Hill+Knowlton Strategies

The Holiday Inn London 2012 team is very excited to be working with superstar athlete, Mo Farah (pictured below) this week.  On Wednesday, he’s hosting a free running club for running enthusiasts starting and finishing at the Holiday Inn London Regent’s Park.  Meet Mo from 7am with the 5000m run starting at 7.30am.  You’ll just need to be a competent runner to join him and if you’re one of the first 250 back to the hotel you’ll get a free breakfast.

Holiday Inn is the official hotel provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Holiday Inn London Regent’s Park is located at Carburton Street, London, W1W 5EE.

Hope to see you there!

Well as the end of the world never happened yesterday I thought I had better get my *ss in gear and contribute to this blog. It has been far too long and for that I apologies.

I’ve spent the last week in the office in London and on my arrival back in Valencia I was catching up on the news here. That’s not to say that the news isn’t along the same lines. You get the usual mix of local issues along with the more international stories. But something very vivid struck me yesterday and I was wondering why it was that news coverage on the same subject varies so much in different countries. Read the rest of this entry »

It does get better. It’s true, it does and I know.  I remember being bullied at school for not having the Somerset accent that everyone else had and for being ‘different’. I didn’t know for sure then but when I look back I guess I did know I was gay at a fairly young age and clearly this made me a target with the lads at school.  It was horrible, I hated it but luckily for me I did think it would get better… and it did. I’m now happily living with my partner in Spain and have the support of family, friends and even here at H&K who encourage a diverse workforce and a implement a robust policy on harassment based on your sexual orientation.

So it has been heart-warming to see so many amazing videos being posted as part of the It Gets Better campaign on social media networks such as Facebook and YouTube from people in authority trying to instil a air of calm and refection during a time of deep soul searching in the USA with regard to how it views its youth as they grow and find out about themselves and where they fit in society.  From the moment the news broke of Tyler Clementi terrible suicide in the United States following his horrific ‘outing’ by fellow students the issues facing young people, not only in the US but all over the globe has been highlighted in quite startling clarity.

Raymond Chase (19yrs old), Asher Brown (13yrs old), Billy Lucas (15yrs old) and Seth Walsh (13yrs old) all took their own lives due to not being able to cope with the pressures of growing up in a society that does not appear to protect and support their own.  They ALL should still be alive today growing and contributing to society and with the love and protection of their friends and family.

I was lucky I guess, I knew it would get better. It was tough, but it did. My advice to all of those who might see this who are feeling terrible, exposed and frightened is that you should watch these videos. Take strength from them and ask for support.  I wish this campaign huge success and would love to see it becoming more global as these issues are not exclusive to the USA.  For those of you worried or seeking help and support in the UK I would suggest you call the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard on 020 7837 7324. Below are a few of the videos I found powerful, moving and worthy of being mentioned. Oh and mine!

Joel Burns – Fort Worth City Councilman reaches out to GLBT teens with a personal story and a message of hope. For more information, or to stand with Joel today, go to http://www.joelburns.com It’s a bit long but well worth watching to the end!

A fantastic video by Google employees in California telling their stories

President Barack Obama shares his message of hope and support for LGBT youth who are struggling with being bullied.

… and me, doing my small bit to let kids out there know that however tough it seems right now. It does get better!

It’s not often I see something on Facebook, Twitter or some other social networking site that I feel compelled to blog about.  But I write this as a forty year old and it made me think about what advice I would give.  Most is in fact covered off in the 340+ comments on the Coolhunters Facebook page. Just scroll down to the comment:  For those who are 30+, What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self? and read some of the comments… now standing at 350 comments and rising!  Reading the many responses made me laugh as I had heard them before in when I was in my 20’s and I thought, bah! I have loads of time before I have to worry about all that!  The rat race that we call the life we are living can be fraught with many worries and diversions but all of us have a duty to enjoy the time we have here be us 20+, 30+ or 40+… and more!  Be that simply looking up (instead of down at your feet) as you walk along to work. Smile and say good morning to someone you don’t know… and always tell the people around that you love that you do, because one day that opportunity might not be there.  Or maybe just something as simple as breaking a habit and doing something today that you have thought about but never got around to doing. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, I have survived my first week back at work after two weeks lovely holiday in Sitges and back in the groove.  It’s not often I get the chance to compare Valencia with London with regard to new initiatives that have been introduced by the cities.  But on my return to Valencia I was pleased to see the new cycle hire scheme up and running in the city.  Valenbisi it’s called here and after filling in my online application for a annual card and paying my €18 fee, my card duly arrived three days later!  (I was suitably impressed with the admin of the scheme!)

After the recent launch of Barclays Cycle Hire in London, I was really excited about seeing if Valencia could pull off a good launch also.  Because the two cities are so different in size (7,556,900 in London vs. 814,208 in Valencia) I think it would be a bit unfair to directly compare the two prices directly.  The overheads for installing and maintaining 400+ cycle stations around the city of London compared to Valencia’s 275 planned stations clearly would make the London scheme more expensive to start. But I was surprised but the difference in initial outlay to join and the difference in say three hours use.  €6 in Valencia compared to £15 in London!

Me on my Valenbisi bike

Valenbisi bikes

Read the rest of this entry »

London indeed whole of the UK is buzzing about 2 yrs to go, hear what Andy Sutherden, Head of Sports at Hill & Knowlton London has to say on both old and new Olympic sponsors, the opportunities that the 2012 Games is creating for so many and what  their lasting legacy will be .

I wake up and one of the first things I usually check is Facebook to see who has done what and when around the world in the past 7hrs while I’ve been sleeping. I have an eclectic mix of friends including my partner, close friends, family, ex-partners work colleagues and just a smattering of friends-of-friends. Then there are my fan pages… ok, the pages ‘I Like’ I think they are called now, which include such a mix of music, drag queens from Ru Paul’s famous ‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race’, shops, magazines (like ValenciaCity), restaurants, cool pages (like CoolHunter) and travel!…. I don’t have thousands of friends, just the people I actually know, or have met. I’m a bit fastidious about my security settings and only allow my friends and network (Hill & Knowlton of course) to view my updates and uploaded pictures.

Then I worry about tweeting…. OMG! What can I possibly say in 140 characters that will be of interest to my pitiful 97 followers who have read my 1,113 tweets… or increase my sad following?  (The stress increases one hundred fold when tweeting on behalf of the agency!)  In fact I cheat a little and link my personal Foursquare and Facebook accounts to my twitter account so that there is at least an update a day! Even if it is only suggesting where I am eating, drinking or working out! … are you still with me? Sound familiar?

Then there is my LinkedIn account (which again I have linked to the wider H&K LinkedIn network). Should I link to my twitter and Facebook accounts so that my 131 immediate connections linked to my network of 5,048 connections get updated as and when I eat or work out? But then I would have to be a tad more professional in my wording and try to use casual text speak a little less that is acceptable on Facebook. Would they be interested? I doubt it. And then there is Dopplr for tracking my travelling. Should I link this to Facebook and Twitter too or does my Worldmate account that I think I have linked to my LinkedIn account do that already!? Read the rest of this entry »

The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival (IAF) is a global festival for those working in advertising, PR and related fields.

This year H&K has involvement in the following areas;

• Paul Taaffe, Global Chairman and CEO is the chair of the judging panel for the PR Lions
• We are hosting a seminar on Tuesday 22 June 2010 from 11.00 – 11.45 led by Charlie Todd, co-founder of Improv Everywhere. That evening Charlie and the H&K team will lead the Cannes delegates in the first ever live mission on the Croisette (hashtag = #HKCannes). Follow us on Twitter to share the fun. Or if you are going to attend the event then you can also RSVP on Facebook
• ‘Cannes Eye’ multi-media platform where you can view the most relevant news & influential voices at Cannes Lions, all in one place
• We have a dedicated online TV channel called Cannes Eye which will be broadcasting daily from the festival. The main content will include exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in marketing. You can view this below (or by clicking this link)

We hope that you find this channel interesting and informative, feel free to check back as new contect will be added daily to the channel and of course we welcome your comments.

OK. So I have a passport and didn’t need to have a national identity card to travel in Europe.  But I wanted one, so I registered my interest in 2009 and waited until Feb 2010.

In February I was invited (not forced) to go to the UK Home Office IPS with my completed application form, my reference from my Police Constable friend and of course the £30 fee.  I waited for my interview where I had my finger prints taken and  my picture taken for the national identity register.  All good and the very next day my card arrived.  Perfect, easy and with no fuss my biometric card which is valid for travel in the European Union was safely in my wallet.

The main reason for me wanting a card was just that in Spain (where I live in Valencia working for H&K in London) every time you pay by debit or credit card you have to show your ID.  Previously this has meant that I had to carry my passport with me everywhere which I hated doing as it was large, it was getting damaged and it wasn’t convenient for me.  I know some of you will say … what about your driving licence?  Well I am one of the very few 40 year olds that doesn’t have a licence as I never learned to drive and think £30 is a great deal cheaper than having lessons and taking a test! … and a lot less hassle.

So last week when the new UK coalition Government put my lovely ID card on death row, I shed a tear.  OK, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration but I was genuinely upset.  The Government had scrapped something I wanted and volunteered to get in the name of giving more power to the UK electorate.  Erm… I wanted my card Mr Clegg & Mr Cameron…. I am a UK voter and  I volunteered my details and paid my money and wanted my card!   It made my life easier and I have nothing to hide by submitting my details to be kept on a register.  God only knows the UK Government probably knows more about me that what was being kept on the national identity register anyway and I have nothing to hide! Read the rest of this entry »

Well, what can we say with any certainty after an extraordinary election night?   

The Conservatives, and to a greater extent the Liberal Democrats, have not done as well as expected.  

Despite the surge in support following the televised leader debates, the Lib Dems have actually lost ground compared to 2005.  

The Conservatives captured some – they did well in Wales –  but not all of the marginal seats they needed, and hence have fallen short of the winning post.  

Labour have done slightly better than expected – their vote held up in well in London and Scotland – which has contributed to the denial of a majority to the Conservatives. 

This is also why we have seen some, but not all of the senior Labour casualties expected. 

As for what happens next, even if the Conservatives won all seats left to declare, they will not have a majority, so we definitely have a hung parliament.  

According to precedent, Gordon Brown remains Prime Minister while he seeks to form a coalition that will give him a majority.

In the last hour though, Brown’s chances of achieving this have received a major blow, with Nick Clegg repeating his view that the party with most votes and seats – the Conservatives – should seek to form a government. And David Cameron will be making a statement at 2.30 on his plans for a broad-based government that will act in the national interest.

Signs of irresistible momentum? Perhaps, but another thing we can say with certainty is that Gordon Brown should never be ruled out…

Make sure to check back here as this unpredictable election race reaches its climax.