Executive MScom Alumni visit London Take a look behind the scenes of the 2012 Olympic Games Click rings to view info… Hackney

Gloucester Road Our ‘digs’ whilst in London MScom Alumni enjoyed the quaint Fifty Four Boutique Hotel located on Queen’s Gate across the street from the Natural History Museum and conveniently located near the Gloucester Road tube. For details visit: Making friends down at the pub Several MScom generations gathered down at the Angelsea Arms pub for a British cider and ale and the start of the Euro 2012 Germany v. Netherlands football match. The match presented no competition for our dynamic alumni and friends; however, who got to know each other over hearty steaks, seabass, blue stilton, and local greens. Read more:

Russel Square Home of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and a visit with the VMA Group CIPR - Jane Wilson, CEO welcomed EMScom Alumni and shared with us launch of the Olympic fever in London (see photo below). To read more about CIPR visit: VMA Group – David Broome, Executive Director introduced the «Business Leaders in Communications Study 2012». Comissioned by the VMA Group, the study included a survey of 95 senior directors in the field of communications from a wide spectrum of industry – from BP to Rolls Royce and from Deutsche Bank to Novartis. The survey represents over 7,500 communications staff from organizations that employ 2.5 million. A total of 17 organizations earn in excess of £15 billion. Findings include: – 66% of communication professionals report to the CEO – 59% of CEOs perceive communications as a critical function in their organization – According to CEOs reputation and media management are the most roles of a communication professional To preview this ground-breaking research in the field of communications navigate to: NEXT

Russell Square with the Government Olympics Executive, Atkins, and the Borough of Hackney Rob Yeldham, Advisor Torch Nations and Regions Communications – Government Olympics Executive shared with the alumni the challenges faced over 7 years of preparation for the Olympics. The London 2012 Games will attract an audience of over 4 billion including: 40,000 international media, 150 heads of state, and an estimated 4.6 million visitors to the UK. This year will also mark the first extensive use of social media in covering the Olympic Games. Yeldham also outlined the journey of the Olympic Torch relay around the UK involving 70 days, 66 evening celebrations, and 8,000 torch bearers from every nation and region. To follow the torch visit: Carl Welham, Interim Assistant Chief Executive Communications and Consultation – London Borough of Hackney (See Hackney) Trudy Warrender, Group Public Relations – Atkins, The official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Games, outlined the 3-tier system of Olympic sponsorship that is based on cash contribution and commitment. One of the challenges that Atkins faced was working with the Olympic Committee to clarify the roles of sponsors who are from consultancies rather than consumer product-based companies. In this aspect Atkins created a template of regulation that can be applied to other tier-3 sponsors in the future. Another challenge Atkins faced was how to attract more than 4,500 talented engineers and designers required to build the park following the collapse of the economy in Warrender illustrated Atkins’ Olympic journey sharing their plan for creating an appealing beach volleyball court outside of the Queen’s Buckhingham palace residence; how they have temporarily leveled Greenich park’s 4.5 meter slope to accommodate the equestrian events; and how they navigated the wind variance regulations in designing the venue for the table tennis event. Read more about Atkins’ Olympic journey here:

Hackney One of the 4 boroughs on which the Olympic Park is being built Carl Welham, Interim Assistant Chief Executive Communications and Consultation – London Borough of Hackney described the clean-up of the land in which Olympic park has been built as an «evironmental feat and money well-invested.» The land, donated to the Olympic Committee by 4 neighboring boroughs of which Hackney is one, was considered a brown-field site filled with toxic waste, trash, and contaminated soil – a remnant of its industrial past. Over 200,000 people live in the ethnically diverse area of Hackney. It has become a place for creative artists and industries. In contrast to the reputation that the Olympics can bankrupt communities, Hackney has benefited by the new investment and the creation of new jobs in the area. The following You Tube video promoting Hackney’s local East London brand and reputation cost the borough only £5,000. Watch «Hackney: The Creative Heart of London» here:

Stratford Home of the Olympic Park and the Westfield Stratford Mall hosting Omega’s flagship boutique Susanne Strombom, Olympic Games Manager, briefly shared Omega’s long-standing history, since 1932, as the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games. London 2012 represents Omega’s 25 th Olympics (including the Paralympic and the Youth Olympic Games). When the Olympics was last held in London in 1948, Omega was the official timekeeper. Susanne emphasized how shared values are important in sponsorship and Omega’s objectives have been to deliver precise timing using precision technology. Omega handles all the timing and scoring of all results that are displayed on the boards as well as data handling and distance measuring during the games. Susanne spoke about credibility and how important it is to ensure that messages communicated both internally and externally are consistent. She described one of her greatest communication challenges occurred the day after the official Omega Olympic countdown clock was launched. The worldwide press widely covered the launch of the countdown clock in Trafalgar Square and the next day the clock stopped. She relayed that this experience illustrated the importance of having an educated team in place and a solid communication strategy. For more information about Omega and the Olympics go to:

Old Street Home of Moving Brands Geoff Linsell, Managing Director; Darren Bowles, Creative Director; Mat Heinl, Chief Creative Officer; Hanna Laikko, COO; Georgina Milne, Marketing Manager; and Jeanette Bucher-Derrer, General Manager participated in showcasing their projects, to include the rebranding of the USI Executive MScom program. They are doing fascinating work with the focus on how a brand connects with people and elicits an emotional response. Words are not enough to describe the experience, so please visit the link below to view Moving Brands latest videos: /videos David Mercer, Group Head of Design – British Telecom, one of the tier-1 partner/sponsors of the 2012 Olympic Games held an open discussion on the Olympic properties hosting the events and complexities of implementing the official Olympic logo. Mercer discussed the regulatory statutes governing the logo that protect the value of the Olympic brand for its sponsors. In addition, there are several variations of the logo in terms of color and style use. Such variations presented an internal challenge for British Telecom with over 1,000 employees with the word «marketing» in their titles. Read more about British Telecom’s sponsorship here:

Bromley-by-bow Regeneration of the Olympics began here with the clean up of the River Lee Before Derelict buildings and toxic trash are slowly being cleaned up. Ikea (see wooden torch below) is building its first housing development helping to regenerate the area. After Bromley-by-bow has been restored as a an historic village with a creative edge. It is host to a new film studio. Houseboats have appeared on the river Lee, now that the river has been de-contaminated. A new loch system has ebbed the tidal flow that once flooded the land in which the Olympic Park rests.

Edgware Road Home to the Embassy of Switzerland Urs Schmid, Minister; William French, Head of Communications; and Alex Larcher, Project Executive of the House of Switzerland shared with us the important role that the embassy plays in representing the country during an international event such as the Olympics. Their main role as an embassy is to support Swiss visitors and bi-lateral visits and agreements during the Games. The embassy, through the House of Switzerland, hopes to not only communicate the traditional Swiss values of the natural beauty of the country and the trustworthy character of the Swiss, but also hopes to enrich the perception of the international community by portraying the nation’s more dynamic aspects such as the research conducted in its universites and its creative pursuits, beyond watchmaking. Alex Larcher introduced the group to the House of Switzerland which has partnered with Bernese Oberland and Swiss tourism to occupy Glaziers Hall in central London. Their communication strategy for the House of Switzerland will focus on interactive fun to include: video games, musical concerts, presentations, medal celebrations (hopefully), and a Swiss National Day celebration on August 1st. For more information visit: For a nice nearby pub lunch visit the Duke of Wellington:

Oxford Street A glimpse of the Jubilee

Tottenham Court Home of Burson-Marsteller - London Ian Budd, Brand Marketing, Burson-Marsteller, spoke with us about brand value and the cycle of public mood from the high note of London winning the bid for the Olympics, to the down-swing when facing the budget realities, beginning construction, and the 2008 Olympics. Finally, he described the mood has begun to swing upwards as Olympic sponsorship builds, construction projects are completed, and the communities become involved and attend the Olympic events. It is hoped that the legacy of the Games will maintain the positive mood cycle. Ian outlined the scale of the Games noting: 205 nations will participate 5,000 officials 10,000 athletes 25,000 accredited media 8.8 ticket holders 1 million tourists estimated 2,000,000 people watching worldwide 17,000 volunteers 27 days with 5,000 hours of events 55 sponsors Ian’s advice for sponsors who seek to gain brand value from large scale events is as follows: Start early, be consistent, build media relationships, whatever you spend on sponsorship know that you will double it activating your sponsorship, think about your audience, engage the stars of the show in relevant conversations, embrace every opportunity, and be prepared for challenges.

New rail line connects St. Pancreas Station with the Olympic Park at Stratford International Station in 7 minutes (normally a 40 minute journey)