Partner Article

Say hello to a major marketing event

THE MAN responsible for the infamous “Hello Boys” Wonderbra poster campaign will speak to the region’s businesses for the first time as part of a major marketing event coming to the region in November.

Trevor Beattie, who is perhaps best remembered by men throughout the world for the steamy advert featuring Eva Herzigova and his hand in the iconic FCUK logo for French Connection, is heading to the Sage Gateshead as part of Business Link’s Marketing: the art of annual get together.

Regarded as one of the most creative people in advertising, Beattie counts household names such as Ikea, Selfridges, McCain and Carling on his current client roster.

Julie Spowart, events manager at Business & Enterprise North East, said: “We have some fantastic speakers lined up for Marketing: the art of 2010.

“I am delighted we can bring such high calibre and well known figures to North East England, which reinforces Business Link’s commitment to giving business access to the best possible knowledge available.”

The launch of the 2010 event got underway at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle last night, with guest talks from some of the most high profile names in the marketing and creative world.

Aleksander Naess, self-professed capitalist hippie and director of strategic planning at FFP Europe, told an audience of invited guests: “Brand positioning is about to die. In two years time my role would have completely changed and I will be nurturing brand relationships.

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it’s what consumers tell each other it is. We are moving into a situation where we can’t control what people think about our brands.

“We need to listen to people and let them tell us what we’re all about it. We can longer control the communications. TV advertising as we knew it is rapidly decreasing and social media is more and more important. The big companies are hesitant to invest in this, but it’s coming.”

Born in Norway and educated in the UK, Mr Naess works across a number of international brands including Pringles, Coca Cola and Gillette.

He was joined on the stage yesterday by one of the men responsible for the Internet Service Provider Freeserve, which was evenually sold to Wanadoo in a deal worth £1.6b in 2001.

Speaking about the power of social networking site LinkeIn, Rob Wilmot, now director of creative, PR and digital BCS Creative, said: “LinkedIn is a trust engine and success comes through building and leveraging the trust of others by extending yours.

“I get at least one solid piece of business every month by using it. It’s not like Facebook and won’t replace it, it works in unison and is highly business centric.

“It’s a great way to share contacts and raise your SEO. It’s an amazing platform to make a connection with people who can improve and compliment your business.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .