With Big Cat France moving from strength to strength, we thought it was time to introduce you to one of its founding members. Originating from Boston in the US, Mike Molloy has played an integral role in the expansion of Big Cat Group and creation of Big Cat Europe. Having worked on some the globes largest and most influential clients as Disney and the NBA we felt now was the perfect opportunity to quiz Mike about what he’s working on and his aspirations for the future.

What is your role at Big Cat Group?

I work on developing the European business of Big Cat, with a special emphasis on shows and exhibitions. On the show side, I lead negotiations with show producers (Scooby Doo Live on Stage for example) to help them place their shows in different countries in Europe, and then find ‘promoters’ in each country who want to play the show. On the exhibition side, my role has been to find investors to finance the creation of our new exhibition and piecing together the international team to put it all together.

How did you get into events?

Like many in the entertainment business, I stumbled in.  After finishing graduate school for international diplomacy, I was looking for a job in Barcelona right after the 92 Olympics when I came across an entrepreneur  who had just bought the rights for Spain to present Disney On Ice.  I knew nothing about events, but he had just lost his only English-speaking employee, so it was a perfect fit.  Now I do international diplomacy on a daily basis….but in the entertainment world.

What are you working on at the moment?

We are creating an children’s exhibition called PRINCESS with Spanish and American partners that will open in Dublin in June; marketing and also finding new cities for a freestyle motorcycle event called Extreme Freestylers that takes place in Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in July; and preparing a Tour of a Children’s Stage Show called Little Big Club in Eastern Europe for November.

What is your favourite external event?

Over the year’s I have worked on a broad range of children’s entertainment shows. Seeing the reaction of children’s faces as their TV heroes come to life is a fantastic experience, which instills an overwhelming amount of joy, making all that hard work worthwhile.

What is your favourite thing about Birmingham?

The people.  I think the vibe in a city comes from its people, and I have always made great friends when I have been in Birmingham. I first started coming here for business in the mid-90’s and worked a lot with the NEC.  I found the team there to be very nice and hospitable, but at the same time very professional.  When I came back in 2008 and worked with the Big Cat team on the Bodies Revealed exhibition, I found exactly the same blend of hospitality and professionalism.

Having only been in England for eight weeks now, I’ve already seen quite a lot of differences between England and The Netherlands, even design wise. Reading Creative Review this month a listing of their top 20 favourite logos. So I thought I would show you the differences I’ve noticed in some big brand logos since being here.

One I noticed straight away is ‘Walkers’ (crisps), called ‘Lay’s’ in The Netherlands which was Smiths previously. It seems strange to me, seeing the same logo with a different name.

‘Lynx’ (deodorant) and ‘axe’ are the same brand too. The packaging is identical, just with a different name for The Netherlands market.

The ice cream brand in England called Wall’s is known as Ola in The Netherlands, again otherwise identical.

Galaxy (chocolate) is Dove in The Netherlands, perhaps this one is because you have a soap of that name – although we have the soap too.

‘Fairy liquid’ is ‘Dreft’ in other countries. The packaging looks really similar and the logo has the same typeface too.

I’m looking forward to discovering even more of these examples during my stay and trying to find out the reasons for the differences too.

Touching on a recent note featured on Big Cat’s Posterous page, I wanted to follow up on the subject of QR Codes and the Brits outlook towards the technology. You may not think it, but QR codes are published in the majority of print/ visual content today; however it’s common that we turn a blind eye toward it because nobody really seems to know what it is, or how it is used.

QR Codes are the square, black and white, pixilated barcodes you would usually find on print adverts, business cards and on web sites; however they can be printed on almost anything. They are readable by QR barcode scanners or camera phones. Scanner ‘apps’ are easily downloadable to android and iPhones. Blackberry phones are said to come with software pre- installed to retrieve the barcodes full of information. So why don’t we use them?

The West has taken a slower approach towards QR Coding even though this technology could be very useful for future marketing and communications. In a recent survey of 1000 British teenagers, 72% of 11-18 year olds did not have software to read QR Codes or were not aware their phone could read them (thenextweb.com). It is debatable that 11-18 year olds are the wrong market for QR Codes, although, personally, seeing as 11-18 year olds are the future, they should be first in adopting this technology and spreading it as they naturally tend to do with new technologies and gadgetry.

QR Codes can be used to link online content like videos, links, text, photos and more. Pepsi recently did a campaign involving QR Codes which would lead you to a URL containing videos and competitions. Let’s hope in 2011, the British public will start to become more aware of QR Code technology, and more business will start to integrate the barcodes into a way of communication. You can even make a personal one using websites like ‘youscan.me’. So why shouldn’t you become tech- savvy, create your own and spread the word!

The NHS recently approached us to pitch for the design of their stand at this years Healthcare Innovation EXPO at ExCeL London.

We were successful in winning the pitch with the idea to recreate a recent innovation from their own offices in the form of an “ideas room”. This is a relaxing area where staff can hold meetings, brainstorming sessions or just escape from the office environment. There are comfy sofas, a giant keyboard and colourful decor.

In addition to recreating what they already had, we took the idea further by adding wall graphics and foam statues to bring the space to life. The NHS were overjoyed with the stand and went on to have a very successful event.

Below are a few photos of the space.

Here at Big Cat, we’re one big family, and given we spend a huge chunk of our lives working, we like to make it fun whenever possible. That’s why when it comes to those special occasions like birthdays, we make a real effort for the team – handmaking our cards rather than buying from the shops – a lot more expensive if you consider designer hourly rates etc – but it’s not about that of course. It’s about seeing the look on someones face when they find their head morphed into Lionel Richie – Class! Here are some of our creations over the last 12 months for your amusement (P.S we only get 15 mins per card so excuse some of the crude designs!!)

Last week saw 236 professionals from over 30 of the city’s top businesses descend upon Edgbaston Cricket ground for the Birmingham Forward Gala Dinner. Despite the fact that everybody likes to dress up, network and fill their bellies with delicious food, filling an event of this size and stature isn’t simple. In fact, since Denise Lewis OBE was the guest speaker I think it is fitting to offer a sporting analogy:

Marketing and managing an event is a lot like long distance running. You start off quick out of the blocks but quickly realise you have a long way to run. There are bursts of effort at strategic intervals and it always ends with a mad dash to the finish line. Selling the Birmingham Forward Gala dinner stayed true to this.

Of course our guest speaker; Denise Lewis OBE played her part in keeping the bookings flooding in, as did the main sponsor of the event ,Jaguar, who gifted one lucky guest a brand new Jaguar for a week.

We started the race with an announcement on the Birmingham Forward website, and this was accompanied with the initial announcement email (this is a lot like starting quick out of the blocks).

Following this, we used weekly email transmissions to reach our target audience (strategic bursts of effort). These consisted of images, event updates and plenty of links to click through to the Forward website where bookings could be made. This was then analysed to monitor the tone of voice that best captured our audience. This was extremely difficult as in many cases we were liaising with PA’s rather than the guests themselves.

The process doesn’t stop with these transmissions though. It is essential to monitor which organisations are responding and interacting with the mailer so that we can further target our marketing (a lot like analysing your performance mid-race and making any changes necessary).
With only a week to the event (finish line) we pull another trick out of our locker. Using a call to action like “last chance to book” or “final places being booked” in transmissions are essential to fill the final seats. In addition to this, we also increase hype about the event to revitalise the enthusiasm and energy in the build up to the day.

Now for the sprint to the finish line…

Our events team set up the tables and seating plan and organised sponsorship arrangements. This was followed by the VIP area, sound and visual tech, guest list, names tags, catering/dietary requirements, plants, lighting, waiting service, suit and boot, greet guests and help them find their seats.

Our events wizards transformed Edgbaston Cricket Ground into this:

Breath and celebrate!

You’ve probably seen over the past few months the Big Cats tweeting about massages, health checks and various other healthy living initiatives. No, we haven’t been slacking in the office, more the opposite. The management team have introduced “Wellbeing Wednesday”, an initiative that will both reward and de-stress the team, ensuring that we’re all looked after and in turn can continue to work to the highest of standards.

Today was the second of these “Wellbeing Wednesday’s” and it wasn’t all whale music and stress relief like the first. Today’s session was a health check with a qualified physiotherapist. Despite what many people in the office feared, there wasn’t any poking or prodding (well maybe a tiny bit). We all had our blood pressure tested, as well as weight, height, BMI and cholesterol. I’m happy to report though that all the Big Cats are well and only a few people were are out of breath after the 3-minute exercise session (better cut down on all those Saint Cafe lunches).

We’re all wondering what’s in store next month though? All we’ve been told is not to wear ‘posh’ clothes. I have a feeling it could get messy.

With an extensive range of clientele across seas it’s vital that Big Cat has a strong, dedicated and reliable events team which in turn is lead by an experienced, creative and down to earth Events Director. This month’s Q & A is with Events Director Nick Ruffles who sheds light on what it’s like working abroad and what have been his most challenging events.

What is your role at Big Cat Group?

At Big Cat Group my role is Event Director, which is quite a varied role. My main focus is external events such as exhibitions, conferences and festivals. I manage exhibition logistics, the design and builds of stands and sets, as well as the production of international events.

How did you get into events?

In all honesty by mistake. I studied Product Design at University however following graduation I decided it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I took on the role of event manager at Wooden Spoon, a charity for physically disadvantaged children. My passion for events grew from there really and I’ve been in the industry for 10 years now.

What are you working on at the moment?

At present I’m working on the logistics for Birmingham’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Big Cat has been involved in the parade for a number of years now and we’ve built up a lot of contacts along the way. The parade is a great day out for all the family and really emphasises community spirit within Birmingham. I’m also working on Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future which consists of a series of monthly and sometimes weekly events for Birmingham’s professional industry. Big Cat manages the logistics of these events as well as the marketing.

What is your favourite external event?

It would have to be Star Trek: The Exploration. This was a massive event which took place in Valencia, Spain. I was tasked with heading up the production and development of the exhibition, a job which was not easy I can assure you. Weeks of early hours and late nights finally lead to the completion of the project. Although one of the hardest events I’ve had to build, it was also one of the most rewarding.

What is your favourite thing about Birmingham?

I’d have to say the nightlife. I’m more of a bar and pub man than clubbing and Birmingham has a very broad range of them to chose from. There are lots of hidden gems within the City, you just have to take the time to find them.

Big Cat Group has recently been appointed as event and marketing consultancy for two of the city’s top membership organisations, Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future.

Established in 1990, Birmingham Forward is an inclusive, independent, non-aligned corporate membership organisation which provides a platform through lobbying and events for its members to be clearly represented locally, regionally and nationally.

Following the success of Birmingham Forward, it was decided that a sister organisation was required to fulfil the unique needs of younger professionals, assisting them in their careers and developing talent to inspire and sustain business excellence. In 1993 Birmingham Future was established and since then has developed a membership base of over 500 individuals from across 21 sectors.

The award-winning Big Cat Group has been chosen to manage and implement a calendar of networking, lobbying and educational events for both Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future. These events will range from the prestigious Chairman’s Gala Dinner, the highly attended AGM, debates, meet and mixes, seminars and various speed networking events.  A strategic and integrated marketing campaign will support the extensive events calendar.

Anthony Tattum, Managing Director of Big Cat Group said: “We are extremely proud to have been chosen to work with such outstanding organisations as Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future.

“Big Cat Group has been a contributor to Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future for a number of years with our CEO, Nick Morgan winning the entrepreneurial category in the nationally renowned Birmingham Young Professional of the Year as well as a number of our team sitting on the Events and Marketing committees.

“By utilising our expertise in marketing and event management, Big Cat Group will be able to provide a first class service, building upon the knowledge and connections that we have developed through our continual involvement in Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future over the years.”

The news has been packed to the brim recently with arguments for and against the governments ‘Big Society’ policy, but what exactly is it? Every story on BBC News seems to be linked to this policy and as a result the country is going down the pot hole because of it (or so they say). What does it mean though and more importantly what does it mean to me?

Well, the aim of the policy is “to create a climate that empowers local people and communities, building a big society that will ‘take power away from politicians and give it to people’”. Surely this is a good thing though? Apparently not. The reason why the Big Society is in the news so much is because of all the cuts that are taking place across the country. These cuts are proving detrimental to community projects, schemes and institutes throughout the UK. There are so many organisations which are being affected by this, however I’m going to pick on two which I feel particularly strong about; local libraries and KIC.FM, a community radio station in Wolverhampton.

So, libraries first. In all fairness I haven’t visited a library since my university days where many an hour was spent with my head down in a dusty text book about the complexities of contract law. I buy all my own books from Waterstones, and the majority of those are fantasy novels not found in your local library. My eyes were opened this week though when I saw that libraries perform a much greater role than just lending books; many centres provide a hub for community activities such as workshops, social groups and even day care facilities. The argument of “Everything is going digital” isn’t particularly true though, at least not in my opinion. Yes, books are now digital but not everyone can afford a Kindle or even a computer at home. I’m not afraid to stay my ground and stand up for the future of digital, but sometimes digital just doesn’t fit the need and the conversion often causes more problems than it solves

Next on my list is KIC.FM. For those of you who know me, you’ll be aware I spent five years at this community station and it is actually the key reason why I got into PR. Since moving to Birmingham I’ve had very little contact with them until last week when I discovered that they have had their funding cut and will therefore seize to exist as of the 31^st March.

KIC.FM helped me in so many ways such as presentation skills, problem solving and forward planning. It’s one of the sections that really stands out on my CV and helps differ me from all the other applicants, something which is becoming increasingly difficult in today’s job market.  Since launching back in 2001, the station has helped over 500 young people through the V Inspired Scheme, many of whom have gone onto fantastic jobs.  Is pulling funding from projects such as KIC.FM really going to help sort out the economy or will it infact reduce the skills young people develop outside of school and college? Will this then inturn affect how they perform in the working world?

At the start of the blog, many of you would have wondered how the Big Society will affect you. Well those are my two ways in which it has affected me, what are yours?

Last week I had the opportunity to art direct my first photo shoot with Graham Lucas Commons, a photographer we have used for numerous campaigns. Our job, although it might sound menial was to take a photograph of the front doors of RoPSA’s head office for their latest ad campaign.

After taking a few shots, RoSPA decided on their favourite one but with a few alterations in mind.

This is where Photoshop came in. RoSPA had requested that the front pillars and windows were to be removed from the shot. At first this might sound like an easy job but as the image was a flat photo it was bit more complicated than originally thought. If we were to remove the pillars it would leave a large blank space in the image.

This job took a lot of time, care and attention to get right so thought it would be great to show off the results.

From-this....

...to this.

Following a busy December in preparation for our CMS audit which we passed with flying colours, January saw Big Cat achieve another gold accolade, this time in the format of Investors in People.

Having held the standard for a number of years now, it was time for our renewal in January. As the company has expanded dramatically over the past few years, it’s imperative to ensure all staff are aware of the aims and goals of the company and the fundamentals of what makes Big Cat tick.

After a day of interviews with every member of staff, we were informed by the auditors that we had passed with flying colours. Well done Big Cats.

Last week we were told by the papers that it was one of the most depressing weeks of the year; a month since the Christmas holidays, plummeting temperatures and lack of money. Hardly an incentive to get stuck into work now is it?

Well last week, mobile network Orange took it upon themselves to spread some unseasonal cheer with their ‘Winter Warmers’ campaign. The idea is simple, people tweet using the #winterwarmers hashtag recommending friends who are having a rather rubbish day. If their cause is worthy enough the Orange team jump in their van and hand deliver a woolly scarf and a cup of hot chocolate to the deserving party. Over the course of the week, Orange’s Street Team hit Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton and London, spending a whole day in one city spreading peace on earth and hot chocolate.

Now I’m a big fan of these ‘good will’ campaigns but am finding it very difficult to work out what the commercial gain is for this particular one. Although it’s a fantastic idea, what do Orange get from it? I suppose I’m answering my own question by writing this blog, but it doesn’t make me want to suddenly change phone networks or internet provider. Nevertheless it certainly generated a considerable amount of buzz on twitter with people recommending their friends throughout the city. Perhaps that was precisely it though and the gorilla tactic was purely for brand awareness purposes.

From looking at the recipients of the gestures though, I’m wondering if some deeper research had gone into it. The majority of people who received winter warmers were from the creative industries, many of whom are big players (or are seen by many as). Maybe I’m looking far too deep into this harmless good will campaign, or perhaps Orange deserve more credit than they’re given?

