybe it’s just Pret’s secret ingredient: sandwich chef’s sleep dribble.

In recent years, there’s been something of a surge in sites taking musicians and having them record live sessions in unusual environments.

The most well-known of these is probably The Black Cab Sessions which lives up to it’s namesake. Although Phosphorescent gives a heartbreaking version of ‘Wolves’, David Thomas Broughton is my personal highlight.

Take-Away Shows from French blog La Blogothèque throw all your favourite (indie-folk) superstars into warehouses, parks, bars and elevators. Don’t miss improvised instrumentation from Animal Collective, Liars in a lift or a harrowing solo performance from Alan Sparhawk.

They Shoot Music, Don’t They are based in Vienna, and like to record everywhere from museums to launderettes. My personal favourites are from Daniel Johnston, Xiu Xiu & Tortoise and Parenthetical Girls.

Daytrotter is still the winner of the bunch though. The amount of talent on their roster is astounding so make sure you have a good browse – I recommend the Doveman, Phosphorescent (1), (2) and Viking Moses sessions as good starting points.

WALLACE What do you say Gromit lad, since we’re down in the big smoke collecting our BAFTA award shall we drop in on our old mates at Albion?

GROMIT [Blank look]

WALLACE You remember lad, the advertising folks we visited in November to give them a sneak preview of ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death‘.

GROMIT [Sniffs]

WALLACE No need to be like that, lad. I know you’re not keen on commercialism, but times are hard. Man cannot live by bread alone, eh Gromit?

I think we should drop in on them – show them the ‘Making of’ film and some other stuff the Aardman lot have been up to. After all they are in the Tea Building. Right up our street eh?

GROMIT [Resigned shrug]

WALLACE That’s the spirit lad. Show these Londoners that we’re no mugs. Ha, ha, do you get it Gromit? Tea Building? No mugs?

GROMIT [raises eyes heavenwards and shakes his head]

WALLACE Oh well, please yourself lad, please yourself.

Just keep clicking this button:

Sparkly unicorns and rainbows. Done.

Keith spotted this chap on the way to work.

Camille was our 8th full time Albionite, joining as a fresh-faced graduate from St.Martins. She brought a box of tricks and a sharp wit and also made tea that was acceptable for a Frenchy. Camille worked as a designer across all of our clients and could bring a sparkle to just about anything with her illustrative flair. We also liked the way she could put down anyone and get away with it; her parting email “Oh and if we’re not friends on The Book yet, let’s sort it out. Jason, I’ll accept your request this time.” Nice.

As part of Goodbye Camille Week we did a bunch of things including a little party with way too many artificial colors and flavorings. The piñata was also a hit when she eventually hit it.

Good luck Camille. Enjoy your travels. We will miss you greatly.

You can see Camille’s work here. She is available for freelance assignments of the illustrative or design variety. Expensive, but you’re worth it.

Over the last 10 days the Albion Air New Zealand team have met people across the business from the deputy CEO to operations, PR and local marketing teams. And we have been lucky enough to have been taken on a whistle-stop tour across the country. It was a military operation prepared especially for Albion and two US agencies. At times it was hard to believe that it was work. Helicopters, bungy jumping and jet boats aren’t a usual feature of a normal working day.

But by the end of our trip we really felt immersed in the Kiwi spirit and there is nothing like seeing the product you are selling with your own eyes. We’d like to thank the team at Air New Zealand for being the ultimate hosts. We really felt spoilt and privileged. We have our heads down now!

• Style
• Jason 8
• Keith 9.5
• Nick 3

• Look of fear
• Jason 2.5
• Keith 1
• Nick 10

Andrew Baker is the Cultural Ambassador at Air New Zealand. He’s been with the company for some 19 years, having spent a lot of this time as a Flight Services Manager on board. Andrew’s new role is to educate new Air New Zealanders (many who are not Kiwis) about the values of the company and in particular maori culture. As a proud Maori himself, Andrew exudes the openness and generosity of spirit that he talks about. He visited us in London and taught the team how to do the Haka.

And when we met him again in New Zealand he showed us he’s a man of many skills by playing us a traditional song on his guitar about new beginnings.

We also traveled with Andrew to visit the Waitangi Treaty grounds – the birthplace of the New Zealand nation. This is where a treaty was signed between the Maoris and the first English settlers in 1840.

The Waitangi grounds are beautiful and tranquil place containing a Maori meeting house. A meeting house is not a "church" but more of a "library". The carvings contained within reflect a verbal history rather than a written one. In Christchurch we visited a modern art gallery and saw a contemporary interpretation of a meeting house by a Maori artist.

The Albion Air New Zealand team made a stop at Peregrine Wines in Otago. Greg Hay is the founder of the vineyard and won the Air New Zealand wine award for his pinot noir in his first year of production, creating a name for the Otago region. His winery is housed in a wonderful piece of modern architecture that is inspired by the falcon that is also the symbol of his label. Greg has also organised gigs on the the estate which he thought "wouldn’t be too hard to pull off". He talked of the power and importance of the brand in winemaking and also what he does to protect his brand. He once declined an offer from a major fizzy drinks manufacturer to use his venue to launch a new product because he thought their brand did not fit with his.  Greg defines what it is to be a Kiwi – inventive, can-do and daring, whilst still being very humble and down-to-earth.

Its funny that given the business of flying is a service one, the approach to that service has barely changed in 50 years. If anything the low cost carriers have dragged things backwards. But like in a number of industries the kiwis are shaking things up and we are enjoying getting involved. The Albion Air New Zealand team have been flown around the world to be sheep dipped in the Air New Zealand culture and we are getting to meet these service innovators first hand. They are quite a bunch.

The In-flight Concierge is a unique service being rolled out by Air New Zealand and we met Jill Glazewski on board our flight from LA to Auckland. She is one of the first concierges. A problem-solver extroardinaire. She does everything from sorting out itineraries for you for when you land to comforting people who are not feeling great. Just think about it – classic cabin crew are busy sorting your meals and safety stuff – they rarely have time to stop and stare – never mind solve out of the ordinary concerns that you could have on a flight. When was the last time staff on a plane gave you their business card so that they can help you on your return flight or phoned on your mobile before a flight to make sure there was nothing that you needed? Typical of the kind of people they are hiring, Jill brings a wealth of experience in events and hospitality so has not spent her career in the airline industry. The concierges aim to make sure every passenger has the best experience possible. What makes the concierges so special is that what they provide doesn’t begin or end on the flight. They take personal responsibility to follow up on people’s problems and needs as they happen.

We met another two of the concierges, Joanne and Matthew today in Air NZ HQ in Auckland, along with Amy Bennet the Performance and Development Manager who has had the task of recruiting and training all the new concierges.

Each concierge has the power and autonomy to make decisions on how to keep a customer happy. And it’s this highly unusual personal responsibility that means the concierges take it on themselves to go the extra mile. Joanne makes shortbread cookies and hand-writes notes to welcome her most important customers. She does this in her own time because it’s her reputation.  Let’s be completely clear about this – what’s interesting about this innovative style is that it’s anchored by a natural can-do attitude that’s at the very essence of being a Kiwi.

Joanne and Matthew told us many stories from their first flights as concierges. Like a Canadian woman who moved her life to Australia to be with her online lover, only for it to all not work out when she got there. On her return the concierge upgraded her to Premium Economy to get some space and then ordered flowers for when she got home. And of course there was the man in the stubbies (that’s very short shorts to you) who had his, eh, parts on display. Well he was sorted out with a blanket quick smart before anyone even noticed. As Matthew put quite nicely, if you look carefully there is always someone on the plane who is need of a helping hand.