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Promotional Brochure for B4 Berkshire
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P R • N E T W O R K I N G • C O M M U N I C A T I O N • P R O P E R T Y • R & R • I T
B U I L D I N G B R I D G E S B E T W E E N B U S I N E S S
P R O M O T I O N A L B R O C H U R E
A D V I C E • C O N F E R E N C E • E D U C A T I O N • H E A L T H • M A R K E T I N G • H R
w w w . b 4 - b u s i n e s s . c o m
B 4 Berkshire
It’s New Territory for B4 we Have Received a Warm Welcome and Fantastic Early Support
So You Want to Get Involved? See B4 Rates for On and Off Line Presence Inside
Leading Berkshire Law Firm, Pitmans, Gives B4 Readers the Inside Track on Sports Sponsorship
B4 Berkshire
Olympic Sponsorship and Going for Gold
Magazine
Launches
January 2012
With leading practitioners in all specialist areas, the largest law rm in the Thames Valley does everything humanly possible to get you the result you deserve.
Reading Offices:47 Castle Street, ReadingBerkshire, RG1 7SRTel: +44 (0) 118 958 0224
The Anchorage34 Bridge Street, ReadingBerkshire, RG1 2LUTel: +44 (0) 118 958 0224
London Office:1 Crown Court66 CheapsideLondon, EC2V 6LRTel: +44 (0) 20 7634 4620
Our Services:Banking & Finance, Commercial, Corporate, Crime, Debt Recovery, Defendant Insurance, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Environment, Information Technology, Insolvency & Restructuring, Intellectual Property, Matrimonial, Media & Entertainment, Pensions, Planning, Private Tax & Family Business, Real Estate, Residential Development, Sport.
Associated Offices:Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Belfast, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leipzig, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Madrid, Munich, Nicosia, Paris, Porto, Reading, Rome and Zurich.
www.pitmans.com
Pitmans LLP
Five years ago we launched B4 Magazine in Oxfordshire. The Magazine has establisheditself as the leading free distribution business magazine in the county, giving businessesof all sizes a regular platform to raise their profile. Operating alongside our websiteand regular events, B4 is facilitating business to business contact at all levels.
Moving to a new county presents us with a fresh challenge, but we have already received afantastic welcome in our preliminary discussions with leading businesses in Berkshire whohave demonstrated a very real appetite for B4. We know we can deliver and we know wecan make a difference. But, the hard work starts now.
It has been fantastic to secure the support of many leading businesses already in the area,not least Reading FC and Chairman Sir John Madejski’s wholehearted support for B4. Wehave also established an excellent working relationship with Reading College and PrincipalLesley Donaghue. Read more about how we will be connecting with Reading College onpage 8 of this brochure.
Ruraigh Whitehead, General Manager of Millennium Madejski Hotel, has also been a greatsupporter of B4 and I would like to thank him for his generosity in hosting the launch atCilantro. We look forward to working with Ruraigh on a number of B4 initiatives in the future.
Our first committed Platinum Ambassadors were leading Berkshire law firm, Pitmans LLP,giving us a tremendous boost early on in our discussions with local businesses. I would liketo extend my thanks to Christopher Avery and his team for showing such faith in B4. Readan introductory article from Pitmans on page 16.
The list goes on, but thankyou to everyone who has helped get us to this stage, from thosewho have helped introduce us to new contacts to our six hundred Twitter followers - we valueyour assistance and look forward to working with you.
I would also like to mention our preferred charity for 2012, Launchpad. We actively promoteall charities in B4, offering complimentary charity memberships to any member of B4 whowould like to give their preferred local charity a complimentary membership. However, inOxfordshire we nominated Macmillan Cancer Support (for whom we hope to have raisedover £25,000 by the end of the year) as our preferred charity for 2011 and Oxfam will fillthis role for 2012. Launchpad will be our first preferred charity of the year for B4 Berkshireand we look forward to working with Colin Wallace and his colleagues in 2012.
We sincerely hope that B4 Berkshire can make a realdifference to you and your business and value anyfeedback, good and bad, about what we are doing - it’s theonly way we will improve.
6. B4 BerkshireWe have been busylaying the foundationsfor B4 in Berkshire
16. Going for GoldLeading Berkshire LawFirm, Pitmans, give B4 readers the insidetrack on sports sponsorship
13. B4 WebsiteProviding the thirdelement of B4’splatform alongside themagazine andquarterly networkingevents.
18. The VineyardExecutive Chef, DanielGalmiche, regarded bymany as ‘the king ofcontemporary Frenchcooking’,
Welcometo B4
Inside
B4 Magazine was originally established to provide Oxfordshire businesses with a clear voice to raise theirprofile and to help businesses connect. Direct mailed to three thousand business decision makers inOxfordshire every quarter, B4 is regarded as Oxfordshire’s leading free distribution business publication. B4 Berkshire is our first venture outside of Oxfordshire and we hope it will be the first of many B4’s incounties throughout the UK.
B4 is funded by paid for display advertising and editorial, although some editorial is granted without chargeat the discretion of the Editor. Please call us to find out how you can get involved.
WHY NOT FOLLOW B4 MAGAZINE ON
www.b4-business.com
ContactsIf you want to contact B4 MagazineTelephone: 01865 [email protected]
Publisher B4 Magazine is published by Designs On Ltd, The Firs, Headington Hill, Oxford, OX3 0BT
ChairmanColin [email protected]
EditorRichard [email protected]
Art EditorKeith [email protected]
Contents
Page 4 How Can I Connect With B4 Berkshire?
Page 6B4 Berkshire
Page 8Reading College Is Changing
Pages 9, 11Magazine Rates
Page 10Launchpad
Page 13The New B4 Berkshire Website
Page 14Web Rates
Page 16Pitmans
Page 18The Vineyard
For free Subscription, please contact:Telephone: 01865 [email protected]
SubscriptionsFor free Subscription, please contact:Telephone: 01865 [email protected] Each business with a Berkshire postcode isentitled to one free copy per issue. Foradditional copies and for businesses outsideof Berkshire, there is an annual subscriptioncharge of £25.
© Designs-on Ltd and B4 Magazine.Whilst every attempt has been made toensure that the content of this publication isaccurate and correct in every way, thepublishers cannot be held responsible or liablefor any inaccuracies or errors within thepublication. Information reproduced fromthis publication is permitted with theexpress permission of the publisher and theadvertiser, where relevant. All informationis correct at time of going to press.
B4 Oxfordshire and B4 Berkshireare printed by
B 4About Magazine
Richard Rosser Editor
www.stonestheprinters.co.uk
4
HOW CAN I CONNECT WITHB4 BERKSHIRE?
ADVERTISING, MEMBERSHIPS & RECEIVING B4
We’re very good at sending out information at B4 but sometimes you can’t see the wood from the trees with all ofthe info we beombard you with! So, we’ve surpassed ourselves this time and laid out an easy guide for you to seehow you can connect with us at B4, and, more specifically, B4 Berkshire.
If you have any questions, we’re always available to discuss your requirements, so call us on 01865 742211 or e-mail [email protected].
TAKE OUT A TRIAL MEMBERSHIP
We know that you must be asked to sign your livesaway on a regular basis, but we want you tocommit and, more importantly, benefit from B4 forthe long haul. We believe in long term workingrelationships, and so we’re asking you to let usprove ourselves to you and your colleagues bytaking out a no obligation B4 trial membership. It’sfree until the end of the year, and there’s no catch.So, if you don’t feel the benefit, you don’t need tosign up for the annual membership. But, we hopeyou’ll like what you see.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
We are offering early discounts for commitment tomemberships, so if you want to go ahead and signup for our 12 month membership, please takeadvantage of our discounted rates for those signingup before 31st December, 2011. We invoice youwhen you committ, but you still get the rest of thisyear free and your membership starts from 1stJanuary, 2012 for 12 months. If you’re reading thisafter 1st January, your membership will be invoicedand start for 12 months from the date we get yourrequest – we can action memberships in 24 hours.
ADVERTISING WITH B4 BERKSHIRE
See our rates on page 9. We provide acomplimentary design service so if you need helpdesigning your advert or re-creating a logo, pleasedon’t hesitate to ask.