As Big Cat grows from strength to strength and all departments across the company see an increase in repeat business, this month’s Q & A comes from Julie Edge, Big Cat’s Studio Manager who has built up strong relationships with clients to help foster and grow these opportunities.

What is your role at Big Cat Group?

My role at Big Cat Group is Head of Studio. I manage an exciting team of designers, who all have very different skills and specialties. It involves briefing, scheduling, and making sure things get done. They’re a great bunch though so I have it easy most days. I also manage the day-to-day work for the design team’s largest client RoSPA, who Big Cat have worked with since I started in January 2009. It’s a lot of juggling and chasing around after suppliers but very exciting and everyday is different, I really enjoy having the two main elements to my role, it shakes it up a bit. I like the fact that I can take the brief in person and see it through to final stage.

How did you get into Design?

Actually, I am quite old school in that respect, I did an apprenticeship! I never thought about Graphic Design as a career to start, I always wanted to teach Secondary school but I never thought I’d be confident enough to stand up in front of a bunch of 15yr olds (remembering naughty and cheeky how I was at that age). Plus I hated the authority aspect of school through adolescence so probably would have sympathised with them rather than ‘told them off’ when they were cheeky. So I went to college and managed to persuade them to let me do my A-levels hoping that something would spark an interest along the way.

Then I met people who worked in the Creative industry. The way they talked about it made it sound really exciting – not your normal 9-5, I had held an interest in art from a very young age so I went to a Careers Centre and there was a job advertised for a junior designer apprentice. I went for it and I got it. It was great because I was learning from experienced designers and creatives whilst most people were at UNI, so I was able to get my second design job at 19yrs old and I stayed at that one for 8years and was promoted to a more senior level quite quickly after I was able to demonstrate my flair for anything process! I decided Studio management was the path I wanted, I preferred the pressure of managing resources, work and deadlines to the pressure of getting the creative right. I was taken on at Big Cat in Jan 2009 and it was a massive change from my previous role, which was mainly managing design for the Financial Services, but I quickly settled back into the swing of things and really enjoy my work and the people here.

What are you working on at the moment?

We are in the final stages of a project for arts centre, The Drum in Aston. We were employed as consultants to take them from being just a community based arts centre to stand out to Business and corporate organisations, and sell their spaces more effectively.

It’s been really interesting and challenging (two of my favourite words), part of the project was to give the place a face-lift, we worked with a creative and a designer to create the moodboards and concept behind the visuals. The client loved them and it’s now complete. To see the before and after photos is a great moral boost for the team and something we will be shouting about a lot to clients – new and existing. Look out for the blog on our site if you want to see what it all looks like.

What is your favourite ad campaign at the moment?

HMMMMMM! This is a difficult one as I don’t watch TV much. I do however love the Boots campaign. They have an ad out about colds and it’s basically highlighting the fact that women just get on with it but men don’t – I have to say – in my experience, that is so true!! I love it when people point out the obvious in a funny way – that way even though they are stereotyping, they can put it down to simple humour! I can just imagine the conversations between couples when that one comes on… probably a few lighthearted and heated discussions going on – but at least they are talking about it. That to me makes a great ad.

What is your favourite thing about Birmingham?

I could say something really arty – like the art and the sculptures but I’m sorry – it’s the shopping facilities. Simple! I actually do love the architecture of the bullring and Selfridges though, at night if you look down towards St Martins, the textures of the new glass and ‘disc’ covered buildings all seem to ‘just work’ with the old cathedral, it’s nice to look at and wonder how they did that. Also we had our Big Cat 10th Birthday party in the penthouse of the Rotunda, and it’s actually quite amazing to look at Birmingham at night. I am certain that there are many more breathtaking sites around the world, but it makes it special when it’s your home town I think! You go to NYC Empire State Building and Paris Eiffel Tower expecting to be blown away, and when you arrive you may have built it up so much that it’s not as good as you imagined (which happened to me in Egypt) but when something takes you off-guard, it’s even better and I found Birmingham at night from the height of the Rotunda really did that to me. Very unexpected.

The Drum, a national centre for black British arts and culture, recently hired the services of Big Cat to provide them with marketing and event strategies, and give their building a bit of a renovation. The aim was to attract more businesses to use the conference facilities and compete more effectively with other centres like The Public and The MAC.

In terms of the refurbishment, we focussed on the Seminar Room, Frontiers Café, the entrance and reception, establishing key areas in need of reviving. We found a lot of what The Drum already had was of an excellent standard. Besides new carpet and hi-tech seminar facilities, it just needed a little colour, better use of the brand, and more attention paid to the presentation of the art.

We relocated the paintings and sculptures to more prominent areas, and researched African, Caribbean and Asian art, with particular focus on the use of patterns and colour. This helped us finalise a new colour set which worked with their existing brand colours, but which could also be used to identify each of the key areas. Patterns were created and used throughout the building in keeping with the theme, along with huge quotes from iconic members of the black community, for example, Chris Gardner and Claudia Jones.

The refurbishment has already been well received by The Drum, and we’re now awaiting the feedback from the public. Take a look at the photos and let us know what you think!

Business Suite before the refurbisment

Business Suite after

Business Suite: cabaret style

Before and after views of the Café

As the Christmas season has drawn to a close and the New Year has been well and truly welcomed in, there is definitely not a lack of activity in the events team a Big Cat. One aspect of Big Cat Events that is seeing a steady influx is that of ‘Birmingham Forward’.

Birmingham Forward is an independent, inclusive, not-for-profit, membership organisation that was established in 1990. With Members joining from 21 different sectors of business and professional services and representing a broad cross-section of the Birmingham business community, its role is to promote the strength, range and depth of services that our members offer to the widest possible audience. At the same time it wants to promote Birmingham, and the region, as an ideal place to do business. Forward members have access to a wide range of events that both educate and inform audiences whilst at the same time providing excellent networking opportunities. On behalf of its members, Forward lobbies on key issues that are important to its members and the city – often the two are closely linked, so what better company to use for fresh, unique and professional events than Big Cat Group!

Having kicked off the festive season in style, Big Cat organised the Birmingham Future (part of Forward) Christmas Party at All Bar One for over 100 guests. With complimentary drinks and canapés served, the night was a great successful for all involved, if not a little stressful!

The ‘future’ is definitely looking bright for Birmingham Future as we approach the Launch of the Birmingham Young Professional of the Year 2011 Awards at Malmaison on 20^th January, seeing a huge request for the launch resulting in tickets selling out within three weeks of being released. This proves to be a much-publicised and ‘hot-blooded’ event, as nominees are announced all vying for the coveted trophy in their category.

Following this, we see a sporting legend appear in the Birmingham Forward calendar. Denise Lewis OBE, shares her experiences and memories of her prestigious career and how this can be translated into the corporate world at the Birmingham Forward Chairman’s Gala Dinner. The venue for this special black-tie occasion is the impressive Warwickshire County Cricket Club that is in the spotlight at the moment as England’s triumphant Ashes win was aided by Warwickshire bowler Chris Woakes. With champagne on arrival and a three-course dinner to follow, this proves to be a celebratory night for all involved and a perfect chance to network with local-minded businesses.

The events above are definitely a couple of the larger-scale ones in the immediate future for Birmingham Forward, however there are numerous smaller (yet just as fun and diverse) events scattered throughout the year. This year proves to be anything but ‘slow’ in regards to events, with Big Cat working extra hard to create the uniquely creative and professional events with which we are eminently known for!

People regularly talk to me about their new business ideas. They’re mostly employed in a job they are a bit bored of or downright dislike. Sometimes they’re already running their own businesses and want to increase revenues.

Many ideas haven’t been thought out properly or paint a rose-tinted-spectacle view of what being your own boss would be like: you can work the hours you want and most importantly you’re your own boss.

Countless numbers of people don’t start new businesses or innovate their existing ones because they’re not confident in the outcome. There are unknown factors, high perceived risks, skills gaps, finance issues, threats, weaknesses, boogie men…

I have news for all would be entrepreneurs and innovators: making mistakes and failing is a good thing. But there is one caveat – you have to start doing it.

Don’t over analyse, constantly plan, forever rejig figures, wring your hands about the risks. You have to get started. Start small, take risks, don’t worry about things not working, just constantly learn and fine tune as you go.

I’ve always gained from failures. Not instantly, but without exception, looking back over my 16 odd years running businesses; every disaster, every mistake, every failure has lead to something good.

