What can you buy for 69p?
Ma'am...
It’s been a sticky few weeks for the Royal PR teams (especially the Prince of Wales’).
Firstly, the architect Richard Rogers reacted rather vociferously at the Prince (allegedly) killing his £3 billion plan to redevelop Chelsea Barracks.
Today, meanwhile, we discovered that the cost to the taxpayer of keeping the Prince has increased by 24% over the past year. (£3.03 million vs £2.45 million the previous year).
Nice work if you can get it!
The overall total cost to the public of keeping the monarchy increased by £1.5m to £41.5m in the 2008/9 financial year, working out at approximately 69p for everyone in Britain.
I must be honest, my views on the Royals have changed significantly over the years, and this may come as a shock to many of those that know me…
As a Scottish youngstrel, I spent quite some time disappointed we were a few centuries behind the French in calling for their heads.
Now as a ‘grown-up’, I see the intrinsic value in them, their homes, every single aspect of their lives (good and bad), played out in the media.
The global interest in them as human beings, their positive influence on business (sorry Mr Rogers), and of course, to tourism…
So, weighing up all that, I’d quite happily let the goverment tax me another 69p if times got tough at Buckingham Palace…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And hopes our Royalty last another century at least…
King of Pop is dead (confirmed)
I take it back dear readers.
The King of Pop is with us no longer. It’s been confirmed….
Some websites called it early (probably thanks to a juicy insider tip off).
It would now appear, the ill health rumours were true, and he was never likely to be fit enough to perform that massive global tour that was just around the corner…
Now he has gone, I am sure he will be entertaining those on the other side with his amazing moon walk, and maybe even belting out the classic hits we’ll remember him for (not earth song)…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry, and feels a wee bit ‘Bad’ for the cynicism in the post before this one. .
I do still think however, he could be living on an island somewhere with Robert Maxwell and Diana…
mkyzafshe9
King of Pop in heart attack shocker…
what happened here then?
When I bought tickets to see what someone in the office dubbed pop’s paedo prince (he stopped being the King of Pop in the early 90’s), I was chuffed.
I didn’t get the opening night, but I got the next best thing. The closing night.
His last gig at the O2 in London. Brilliant. Then, it hit me.
He probably won’t do all of them, it’s highly likely some’ll get cancelled.
If I’m not in there early, what are the odds on me seeing him at all?
Well, the breaking news this evening, is that he’s ALLEGEDLY suffered a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles this and was rushed to hospital (no doubt with a rather large entourage in tow).
When the first few shows were delayed, AEG said this was in order to make sure everything for the ‘massive and technically complex show’ was running smoothly.
There was also some bull about Madonna’s technically complex show crossing over, and there wasn’t time to reset stages.
But the bitter disbelieving cynics out there (myself included) wonder if the ongoing drip feeding to the media of health stories, are the real reason behind the gigs being postponed, and possibly cancelled without a protracted, expensive lawsuit.
The plot thickens…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And is glad he didn’t buy his tickets to the show from a tout…
One for the boys…
If you can forgive the late night TV pornesque host, this viral for Ultimo (I have no doubt), will do very well with the male audience.
Up a week and over 350,000 views. I’m sure their girlfriends (and Alton Towers) may see increased sales sometime soon…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And thinks that’s one ride at the fairground Mick Hucknall would love…
Random acts of kindness
Members of Hyatt’s Gold Passport loyalty program already enjoy numerous benefits. Soon, however, they’ll also enjoy some delicious little oddities that are often propagated only by the cheeriest of souls.
Yes, I’m taking random acts of kindness.
CEO, Mark Hoplamazian, defines it as “making a difference to the lives of those we touch.”
As part of a new effort to take better care of its Gold Passport members, Hyatt will soon lavish these guests with pleasant little surprises purposefully designed to delight them during their stay.
In a recent blog post, Hoplamazian wrote;
“Don’t be surprised if Gold Passport picks up your bar tab, comps your massage or treats your family to breakfast. It’s part of bringing authentic hospitality to life and making you feel more than welcome.”
It’s a brilliant retention tool, no question. And it will no doubt deepen Hyatt’s relationship with many of their loyal customers. Might even shift a few of them into brand ambassador territory if the act is truly special.
Still, I can’t help thinking they could have pushed the boat out that little bit further. What a brilliant (potential) acquisition incentive.
Random acts to non-gold guests may well encourage increased sign ups to the programme.
Once done, they then are in a far better position to encourage the occasional / first time guest to think Hyatt next time. Not to mention telling all their friends about that lovely free boozy session they had in the bar until 3am courtesy of Hyatt…
Still, well done chaps. Great work.
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And if anyone would like to pick up my bar tab as a random act of kindness, please do get in touch…
Barack Obama? He’s here to save the day…
Those jibjab boys do make good virals. Anyone remember the ‘starring you dances’? A whole 5 minutes of fun guaranteed…
This Barack Obama vid is amusing. Cute use of facebook connect to help this spread too. Well done boys…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And hopes Obama can…
Time of the month…
So, you can imagine the brief:
‘How do we engage with teenage girls in the digital space and keep the tampax brand top of mind when they hit puberty?’
You can imagine the pitch:
‘Boys don’t get girls. They certainly don’t get periods. So let’s give a boy girl ‘parts’, and have him blog / post videos about his experience. The pain of a menstrual cycle through the eyes of a boy; empathy, humour, engagement & a brilliant soft-sell opportunity for Tampax’.
A bold move from Tampax, and overall, a pretty good effort that doesn’t overtly ‘sell’ in the social space. The videos seem to be doing well on youtube and the campaign is starting to create some good noise across the blogosphere.
If the comments I’ve seem to be anything to go by, the teenage yoof that are connecting with the brand are doing so in a positive light.
May cause a few nightmares for teenage boys though…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And is somewhat glad he didn’t wake up as a boy with girl parts as a teenager…
The guidebook you have been waiting for
Excitement…
For those travellers that have been waiting patiently, it’s finally here…
Yes, Lonely planet have finally launched a rather marvellous GPS based city specific guidebook app for the i-phone.
Hurrah! So why is this a good thing?
- No bulky book to carry (brilliant if you hate looking like a ‘tourist’)
- As its an app, no roaming internet costs (can’t wait for these evil charges to become a thing of the past)
- GPS enabled so you can see your current location / never get lost / make itineraries on dynamic maps
- Find the closest / best / most exclusive bars, clubs, restaurants
- All the usual brilliant Lonely Planet copy…
Well done chaps, and for all of you out there, San Fran is currently free to download.
GO GO GO!
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And loves the boys and girls at Lonely Planet…
The year the media ‘died’?
One for the hard-core ad-types. Who hopefully are as excited as I am at the ever changing media landscape…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And needs to see the dentist again…
Obama does it again…
So, it’s time for Obama to nominate a judge to sit on the Supreme court bench.
Said judge only goes and breaks her foot, whoops!.
In this new era of public gushiness (Diana anyone?), the Obama digi-crew have done it again.
They launched a virtual cast where well-wishers can post messages / write there names, just as you can on real life casts, pledging their support and generating another moment of digital stickyness with brand Obama.
Simple. Sweet. And one hell of a way to gain just a little extra support against the hostile right in getting Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor where he wants her.
Well done team Obama, you did it again…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And thinks its almost time to get into politics…
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