EDITORIAL IN B4 BERKSHIRE
We can either accept editorial direct from you, withaccompanying hi res images, or, we will interviewyou, in person or on the phone. Articles are thenproofed for your approval, tweaks made and moreproofs sent through – the record is 17 drafts soplease don’t try and beat it! You’ll see the finalversion exactly as it appears in the printedmagazine, so no surprises!
FOLLOW B4 BERKSHIRE ON TWITTER,FACEBOOK OR LINKED IN
We actively promote members, press releases,articles and events on our B4 Twitter account forOxfordshire, Facebook pages and LinkedIn. This willhappen automatically for B4 Berkshire, so why notjoin us? At the time of going to press we alreadyhave over 600 Twitter followers for B4 Berkshire,not far off the 900 for Oxfordshire so there’s somegenuine interest in what we are doing - and wehaven’t even got started yet!
SIGN UP TO OUR E-NEWSLETTERS
We regularly send out e-Newsletters promoting B4members, including press releases, special eventsand B4 articles. So why not sign up on the site tomake sure you receive our general B4 e-Newsletters and dedicated member e-Newslettersdelivered to your in box?
GETTING A COPY OF THE MAGAZINE
All Berkshire based businesses are entitled to onecomplimentary copy of B4 Berkshire every quarter.If you need multiple copies, please contact us on01865 742211 or e-mail [email protected] and we can discuss yourrequirements. We do deliver bulk amounts of B4to selected outlets and we could well be interestedin delivering to you at no charge. It just dependson where you are and how much traffic you getthrough your business. Hotels and ConferenceVenues are great, for example.
WHEN ARE THE B4 EVENTS?
In the planning stage to be honest! We will beannouncing events beyond our launch events on18th and 19th January at Malmaison early in thenew year, if not before.
WILL WE BE HOLDING MORE EVENTS?
Yes, we will be organizing monthly workshops aspreviously stated. More details to be announcedsoon.
WHERE DO I FIND ADVERT SPECIFICATIONS?
All of these are on the site but please call if youcan’t find them.
www.b4-business.com/berkshire
B4 CONNECT
www.b4-business.com
5
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
JUST A FEW HOUSE RULES!We are obviously happy to promote your businessin B4, but please don’t put down your competition.
Images have to be hi res – if it looks bad to us, wewon’t run it – it’s a bad reflection on your businessso please don’t be offended if we reject images.We’ll help you sort out alternatives where we can.
No logos in editorial. If we had a £1 for every timesomeone asked for a logo to appear in their article,we’d have enough to buy a small house. If youwant your logo to appear in B4, you need to do itin an advert.
Contact details in editorial – just websites I’m afraid.All contact details go to the back of the magazine.
DO I GET EDITORIAL IN THE MAGAZINE ASPART OF MY MEMBERSHIP?
Unfortunately, no. Membership gives you themembership benefits only. You will need to discussmagazine presence with us direct.
CAN I ADVERTISE MY BUSINESS IN B4OXFORDSHIRE?
Again, no. Unless you have a business physicallybased in the county, we can’t accept your booking.I know it’s strange to turn down business but wefirmly believe that if we accepted bookings like thisthen there’s no point in two magazines. We needto respect the geographical boundaries and thosebusinesses that have been supporting us for fiveyears. It works both ways.
I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER MY SERVICES TO B4AND THINK YOU B4 COULD BENEFIT FROM
WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFERThat’s great! Let us know what you think you canhelp with and we can have a chat about workingtogether.
HOW DO I FEATURE ON THE COVER?
We have four lead articles in the year and part ofthis package is for the lead article company tofeature on the cover. See our rate card for moredetails.
WHY IS IT GOOD TO BE AN AMBASSADOR?
You become a face for your business, a visual pointof contact. We charge a premium for this so thatwe aren’t flooded with Ambassadors. It’s a valuedtitle and we know it’s working for B4 OxfordshireAmbassadors. Rate as per rate card – fixedirrespective of number of employees at £500+VATper annum.
HOW DO I UPLOAD CONTENT TO THE SITE?
It’s not as difficult as you might think. There’s a UserGuide which appears on the site once you arelogged in. But always feel free to call us and ask usfor advice. In Oxfordshire we have been holdingmonthly workshops to help demonstrate how thesite works, and we have built in other Memberpresentations alongside this. We will be startingthese in Berkshire, most probably in the new year.We will be promoting the workshops through e-Newsletters and our social media channels.