Success from failure can come in many forms. New contacts, raised profile, improved reputation, new skills, clients and partners.

The raw ingredients to a successful business or innovation are passion, enthusiasm, commitment and the courage to just do it!

We in Design thought it might be useful to share our knowledge of resources which have helped us develop a variety of award winning campaigns.

This blog is all about the lesser known sites, some of which are not as familiar as sites such as Creative Review.

1. Lipsum

This is a great tool to generate dummy copy and can be used for scamping and deciding on the right word count you need before you get the actual copy.

2. Juggle

Juggle has great resources in terms of logos. If you are ever struggling to find a logo, this site is a must.

3. Fontstruct

Free to use, this site allows you to create your own font/typeface. The only problem is that it can be restrictive in terms of leading and kerning, but is still a great tool to use for projects.

4. Behance

Add your own personal portfolio for all to see. The beauty of behance is that it’s not your usual portfolio site. You can network through it and search each portfolio by section i.e. typography.

5. Ads of the world

A Great research tool. You can see all sorts of adverts from around the world. Brilliant for university projects when searching for inspiration.

6. Kuler

Create your own colour themes, or use preset themes to help enhance any project.

7. Big Cartel

A site that provides you with your own independent store. You can sell all of your art on here.

8. Superbrands

The biggest and best brands are on this great site. Read about brand history and relevance within today’s society.

9. Brands of the world

A mixture of big brand logos and logos uploaded by the ‘everyday person’.

10. Creative bits

Have your logos critiqued using this link which is within brands of the worlds site.

If you have any more useful links please add them to this blog, it would be great to hear your thoughts.

We weren’t even 2 weeks into the New Year before the latest of a long list of new social media apps seemed to take the world by storm. Quora, the simple question and answer platform was the latest app to rise from the ashes and have everyone tweeting about it. This blog isn’t about Quora though, more so about the multitude of new applications which seem to appear out of thin air every week, each one claiming to be new, innovative and exciting.

Is there too much technology out in the world nowadays though? Have we lost the art of conversation and meeting people in real life? Gone are the days when you would walk into a restaurant and see couples gazing into each other’s eyes with a sense of yearning. Now, these same couples seem to staring into the depths of their iPhones or Blackberry’s. Admittedly I too am one of these tech zombies, however I’m trying to change, I promise.

When you live, work and breathe digital media, where do you go to distance yourself from it? Can you distance yourself at all?

Surely this technological saturation can’t be good for brands though can it? If we’re continually subjected to the same offers, apps, websites and digital content do we in fact switch off to them all, making campaigns less effective? Perhaps the platforms which have made business-consumer interaction so easy have now crammed so much information into the market that key messages are no longer picked up?

I know it’s a horrendous cliché but for in this instance it’s true, maybe companies do need to start thinking outside the box? There are plenty of digital campaigns out there but maybe brands need to mix it up a bit and really WOW us with something new. Who knows, 2011 could be the year where everything changes….again!

Certain brands over the years have become so recognisable that they now only need elements of their logo to be recognised. This has recently been shown with the Starbucks brand which saw a re-brand and the removal of its name from take-away cups.

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/january/starbucks-new-logo

Last year Starbucks launched its first UK coffee shop to feature a new, boutique design in London. The aim of this significant move was to make the branch different to all its other branches, inturn moving away from the ‘chain look’ coffee shops which litter our high streets.

Does Starbucks need a name on its products?

There are many brands like Starbucks that can now demonstrate immediate brand recognition. I’ve added some examples below which I think you’ll find interesting.

Mars

The Mars typeface connected with its iconic colours of Red Gold and Black can now be used with other words not just the name brand. This was shown throughout the 2010 football world cup. The ‘Believe’ campaign was used across all it’s branding from TV adverts down to chocolate bars. Mars even bought out a limited edition kit in which consumers could make their own names up.

Mars Brand

Believe campaign

Make your own Mars bar

I’ve added two more interesting pieces to look at, both of which are some of the biggest brands around today. Can you figure out what they are?

Iconic 3 stripes

Can you spot the surfer?

In today’s society do you need text within branding or is just an image sufficient?

Carlsberg’s “probably the best…” campaign is probably one of the best advertising campaigns that we’ve seen for years. Its latest campaign certanly goes the distance to support this claim:

The anchor for each advert is the arrogant (yet humorous) method in which Carlsberg claim to be the best beer in a round-about way that doesn’t flout false advertising law.  Each edition is built around this core foundation and is adapted to a theme.

The choice of theme is important as it enables Carlsberg to associate itself with that genre/theme. For instance, “ …Probably the best football team in the world”, or “…probably the best hotel in the world” or even “…probably the best holiday in the world”. Carlsberg therefore begins to establish itself as a front-runner within those markets.

This latest advert works very well as it crosses channels between online (viral) and print. Not only this,  it illustrates how print can be used in an interactive and unique fashion, which combats the decline in print advertising effectiveness, a topic which was covered in a previous post.

Just before everyone broke up for the Christmas break, Big Cat Group had some rather well deserved news. Despite winter 2010 being an incredibly busy time in the office, we decided to put ourselves forward for the PRCA’s Consultancy Management Standard (CMS), the gold standard of service for the PR industry.

An independent auditor visited the office and studied how the consultancy is managed as well as how clients are serviced. After a nail biting three hours we were told we passed with a fantastic 96.5%.

Francis Ingham, Chief Executive PRCA says: “Well run businesses consistently deliver the results clients are looking for. The Consultancy Management Standard was developed specifically to ensure that PRCA members have the systems and structures in place to meet and exceed clients’ expectations. The Standard has been so successful that is has now been adopted in 11 countries around the world.”

Well done to everyone at Big Cat for all their hard work!

Sigh! It’s all over. What a fantastic December we have had at The Old Library; and although we welcome 2011 and it’s many exciting events with open arms, The Old Library is certainly going to miss the festive fun seen in 2010.

It all began with a thirteen foot real Christmas tree lovingly lugged into the venue by Emily and Emily (with help of surrounding gentlemen) and a quick trip to Ikea to get some brand new sparkly things to decorate the beast. Once finished, the festivities could begin!

This year’s Christmas packages included mulled wine on arrival, which as we have concluded has a marmite-like feeling with guests; you either love it or hate it. For only £35 per head, the guests also enjoyed a private cloakroom, DJ, beautiful table decorations, warm lighting, a three course Christmas dinner and impeccable service.

The Old Library certainly enjoyed housing its merry guests from various places of work such as the Radiography department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Lombard Vehicle Management, but we were also fortunate enough to see some famous faces at Christmas time! Aggie MacKenzie (of How Clean is Your House fame) and Jon Bentley were testing out cleaning gadgets for an episode of The Gadget Show, scheduled to air early this year. Aggie certainly seemed impressed with the tidiness of The Old Library and perhaps even more impressed with our fabulous tree!

But the decoration and theming didn’t stop at Christmas. The tree came down at the end of December to make way for a fabulously decorated vintage themed wedding in which the couple, Abigail and Chris Carter, invited their guests to leave them a message using old fashioned type writers laid out on our oak table in the foyer.

So as we move into 2011, the vintage trend is still rife within the fashion world and is going to be seen quite a lot in events throughout this year. More vintage weddings are coming up, as well as film nights and private parties all feeling very nostalgic.

It seems that 2010 really was the year of the cat (or at least year of the tiger according to the Chinese calendar). Big Cat Group experienced an exceptionally busy and indeed fruitful year in 2010. We celebrated our 10^th birthday; launched Big Cat Europe; opened offices in France and Spain, CEO Nick Morgan won International Entrepreneur of the year; numerous new business wins including Hello Business, Bournville College, O’Neils and CSI: The Experience; won a number of awards for our design work and venue The Old Library and not to mention passed CMS with one of the highest scores in the region.

Nick Morgan, CEO Big Cat Group; Mike Molloy, MD Big Cat Europe; Anthony Tattum, MD Big Cat Group

CSI: The Experience

Despite all of our successes, we’re not getting complacent in the office. We’re already working on a number of new and exciting exhibitions both in the UK and Europe. This is on top of a few surprises that we have up our sleeves.

2010 was a tough year for businesses across all sectors and 2011 doesn’t seem to be looking much better. We’re not being put down by this though. There are plenty of new opportunities out there, you just have to look that tiny bit harder.

Happy New Year everyone from all at Big Cat Group

Winter 2010 saw a surge in new talent joining the ranks of Big Cat Group. Today we take a few minutes to speak to Emily Britton, Events Co-ordinator for The Old Library. With a background in theatre and event design it’s Emily’s job to ensure your event, no matter what the spec, is enjoyed by all.

What is your role at Big Cat Group?

Events Co-ordinator for The Old Library Venue

How did you get into events?

I studied Theatre, Performance and Event Design at University. After my first year I realised that Theatre wasn’t really my bag and found that designing events really interested me. My course was amazing and allowed me to work on a huge range of projects, designing and making for events such as The Flatpack Film Festival, Download 2009 and 2000 Trees Festival in Cheltenham. I revelled in the fast pace ethos of ‘get it done’. I feel like it benefitted me as a person and I went from being a lazy student to working 12 hour days (and strangely loving it!). Very soon after graduating I contacted Big Cat Events who offered me a three month internship. I was taken on as Events Co-ordinator in October.

What are you working on at the moment?

The best thing about this job is the variety of events we see. I have a few wedding clients that I am working closely with at the moment to ensure that their big day looks and feels just the way they want it too. I also have several conferences I am organising which are taking place over the next few months as well as working on quotes and hotel availability for a large event for LG Electronics.

What is your favourite external event?

Ahhh so hard to choose! To be honest, I love any event that involves fancy dress. I love dressing up and creating alter egos. I went to Latitude festival in July which was amazing. It’s SO beautiful and such a chilled out experience. It is quite small for what is now a big name festival, but there is so much to see and do such as cabaret, comedy, bands, workshops, arts and crafts, amazing food, awesome new music. On the last day of the 2010 festival, I dressed up as an old lady and sang karaoke with a live band! Doesn’t get better than that.

What is your favourite thing about Birmingham?

The multiculturalism. I come from somewhere that doesn’t have a great variety in culture or an amazing amount of acceptance for other cultures, so It’s great to live somewhere that has such diversity, not just in the people themselves but what’s actually in the city in terms of music, art, shopping, food and especially events. There is ALWAYS something going on in Birmingham and so many places where you can find out what and where.

I find decent street art in the Midlands to be quite scarce compared to cities like Bristol and Brighton. We seem to lack the abundance and variety offered by others. That’s not to say we’re completely without. There’s some decent stuff around if you look for it and Birmingham is one of the original locations for the now global Secret Wars, where artists try to out-draw one another with nothing but a black marker, a white wall and a bit of imagination. Various spots around Digbeth are regularly updated, but if I’m honest we still have some way to go.

I imagine the Midland’s lack of street art is more of a tolerance issue rather than a lack of talent, especially judging by the Birmingham-based artists currently on display at The Herbert Gallery in Coventry. The gallery is the current home for a touring exhibition entitled “Street Art: Contemporary prints from the V&A” running until Jan 16, so you’ll have to be quick. Although the posters shout the names of Banksy, Shepard Fairey and Jamie Hewlett, these artists only have a handful of work on show between them. And although respect where it’s due, the world of street art does not revolve around these three. Most eye-catching was the work of Vhils, Ben Slow, and Birmingham based Mohammed Ali, Newso and Lucy McLauchlan. The latter being my particular favourite of the exhibition, and she’s also decorated the outside of Birmingham Central Library. I really recommend visiting, especially as it’s FREE! If the Midland’s city walls don’t tolerate street art, strangely at least our galleries do.

Shepard Fairey - Duality Of Humanity 2 Mural Canvas

Vhils - Unknown icons

Lucy McLauchlan at The Herbert Gallery

Newso in Digbeth

PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals the world’s largest animal rights organisation really know how to capture the attention of the public and the media, with it’s shocking, no punches campaigns.

Ingrid Newskwirk , PETA’s founder has spear headed the organisations now notorious  campaign posters featuring naked celebrities. In the 90s they asked supermodels like Naomi Campbell to appear nude on billboards with the slogan “We’d rather go naked than wear fur”. Through celebrity endorsement PETA successfully made animal protection sexy, current, and fashionable, for the first time.  

Today, Newskwirk along with a team of top strategists meet weekly to discuss new actions and publicity strategies, where no suggestion is considered too outrageous.  PETA is not afraid to cause controversy and use it to PETA’s advantage, embodying the idea, that all publicity be it negative or positive, is a strength to the PETA brand. The group also targets celebrities who chose to wear or endorse fur, throwing flour , red paint and following them around with placards listing their ‘crimes’ against animals. These actions have kept PETA firmly in the public eye and generated millions of pounds worth of publicity for the organisation.

PETA knows the power of a campaign that splits audiences and captures the imagination of the general public. It’s recent campaign features Pamela Anderson posing like a 1950s pin up with her body, sliced and sectioned, like an animal is after slaughter. The campaign stir’s the imagination immediately, by comparing the human body to animal meat, a thought that is deeply unsettling for most.

Anderson, a lifelong vegetarian has been involved with PETA for a number of years, her name along with other celebrities including Justin Bieber, Drew Barrymore, Alec Baldwin and Stella McCartney, has helped to keep PETA support strong, even after serious mis-haps, such as running a series of promotional material targeted at children with the slogan “Your Mummy kills animals”.

The face of a celebrity immediately makes any product, in this case, the lifestyle choice of animal activism; sexy, apparitional and glamorous.  Similar to L’Oreal’s ‘Your worth it.’ campaign, PETA has used celebrity endorsement with the same success and longevity.

Big Cat Design was recently asked to create re-prints of several original pieces of artwork for accident prevention client, RoSPA.

The client wanted the prints to be ‘re-touched’ and formatted to a larger size so that they could be framed and placed throughout their new head office.

Simplistic is a word that would be best used to describe the posters as well as visually pleasing and informative. As they were designed back in the early 1900’s they emanate a sense of vintage originality, which over recent months has seen a strong comeback in modern culture across a number of mediums.

What we’ve noticed here at Big Cat is that slowly but surely the advertising world is again beginning to appreciate the art of a hand-drawn poster, whether it be Art Nuvo, Surrealist, or Pop Art, the list goes on.

Stella Artois is an international brand that happily promotes the use of ‘old style’ design. It gives its advertising a unique feel when compared to every other alcoholic beverage company, priding itself on quality and image rather than appealing to a mass market. It is almost as if the beer comes second after the design, which is refreshing to see.

Is vintage here to stay then, and how exactly do you define it? Will our current campaigns perhaps be seen as vintage in 20 or 30 years time?

As the party season begins and the mulled wine starts to flow, there’s no sign of slowing down for one of Birmingham’s top marketing experience consultancies as it sees a bout of unseasonable growth following three new account wins.

Big Cat Group, specialists in Marketing, PR, Events and Design have this month won the PR and event management contract for the launch of Bournville College’s new £66million campus, in addition to the marketing, event management and design for The Drum, a national centre for Black British arts and culture.

The new contracts were won following a number of competitive pitches which tested the agency’s creative skills in the development of new ideas and planned implementation of strategies.

Nick Morgan, CEO of Big Cat Group said: “2010 has proved to be an incredibly fruitful year for Big Cat across all departments. Our launch into Europe, 10^th Birthday and numerous client wins have all aided in the growth and development of the agency and its staff.

“We have even more big plans for 2011 and aim to continue to provide the ideas, knowledge and results which both we and our clients pride us on.”

Creative consultancy Big Cat Group has this month announced three new appointments within its Marketing, Events and Administrative teams, bucking the trend of graduate unemployability.

Joshua Turbill a Law graduate from Birmingham City University joined the agency in Summer 2010 as a Marketing intern having been named a finalist in the Marketing category of the B-Hive scheme. Joshua provided invaluable support across the department which has seen a number of new business wins over recent months.

Emily Britton a 2010 graduate from Birmingham City University has been appointed to the role of Events Co-ordinator following a three month internship which included working on events for global names such as Google and Mars.

Charlotte Kimbley, a literature graduate from the University of East Anglia entered the consultancy as PR intern in Autumn 2010. After demonstrating strong organisational, time management and people skills, Charlotte was hired as Office Manager earlier this month.

CEO of Big Cat Group, Nick Morgan said: “We’re incredibly pleased to be welcoming Joshua, Emily and Charlotte to Big Cat Group. They have all shown dedication, determination and passion for their fields and felt it a perfect opportunity to expand our team.

