Daylight
The sun shines long on the streets of London this time of year. I’m here in the country of my birth, working with partners, interviewing candidates and (RED)SPOTTING in the shops and streets of this beautiful city. I find myself wanting to hug strangers that I see talking on Motorola (PRODUCT)RED SLVRs or paying for pub fare with the AmEx card for (RED). But we need more!! The challenge of spreading the word and the promise of (RED) to every cool-smart consumer continues. Frankly, in this period of World Cup fever, it’s hard to get anyone to move beyond football news.
Highlights
Friday:
Arrive Heathrow and race to meet Matthew Freud, whose firm manages communications for (RED) in the UK. Discuss plans to turn the country on and create even greater penetration and velocity in the marketplace.
Lunch with job candidate. (RED) is attracting amazing, beautiful, talented souls. I love to hear how the power of this idea would be realized through fresh minds and the limitless sweat equity. . . we need both right now.
Time with Tor and Jenna from Armani. This dynamic duo present their plans to take London Fashion week by storm. This will be the first time that Mr. Armani has showed in London. . . a coup for the country and for (RED), as the Armani capsule collection for (RED) will be a centerpiece. This will be a party that London will long remember. I know I will. Big red circle around September 21 on the diary.
Leslie (the ever-groovy) of Africa blog fame and Jeremy from Motorola join us to talk cross-promotional opportunities. Can’t talk details but my red pen is hovering over September dates again.
A candidate for another position has been waiting for 20 minutes, so I scoot out. . .
LA awake, so time for a team call. . . Jet lag not an option.
Wonderful dinner with Leslie and Jeremy -- bit of football viewing and general revelry. Check into my hotel at 11:30 pm. Is there really a weekend beginning tomorrow?
Saturday:
What to do with a weekend missing my kids? I visit the London zoo and take a long run in Hyde Park, recalling my childhood summers in England. Flashing memories are triggered: ginger beer, butter-topped biscuits, reading The Wind and the Willows, and an endless parade of roses. It must have been the roses. . .
United States advances after a tied match with Italy. BBQ at the home of Robert Saville, head of Mother, our creative agency. Very very amazing people. Good people.
Sunday:
Another run (Regent’s Park and I get lost, so a very long one).
Meet to catch up with an old friend who is starting a corporate social responsibility consultancy. Good luck, Sean!
Go Ghana!
Dinner in Chelsea.
Monday through Friday:
So many details and events that I’m not allowed to share yet. Gap’s plans are rocking. Such cool stuff planned for UK and France. They are pouring their heart and souls into making (RED) as special and relevant to employees as well as customers. So much excitement about the (RED) line and how to make it pop. Truly INSPI(RED).
More secrets as yet unable to be revealed from discussions with MySpace. They already have 3.5million members in the UK and have never formally launched. Chris Dewolfe was in town with the newly appointed DM for Europe, David, and Jamie who’s been at the helm in the UK since the beginning. Going (RED) soon, that much I can say.
And England advances!
Great discussions with American Express. We talk about the appeal of personal outreach beyond standard advertising. . . empowered spending. This is the essence of (RED) and the card itself. The card’s value proposition extends beyond the fact that it’s no-fee, no premium, just smart. Like the (RED) brand proposition itself, it enables people to help save lives in an effortless way, but also welcomes people into a community. Gift that keeps giving.
Ghana knocks out the U.S. Big news!
More meetings…
Saturday
Try to grab a coffee before leaving for Heathrow. Can you believe that Starbucks doesn't open until 8am today, nor apparently does anyone else. This is NOT civilized. I’m in agony as I make my way to the airport.
I get on a plane to France to meet Sheila before others arrive for a big (RED) pow wow. We spend 3 plus hours in a hotel room working on the agenda and plotting critical deliverables. We need food and air.
Sheila still has a terrible headache after nearly being imprisoned for airport rage against a security officer in Charles de Gaulle. This makes for good banter, as we make our way to a restaurant that she thinks she remembers down by the water. We arrive to view a quite impressive dressage competition of beautiful jumping horses performing adjacent to an exhibition of cars from the 1950’s. Greased Lightening is blaring and I’m positive I’ll be humming that tune for a week. Tres chic, non? There are many more tales that I could repeat to rib Sheila but I adore her so. Sugar, be kind to Smithers or when you least expect it. . .
I’m so damn tired, and we have a big day ahead tomorrow. No rest for this grateful (RED)HEAD.
Good luck tomorrow England. A word for us all: GOOOOOOAL!!!!!
Sunday, June 25, 2006
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8 comments:
Great update. Any plans in the works for Canada?
Wow, I got tired just for reading it! It is always great to get updates about the campaign. Great job!
Tamsin yer amazing! (aren't you all?) what a whirlwind week, and here in seattle i will drop a comment card to Mr. Shultz about his London Starbucks (our's open around 4 am mostly, how's that?)
as you all tease us with the future, we are delighted that it's all coming together and rep's names and their companies are becoming familiar to us here. And to think Mr. Armani has never done the fashion show in London? whoa . . . . but it's all a series of firsts around here.
*wondering if a certain rockstar proprietor will be in attendance . . . . hmmm*
here in seattle i've yet to see a real live (red) product. and it's killing me. it's kinda like telling people of the second coming - it's gonna happen, just watch and wait and pray!
MySpace is big here too. in a (red) thread that i started at u2.com one of the comments made there was to suggest to you MySpace as that is where most of america's youth hang out as well. so you beat me to it and i'm delighted.
so thanx for these blogs, these journals. many companies would not keep us abreast of developments or the hope of developments . . . . it's like the window to a newborn nursery here.
stay close,
sammi
I didn't get the chance to comment in the last blog entry from Bonnaroo but then I don't feel a need to reply to every blog entry that is posted here.
But I did want to follow up on what alessandra mentioned in the previous blog entry.
OK - we now know a little bit more about Tamsin and some of us may know a bit about Sheila from a previous venture of hers. (smile)
And we've learned a bit about Colin and we should know about Bobby Shriver and, of course, Bono.
(I still don't know anything about Colette.)
But I (and I'm sure others) would like to know more.
More about the structure of RED, of the positions that each of you have within RED so that when we read your entries we know which area of this VERY IMPORTANT enterprise you are representing.
If RED is going to expand beyond its already existing consumer base, RED is going to have to expand its product base (as I mentioned in my previous post) and its accessibility to the public.
Posting links to RED and/or RED banners on the Internet is fine - but what about those people who don't live on the Internet?
How does RED propose to reach the masses of the buying public? And how can we play a larger role?
Actually, I have some specific suggestions for exactly this kind of grassroots outreach for all of you at RED that I will email directly to you this week.
But an actual RED address and phone no. would be better for serious, direct contact from the public.
Thanks for being, RED!
The Global Fund needs you and needs all of us to support you so that Africa's People will have a chance at a bright and better future.
Thanks for listening. And I hope someone will respond to me when I send in my specific suggestions for increased grassroots outreach and exposure for RED.
Take good care. Blessings always.
ONE in the Spirit, debbie
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