DO WE RUN FEATURES?
As a rule, no, but that’s not to say this won’t change.We do publish supplements in Oxfordshire such asour Venues Guide, Celebrations Supplement andEducation Guide. Let’s get the magazine beddeddown first and we’ll look at publishing these laterin 2012.
“We Look Forward
To Working With You”
www.b4-business.com
6
B4 BERKSHIRE
www.b4-business.com
B4 SPOTLIGHT
The success of B4 in Oxfordshire hasundoubtedly helped us gain a secure footholdin Berkshire and obtain the backing of some ofthe county’s leading businesses. The ‘model’ wehave established in Oxfordshire, with printedmagazine, web based business directory andquarterly Ambassador events, is the model wewill establish in Berkshire, but, in reverse. Wewill also be running monthly workshops whichhave been so well received here in Oxfordshire.
The website will be launched in October followinga drinks event at Millennium Madejski Hotel at theMadejski Stadium, followed by the magazinelaunch in January, which will be at two open drinksevenings at Malmaison in Reading on 18th and19th of January.
We are also enlisting the support of ReadingCollege and students working on related courseswho will be supporting the production of B4Berkshire. By working on a live publication, studentswill be able to demonstrate their skills in design,photography, journalism, admin and even sales,whilst at the same time gaining credits for theircourses. “It really is a very positive scenario foreveryone.” Commented Jane Slade, the College’sProgramme Manager for Visual Arts. “B4
approached us back in April with an idea to allowstudents to work on the new B4 BerkshireMagazine. The students see the opportunity ofworking on a real publication as an invaluableexperience which they simply cannot afford to missout on, and we are looking forward to not only thestudents working with B4, but it’s also an excellentopportunity for the College to connect withBerkshire’s business community.”
We are also hoping to announce the appointmentof a B4 Berkshire Operations Manager shortly whowill be the face of B4 Berkshire and co-ordinatesales, production and the B4 Berkshire events.
Having secured the support of Reading College, wehave since received confirmation of support fromReading Football Club, Malmaison Reading and TheMillennium Madejski Hotel. A key supporter of B4in Oxfordshire has been the Institute of Directors,and we are delighted to have enlisted the supportof the IOD in Berkshire, through Chairman RossWilson. Ross is also the Chairman of his own firmof Business Consultants (Wilson Partners), and hasbeen very supportive of our plans to launch.
“As Chairman of the Institute of Directors forBerkshire with strong links to my fellow ChairmanIan Wenman in Oxford, it is clear that B4 Business
has already done much in helping business peoplein Oxfordshire to build relationships with eachother. This is of course a crucial ingredient inbusiness and particularly in the challengingenvironment in which we now operate.
“As Chairman of Wilson Partners Limited, whichspecialises in the SME sector and specificallyhelping growing businesses with their businessjourney, I welcome anything which might givebusinesses an even greater voice and a platformthrough which they will be able to raise the profileof their businesses for their own benefit as well asthat of our collective business community.
“I eagerly look forward to seeing Berkshirebenefitting from B4 being launched in our area.”
Leading Thames Valley law firm, Pitmans LLP, werenext to committ as B4 Platinum Ambassadors forBerkshire, and Managing Partner, Christopher Avery,commented as follows on the forthcoming launch."Pitmans LLP are excited about the launch of B4Magazine in Berkshire. We firmly believe that it willfill a much needed gap in the market - bringingvenues, businesses and clients together. We lookforward to the first edition and to seeing B4 buildbridges in Berkshire".
6
7
As B4 celebrates its fifth birthday this issue, we have been busy laying the foundations for B4 in new territories. B4Berkshire will go live in January 2012, preceded by a new B4 Berkshire website in October, unveiled shortly after alaunch event at The Millennium Hotel, Madejski Stadium, on October 6th. Here we give B4 readers a taste as to howB4 has been received in Berkshire.
www.b4-business.com
Lloyds Commercial Banking has enjoyed excellentprofile in B4 Oxfordshire, and Thames Valley SeniorBusiness Development Manager, Derek Beards,gave his thoughts. “B4 has already achieved a greatpresence in the Oxfordshire business community,with highly successful networking events, a fantasticbusiness magazine and website. I am lookingforward to seeing B4 achieve a similar presence inBerkshire. Lloyds Commercial in Thames Valley arepleased to be considering working as a partner withB4 Berkshire to help demonstrate our commitmentand support for the SME community locally.”
Michael Stace, Partner with Morgan Cole, also giveshis support. "The Partners and staff at Morgan ColeLLP wish B4 every success with its new ventureinto Berkshire. We are certain that the magazineand the B4 events will become regular fixturesamongst the business community as they havedone so in Oxfordshire. The excellent network isbeneficial to the business community and will be awelcome addition for those of us in the Berkshireregion."
The host of our first ever B4 Berkshire event inOctober, Ruraigh Whitehead, General Manager ofMillennium Madejski Hotel, recognises the verydifferent proposition B4 offers. “It is normal toreceive countless approaches from various media
chasing advertising spend. But B4 is very differentin many ways. B4 oozes quality and its track recordis impeccable. However, what is unusual andparticularly refreshing about B4 is its approach interms of giving complimentary memberships andearning a reputation for wanting to prove itself in anew market. It is obviously a well respectedmagazine in Oxfordshire and we greatly lookforward to its launch in Berkshire. We are certainlylooking forward to the launch event for the websitein October at our Cilantro Restaurant.”
Jonathan Read, Director of Sales & Marketing atPenta Hotel Reading, worked with B4 during histime at The Belfry in Oxfordshire. “I changedcompanies in 2009 to head up sales andmarketing for a new and exciting hotel chain justcoming to the UK called Penta. Obviously thisrequired and still requires us to be active within thelocal area to help establish the product. There areplenty of newspapers and journals in the Berkshirearea but none that create the look and feel of B4which I became so used to whilst based in theOxford area. B4 uniquely offers a range of productsthat gives the readership good quality, newsworthyitems that are unbiased but at the same time givingcompanies the opportunity to leverage their loyalreadership by engagement through sponsorshipand advertising. This worked well in Oxford and I
am keen to be part of B4 Berkshire!”
The last word goes to Reading FC’s CommercialDirector, Pat Coyne. It is a wonderful endorsementof B4 Berkshire that such a high profile businesshas seen fit to back our expansion plans, and welook forward to launching the website at thestadium in October.
“It is vital that Reading FC embraces the businesscommunity as well as the wider community ofBerkshire. This is why we are supporting B4Berkshire and wish the B4 team every success inlaunching what is already a first class magazine inOxfordshire. We have every confidence that B4 willprove to be an exceptionally useful tool in helpingBerkshire businesses connect and raise theirprofile.”
Do you have a presence in Berkshire and want tobe involved? Call us now on 01865 742211.
Interested in helping B4 to launch in othercounties? Call us now or e-mail [email protected].
www.countdown.b4-business.com
7
READINGCOLLEGEIS CHANGING
B4 EDUCATION
8 www.b4-business.com
Since 1954, the college has trained thousands of young people and adultswho now work not only in Reading, but across the world. You might be oneof them.
Last summer, TVU divested its FE provisionand once again, Reading College wasestablished; now with a new vision and anew mission. The mission is to create acollege, which is entirely responsive to theneeds of local employers and localcommunities.
A significant strand of this development is the focuson employability. Lesley Donoghue, Principal ofReading College, said,
‘I have spoken with many employers in Reading,who are committed to contributing to the localeconomy not only through investment in theirbusinesses, but also through employing localpeople. To do this, potential employees must betrained in the specific skills required and equippedwith the attitudes and behaviours, which will helptheir businesses to thrive.’
The college is developing a major programmewhich will ensure that those employability skills areembedded throughout the college provision. Asignificant aspect of this programme is theinvolvement of local employers in its development.The partnership, which has been established withB4 is a good example of how student skills can bedeveloped.
Richard Rosser, the Managing Director of the InOxford Group and Editor of B4 Business Magazine,has offered students at the college the opportunityto have a significant role in the production of theB4 Business Magazine. They will not only gain abrilliant work experience opportunity and a taste ofwhat it is like in real work situations, the project alsohelps students achieve the outcomes of theirnationally recognized BTEC Level 3 qualification in
Graphics and Digital Arts and progress ontoemployment or Higher Education. Students will beinvolved in all aspects of the magazine, from designand photography to transcribing articles and sittingin on interviews with clients.