“The UK job market is still relatively unstable at the moment, meaning graduates are finding it even more difficult to claim their place on the job ladder. We have always believed in investing in young talent at Big Cat. Not only does it add a breath of fresh air to the company but also enhances our skills and abilities as a service provider, ensuring we are kept up-to-date with the latest tools and techniques.”

As the Big Cat team continues to grow we bring you an exclusive insight into the life of newly qualified graduate and member of Big Cat Group, Josh Turbill. Having studied Law at Birmingham City University, Josh explains how he entered the world of Marketing and why he loves the city so much.

What is your role at Big Cat Group?

Currently – I am Big Cat’s Marketing and Advertising Executive.

How did you get into marketing?

I entered Marketing through the medium of B-hive. B-hive is a Dragons-Den-style competition (organised by Pitch Consultants) where students present their ideas and strategies in a bid to gain work placements at top Birmingham agencies. As a result of my efforts in the competition, I was awarded placements at both London Midland and Brindleyplace. From here, and as a direct result of being a B-hive winner, I was invited for an Interview at Big Cat Group.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment I am working on a variety of exciting accounts. I have planned entire advertising campaigns for the international restaurant group San Carlo as well as being involved in the planning for the successful Hello Business conference which took place in October. In addition to this, and as well as servicing other clients, I am involved in pitching for new business, for which I was required to develop  digital strategies that exploit a variety of online and offline platforms.

What is your favourite external marketing campaign?

I have recently blogged about Cadbury’s Challenge bar campaign.  Many digital campaigns, particularly those that involve social media, ignore the important fact that it isn’t a standalone channel of communication and that it works best when it is cleverly intertwined with offline activity. By no means was the Cadbury campaign (which clearly had a huge budget) perfect, but it is one of the only big campaigns locally that have effectively integrated both online and offline activity to drive traffic and raise awareness.

What is your favourite thing about Birmingham?

I love Birmingham! Samuel Johnson once believed that; “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford” and I believe this is becoming the case for Birmingham. There is ALWAYS something going on in the city, from gigs and bars, to the German Market. Not only this, much of the city centre is being improved, making the future bright for both business and pleasure.

My only criticism of Birmingham is that there are many people who are not aware of what’s on offer. How can we even begin to tell the world how great our city is if we don’t know ourselves?

As the camera lights flashed, Kate Middleton and Prince William all doe eyed and smiles, announced their engagement to the world, causing a media, business and PR hustle across the globe.  PR companies throughout the world began to type releases that linked their clients to the newly engaged couple in whatever way possible.

The Telegraph Newspaper recently published an article disclosing the hundreds of “Hot” and “Exclusive” releases sent to their journalist’s inbox within hours of the Royal Announcement. http://bit.ly/aJig0p

Some of my highlights from the article include an Irish Ferries plug “Kate and William: Dublin’s on your doorstep,” A tea room in Marylebone, London was pleased to announce that they would be “offering all engaged couples called William and Kate a complimentary afternoon tea.”

However, my personal favourite is from a car hire company entitled simply as “Kenyan Car Hire – Not sure if you’re planning any Kenya ventures following William and Kate’s engagement but if you are, please find below car rental fact box lead rates.” Hmmmm exciting! Really gets you in the mood for a good wedding eh?!

In a desperate attempt to monopolise on a global event, PR companies have forgotten one of the golden laws of good PR practise. What makes good news?

PR should never be just shameless, desperate advertising. If you haven’t got a story, don’t pretend you have one.   

Count every ” F ” in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS…

How many could you find?  3?

WRONG, there are 6.
Read it again if you do not believe me.

Here is another:

It deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the  ltteers in a word are, the
olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the first and last  ltteer be in the
rghit pclae . The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed
it wouthit a porbelm.

Many of you will have come across tests like this before. Both of the examples above show that people skim-read text unless they know the content will help them. Once a visitor lands on your site, picks up your book or opens your blog, you have just milliseconds to grab their attention. Images and videos are the kings of content, so why do so many cram their websites and products with text where it is not necessary?

This is a short and simple blog and if you’re bored by now, it is probably because I didn’t embed any pictures or videos.

Promoting the MINI Countryman vehicle is a rather quirky iPhone application that has already caused chaos in Stockholm.

How to hunt and catch a virtual MINI in Stockholm city… and win a real MINI Countryman:

• Find the virtual MINI with your iPhone
• Take it when you get closer than 50 metres
• Get away! Everybody within 50 metres can take the virtual MINI from you
• If you have the virtual MINI in your iPhone after one week of gaming…you will win a real MINI Countryman

This campaign was designed to disrupt Stockholm in the same way that an accident disrupts traffic, and, since everyone wants to know what it is that is causing the hold up, it was certain to work.

Cities are too predictable, and so it is the unpredictable that gets noticed. Imagine the guy in Stockholm who loses his job because he stormed out of a meeting in a bid to remain 50 metres away from a Countryman rival. Or the lady, who, because of approaching countryman rivals, was seen fleeing a salon in the buff – half tanned- half red with embarrassment. When creating a competition, throw a decent enough prize into the mix and remove as many rules as possible. Let the contestants do the marketing for you.

Here’s an idea. The British Legion  have created a charity single which enables people to buy two minutes of silence for the bargain price of £1. Although the track may be lacking in sound, the singles accompanying video certainly makes up for it in celebrity appearances, with the likes of Prime Minister David Cameron, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, DJ Mark Ronson, tennis star Andy Murray and popular actors David Tennant and Bob Hoskins appearing on screen.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph Newspaper The Royal British Legion’s Director General Chris Simpkins disclosed why he believes sound won’t be missed on the release; “Rather than record a song, we felt the U.K public would recognise the poignancy of silence as its clear association with remembrance.”  Sunday 14^th November – is Remembrance Sunday – The Silent Singles campaign is rooting to be number 1 on this date, you can show your support by purchasing the track and accompanying video from: www.silentsingle.com  

This concept is a moving and unique spin on the charity single. However, it is in fact not the first silent single to ever be released. In the 1950s the composer John Cage created 4’33 which as the title suggests, is a totally silent track that lasts exactly 4 minutes and 33 seconds.

Cage’s track incredibly is also making a bid to top the UK charts this winter. In a growing movement to keep Simon Cowell’s X-Factor from dominating the coveted British Christmas Number 1 spot. A group on facebook have begun a movement to get Cage’s 4’33 to the top of the charts. www.facebook.com/cageagainstthemachine

This year’s campaign cageagainstthemachine is a tongue-in-cheek parody of last year’s successful campaign to keep X- factor winner Joe McElderry from the top of the charts by the mass buying of the 1990s cult smash Killing In The Name by Rage Against Of The Machine. Watch the following video to see a leading world orchestra “performing” Cage’s soundless masterpiece.

To me, the nation’s continued efforts to regain control of the charts, once again confirms that we have come to the end of reality televisions dominance of our TV screens. The UK has fallen out of love with this once leading program format. With the demise of Big Brother earlier this year and with the continued negative press and social media coverage of this year’s X-factor we have gone from loving, to ruthlessly bashing these shows and enjoying it.

John Cage 4’33 will be available to download from December 13^th to receive the chart eligible link sign up here: http://bit.ly/cageagainstthemachine Lets make this year’s Christmas truly a Silent Night!

Just a quick blow of the Big Cat trumpet. We’re extremely proud to announce we walked home with Silver for “Most Effective Stand or Display” at this year’s Field Marketing & Brand Experience awards! The project was part of the campaign for CSI: The Experience at Birmingham’s Bullring, entered for the award in collaboration with Limited Space who organise advertising sites in prime retail locations around the UK.

The CSI ad campaign aimed to recruit potential visitors, enticing them to “become an agent” and take part in CSI: The Experience, an interactive entertainment experience. The lift advertising treated the space as the crime scene, with the graphics making the lift appear to be covered in bullet holes and police tape. People entered the lift as if they were the CSI agent, and were then encouraged to visit the experience and solve the crime.

So a big hand to everyone who worked on the project!

Big Cat Group and AMP Entertainment recently joined forces to launch a new European live entertainment consultancy, Big Cat Europe. The new entity has operations in Barcelona, Birmingham, London and Paris and will be delivering projects across Europe.

Below MD of Big Cat Spain, Daniel Rena answers questions about Big Cat Spain.

• What is Big Cat Spain:

Big Cat Spain is the natural extension of the brainchild Nick Morgan and Mike Molloy had: creating a Pan European company that can cover different areas such as full service marketing and event production. Being based in Spain has given us the chance to also work the Latin America market as well.  From our experience and background in these markets, it was a chance we couldn’t miss. In addition, we have a fantasitic strategic partnership with Zoopa, one of the leading marketing and show producing agencies in Spain. Having proved we could work together both effectively and efficiently, our combined potential is spectacular.

• What are you working on at the moment

We are giving the final touches to Scooby Doo and The Pirate Ghost production, which will go on tour in Eastern Europe in 2 weeks.  We will tour Poland, Lithuania and Greece.

We have just finished the initial design and pre production of the Pirates Exhibition, which is a very exciting project we are building.

And as we also cover Latin America in our territories, we are going to expand our operations with our leading shows (Pirates, Scooby Doo, the Ashton Brothers, etc, etc..) Very exciting new business opportunities!

• What are the biggest shows in Barcelona / Spain right now?

We just finished the first residency of the Ashton Brothers at Theatre Victoria in Barcelona. A very exciting experience. In addition, at this very moment we have the Star Trek Exhibition at the amazing Museo de las Artes y Las Ciencias in Valencia, in its first European premiere.

• Tell us about the Big Cat Spain office

We have the pleasure to share offices with Zoopa, our partners for Spain. We worked on Ashton Brothers together and created content for the Pirates exhibition. We are developing our common marketing and branding experience, so you will hear great things from us soon.

Zoopa is a highly talented and young group of people, in a pleasant and creative environment.

• What does the future hold for BCS?

We have really ambitious plans. We want to do more Ashton Brothers shows in Spain and Latin America. Same thing with Scooby Doo and The Pirate Ghost Tour. More European countries can be added, and a Latin America tour is in sight. Pirates is a key project, as it involves all our teams, and it is 100% our own creation. Pirates is born with an International touring capacity. And I can say its concept will be groundbreaking for the entertainment industry. In addition, we expect to develop the BCG marketing philosophy with leading  Spanish brands, something we are developing with our Zoopa Partners. A hectic and exciting future to come!

Hello Business is a 2 day digital conference which aims to help businesses in all sectors to innovate and grow using the latest technology and techniques through an intensive and interactive programme of events. Covering topics from social media to change management, and digital IP to future trends, the conference featured a mix of panel discussions, seminars and workshops, enabling delegates to interact with industry leaders.

Big Cat was the major private sector partner in a public private partnership which included Digital Birmingham, Advantage West Midlands, Business Link, Screen West Midlands and Marketing Birmingham. The agency co-curated the programme, created the brand identity and marketing communications strategy and was then responsible for the implementation of the 3-month promotional campaign. Big Cat’s events team coordinated 25 interactive sessions across 2 venues, working closely with both the ICC and Custard Factory.

The commercial segment of the Hello Digital week, the 2-day conference attracted almost 50 speakers and over 400 delegates. Big Cat is currently working with the partnership board to plan next year’s conference and a programme of year long activity to support and promote the region’s digital sector.

Nick and I incorporated Big Cat Group Limited 10 years ago following 2 years working together as a partnership; and during this blog I would like to share some experiences we had along the way.

I met Nick through an ex colleague of his who introduced us in 1996. We had the same work ethic and were equally ambitious and we started collaborating on various music-related projects.

Our first office was in the basement of a nightclub, which was situated adjacent to the ladies changing room at a popular Gentleman’s Club. This made meetings a little awkward although we had a surprisingly good relationship with our Bank Manager, who would visit us frequently

Eventually we moved up in the world (literally) into rather cramped 100 sq foot office on the Hagley Road. We could only fit 2 desks, a mini fridge and 1 filing cabinet but at least we had a window.

Although we were working for well known brands like MTV and Cream times were hard in the music industry where minnows didn’t hold much weight or power.

A micro business providing event marketing in the music and entertainment sector, we were offering something unique. We were driving as many as 10,000 customers to events every week and managing their experience in multiple venues across the UK.

In 2000 we won a contract to turnaround Coventry University’s entertainment complex, which had posted a £1/2 million loss the previous year. Our strategy was simple: give the students what they wanted, 7 days a week. Nick booked pretty much every chart topping act and comedian on the circuit, I promoted the hell out of it, and Rob Dudley (our Exhibition Manager currently managing the Tutankhamun exhibition in Manchester) sold the drinks. At the age of 23 and 25 we were managing a £1million+ business.

It was towards the end of that project in 2001 when the phone rang; and it was Brixton Academy calling for the old Ents Manager – to ask if he knew of PR company to help launch the Birmingham Academy.

Needless to say I convinced him that Big Cat could provide this service and that was the start of our consultancy business offering discrete services from our Experiential and Marketing skillset.

2006 was a pivotal year. We started working with the Custard Factory managing their venues business and we organised the Soundstation Festival. One of them launched us into the Creative Industries sector and introduced us to brands ranging from Hugo Boss and Dulux; the other lost £100,000 and brought us close bankruptcy.

If it was not for my fellow director’s financial wizardry and total commitment we probably wouldn’t be here today – so thank you Nick for that!!!

Around 3 years ago we took a call from an American gentleman namely Mike Molloy who represented Jam Exhibitions, Miami.  He represented Bodies Revealed and approached Big Cat to partner with them in Birmingham.  The following two year’s of exchanges included a Venezuelan crises and Human Tissue Authority accreditation and resulted in a successful opening of the exhibition at the Custard Factory in October 2009.

The exhibition was not without controversy and the threat of huge protests began to build during the pre opening weeks, so we hired a prestigious crisis management consultancy from London to stymie the uprising.  On the opening day, a wet October just over a year ago, stood one lonely gentleman shouting “Remember the War!”

From dealings with Mike and his teams in both Paris and Spain there seemed to be complimentary values and vision and so began a plan for European collaboration and expansion.

This brings us through to the present day: Big Cat is an Events Marketing consultancy working with some amazing clients and projects, with operations in both France and Spain. We were born and our European Headquarters are in Birmingham and we feel we owe it to the next generation of home grown business leaders to offer the support we received along the way.

We have a lot of memories of doing business in this great city for and as we grow in size and scope we will continue to glance back occasionally to remember the experiences of our formative years.

Birmingham will see a new side to its LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community this month as SHOUT, the regions only Queer culture festival returns promising to be the biggest yet.

Building upon the success of last year’s festival, SHOUT 2010 will continue to enhance the city’s queer aesthetic. This year’s programme boasts a wealth of activity, bringing internationally acclaimed artists to the city, providing local producers with a unique opportunity to be part of a number of exclusive projects.

The 2010 programme’s visual and performance arts activity is based on the theme of ‘Invisible/Visible’, exploring the place of Black and Asian LGBT people in the city’s cultural landscape. The varied programme aims to promote the diversity of the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities whilst consolidating Birmingham’s developing role as an LGBT tourist destination.

This year’s festival covers a number of strands including: film, theatre, visual arts, music, performance, literature and community with activities taking place across the city at venues such as mac, Town Hall, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Nightingales and The Victoria.

November traditionally the month of Guy Fawkes burning, fireworks and bonfires, this once predictable month – often over shadowed by its neighbour December, has received a reinvention and indeed a rename. November is no more – welcome to the mighty world of Movember.

Movember is a global fundraising event which spans the whole month of November, during this time participants also known as ‘mo bros’ grow moustaches and various other facial plumage in order to raise money and awareness of the still taboo subject  – prostate cancer.

Movember was launched by a group of men from Melbourne, Australia in 1999. The tongue-in cheek campaign really caught people’s imagination and Movember became an official fundraising organisation in 2003. Now in its eleventh year the event has participants that span across the globe. Using social media tools such as Flickr, YouTube and Facebook, the Movember tribe have created an online community, where participants and supporters alike can share their stories and compete with each other to become the ‘Man of Mo’(the man deemed to have grown the ultimate moustache.) There are also awards for individuals and teams alike who raise the most money for The Prostate Cancer Charity (TPCC). This initiative is a genius way of getting men thinking about and talking about their health, this year’s event will not only raise millions of pounds, dollars and euro’s but will also save lives throughout the world by spreading awareness.

Please follow our CEO and MD’s photo diary as we track their ‘Mo’ growth over the next few weeks at www.bigcatpr.tumblr.com and share your photo’s too.

For added inspiration please watch the video from last year’s World Beard and Moustache Championships…these are not men who grow moustaches, these are moustaches who grow men.

Last week was Alcohol Awareness week, did you know? I didn’t.  This lack of communication between awareness organisations and alcohol consumers is unfortunately all too common. The ‘Drink Aware’ campaign endorsed by the Government seems to carry a mixed message. The ‘drink aware’ logo’s that are enforced on all alcohol adverts, be it in print, cinema or television are almost hidden, and hardly a distraction to whatever multi-million pound marketing strategy the alcohol industry moguls have delivered.

Government campaigns that advise people on healthy lifestyle choices consistently fail. Cigarette boxes with health warnings and even photographs of dead cancer patients, failed to stop people smoking. Yet when the government actually changed legislation and enforced bans on smoking advertisements such as billboards, sports sponsorship and television, a greater amount of people quit.

Last Week’s Alcohol Awareness week wanted to discuss the impact of alcohol advertising on children, after it emerged children and young people watching the World Cup, viewed up to 5 alcohol adverts per match. The campaigners wanted to pose the question, should alcohol advertising be banned? And what part does the advertising industry play in the social problem of binge drinking and alcohol abuse in the UK? I would argue that it is not necessarily the advertising industries failings, but the government’s inability to provide stricter guide lines and to actually implement them. If we want to protect young people from the dangers of binge drinking, then the misleading glamorisation of alcohol products in adverts need to be quashed – placing a barely visible ‘Drink Aware’ logo in the corner, it’s as useless as a screen door on a submarine.

This week saw Skittles launch a social media campaign to bury all other campaigns as they set up a room to bury a man in skittles. In order to do this, an ill-fated man stood in a glass box (rather reminiscent of David Blane), and awaited the onslaught of 2 million skittles.

For every person that tweeted about the campaign and for every time it was ‘liked’ on Facebook, 40 skittles would be added to the downpour. This was then fed live through the facebook page so that those of us sadistic enough to keep pressing ‘like’ could see the effect of our efforts.  The nature of the campaign meant that its success was heavily dependent on the rapid acceleration of viral support and unsurprisingly, the box was full by the end of the day – complete with man inside! It is much easier to command a large community of followers when those tweeting, or clicking like, can immediately see the effect their contribution has. This is where many social media campaigns fall down as it is not enough to expect a following purely built on admiration for the brand. Many tweeters may like skittles, but until this campaign, had no reason to tweet about it.

However, I fear that the success of this campaign will be damaged by associating the product with being buried alive. The thought of being buried in skittles is no less daunting than being buried in dirt, and if the asphyxiation/ suffocation doesn’t kill you, trying to eat your way out will.

While such playful stunts are an immediate reflection of the brands values, my concern is that the brand has created emotional links between its product and these fears. This, coupled with the message from my last blog; that ‘anything in excess will make you sick’, means that I will not be making the journey (in the bitter cold) this morning to buy skittles. They make me too hyper anyway!

Whilst heading to a meeting across Birmingham the other morning, I walked through an underpass that I hadn’t seen for some time. What awaited me was rather different from what I remembered; the space had now been transformed into something quite visual. Where once lay a series of dimly lit paving stones and dark corners, now hangs multicoloured lanterns and seasonal pattern effects illuminated on the walls and floors. It was fantastic to see somewhere that has made the most of the space that it has.

It’s by the Mailbox if you can’t tell by the picture but worth a visit if you’re in that part of town.

This made me think, how many more spaces could benefit from something like this and does it make a difference to people’s moods? Do we live in a society where we worry more about the vandalisation of public property so therefore play for the safer option?

Whoever came up with the concept – well done. I for one noticed the effort. Hopefully more spaces like this in Birmingham will take a leaf out of this particular book, after all New York, Paris, London do it so why can’t Birmingham?

The use of cartoons/illustrations within advertising has been done for a long time within the advertising world. Especially when it comes to using ‘retro’ cartoons.

Specsavers have recently introduced a new campaign involving the Roger Hargreaves Mr Men series. This follows on from its popular Postman Pat advert, both working under the slogan ‘Should of gone to Specsavers’.

What is key to these adverts is that they keep their ‘Nostalgic’ looks (i.e. they look the same as the originals).  The only difference is that they have a twist on what you are usually accustomed to seeing previously within these cartoons.

Cartoons can be positive within advertising. They get talked about; they attract new audiences to a product, and give a product a new ‘fresh’ feel.

I have added some current and past adverts using cartoons to sell their products. Please take a look.

Mr Men advert – Specsavers

Postman pat advert – Specsavers

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles advert – Say no to drugs

Iron brew – Using a ‘Disney style’

Tetley – Bringing back old characters from previous adverts

As an event manager delivering events around the UK and Europe I spend so much time researching, planning and worrying about suppliers which in my experience will make your life just a little more complicated.

I think to myself is there anything we as event specialists can do to avoid late and sometimes complete ‘no show’ suppliers; is there no professional conduct left in quality customer satisfaction? It doesn’t even come down to budget as across the board you will have this difficulty. With all the planning experience in the world an event will always be measured on getting the correct product delivered at the correct time.

My advice would be simple use who you know!!

October has been a busy month for Big Cat Group. We’ve celebrated multiple client wins, expansion into Europe and our 10th Birthday. Amongst all the celebrations though there has been a considerable amount of work going on, especially with the run up to Hello Business, part of the Hello Digital week.

If you haven’t heard of Hello Business, it’s a 2-day conference which aims to equip businesses with the tools and technology for them to expand and grow in the evolving digital world we live in.

Working on this project has certainly opened my eyes to the ‘digital’ world. Gone are the day’s where I used to think it was based on Twitter and Facebook. However I didn’t actually expect it to be so vast.

One thing that has surprised me is what the word ‘digital’ actually means. Having done my research, read numerous articles and listened to some of the world’s leading experts, ‘digital’ can mean both everything and nothing. It used to be linked to Freeview boxes for TV’s then came along the digital camera. But now the word encompasses absolutely everything. Every gadget, gizmo and utility in the home is now ‘digital’.

Does that mean the word has lost its meaning? Is digital now the norm, so much in fact that there is no need to call anything digital?

Thought leader, Peter Hinssen covers this topic in his new book “The New Normal”, a definite read if you’re interested what the future holds for the digital world.

Big Cat IDEA have been working with Digital Birmingham and Advantage West Midlands on this years’ Hello Digital Event branding and promotional material.

The event is being held in Birmingham from 18 – 22 October 2010 and comprises a number of events celebrating and promoting Birminghams’ achievements in Digital as some of the best in the world.

This years graphical style utilised the existing Hello Digital brand identity but placed in a digital Birmingham environment. It was created after we recognised the diverse nature of the digital industries in the City, and the potential if all individuals were to merge together to create something rather special. As it’s digital and as we loved the look, we used a multi-coloured pixel effect throughout the campaign, which was combined over images of the city.

We now have posters, banners CIP’s, various publications and literature floating around the city and beyond – so look out for them. Please see some samples of our advertising below.

I was listening to the radio this morning about a BT gimmick that is asking 5 communities to vote for themselves to receive super fast broadband in their area. This represents upgrading just 5 telephone exchanges out of almost 2,500 across the country – hardly about to put the UK to the top of the list of national connectivity.

The discussion was about whether we really need the £5bn investment and the new services such as streaming HD video. My passenger was on the side of the rather sceptical interviewer in that it was probably a waste of money since HD videos were already available on numerous terrestrial and satellite networks.

TED’s Chris Anderson recently talked about how online video is powering global innovation. “Crowd Accelerated Innovation” is the way in which individuals and organisations alike are using the connectivity of the internet to watch and create videos.

He talked about how the human mind is exquisitely designed to use and understand the rich and complex information of face to face communication. The invention of printing and more recently email transformed how information was transferred but that this missed out a lot of non verbal information.

Video however harks back to a time when storytelling and performance were the main media for transferring knowledge. Web videos are causing dance to evolve: by challenging each other incredible new dance skills were being invented. The League of Extra Ordinary Dancers (LXD) were web taught, but so good they got to perform at the Oscars and at TED.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxOBxlQmho

Superfast broadband is not just about watching blockbuster movies at home but also about sharing, creating and connecting ideas with like minded groups (like TED and TEDx do) across the globe.