‘I am delighted with the opportunity, which hasbeen given to our students by B4. They have hadreal life experience of working to deadlines andhaving to produce industry standard materials. Thisis invaluable and will give the students acompetitive edge when applying for jobs locally,’said Lesley.
The college is working with key economicpartnerships locally to inform its direction including;Reading UK CIC, the Thames Valley Berkshire LocalEnterprise Partnership and the Reading Chamberof Commerce. The curriculum is wide ranging andtrains young people and adults for employment inconstruction, business and finance, serviceindustries and technology; from foundation level toapprenticeships and, from September 2012, tohigher education level.
‘We are currently identifying employers in everyvocational area who are willing to support thecollege in identifying the current leading edgeprofessional standards in their fields which we want
students to achieve. Through B4, we haveintroduced this in our media and visual arts areaand gone a step further. I would be interested tohear from any other employer who would like tobe involved.’
[email protected] Donoghue - LinkedIn
“...Students will be involved in all aspects of the magazine...”
With leading practitioners in all specialist areas, the largest law rm in the Thames Valley does everything humanly possible to get you the result you deserve.
Reading Offices:47 Castle Street, ReadingBerkshire, RG1 7SRTel: +44 (0) 118 958 0224The Anchorage34 Bridge Street, ReadingBerkshire, RG1 2LUTel: +44 (0) 118 958 0224London Office:1 Crown Court66 CheapsideLondon, EC2V 6LRTel: +44 (0) 20 7634 4620
Our Services:Banking & Finance, Commercial, Corporate, Crime, Debt Recovery, Defendant Insurance, Dispute Resolution,
Employment, Environment, Information
Technology, Insolvency & Restructuring,
Intellectual Property, Matrimonial, Media
& Entertainment, Pensions, Planning, Private Tax & Family Business, Real Estate,
Residential Development, Sport.Associated Offices:Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Belfast,
Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leipzig,
Lisbon, Ljubljana, Madrid, Munich, Nicosia,
Paris, Porto, Reading, Rome and Zurich.
www.pitmans.comPitmans LLP
B 4
For further information contact: 01865 742211 www.b4-business.com
Business conversations on the move
and in noisy environments just got
easier with crystal clear calls
75% of business owners stated clear
call quality to be the most important
functionality of their mobile device
33% of business owners say they
constantly struggle to hold phone
conversations in noisy environments
ORANGEOrange today announces the biggest advance
in voice calls in twenty years with the launch of
its mobile High Definition (HD) Voice service,
enabling businesses to benefit from the next
era in mobile communications. Increased call
clarity and the filtering out of background noise
makes important business conversations
possible, no matter where they are conducted.Call clarity has emerged as a necessity for many
businesses. Recent research* from Orange has
shown that 75% of business owners believe clear
call quality to be the most important aspect of their
mobile device; with 33% saying they routinely
struggled to hold phone conversations due to the
noisy environment they work in. With HD Voice,
neither a noisy work environment or being out of
the office are barriers to a successful call with
customers, colleagues or suppliers. Orange HD Voice also eliminates the perceived
distance between callers, making it easier to hear
the emotions in people’s voices. According to the
research, this is seen as crucial with 80% of
business owners stating that it is very important to
hear people’s emotions when conducting a
conversation. Almost one in five (18%) even
admitted that they had lost a deal because of a
misunderstanding over the phone, as they
couldn’t hear what was being said. HD Voice also opens up new opportunities for
better ways of working in business. In addition to
benefiting industries with significant background
noise, like construction and manufacturing, the
arrival of HD Voice is hotly anticipated by the
broadcasting industry, which believes that the
service could reduce both its reliance on expensive
ISDN lines and the need to ferry guests to studios
for interviews.
The BBC is trialing the solution as a low cost
alternative to the traditional methods of live
contribution for both its reporters and, potentially,
for guests, and to improve the sound quality for
breaking news reports, which will often be
achieved using a mobile phone.
Robert Ayres, of Raycox Turf, said. “Having
trialed HD Voice for a number of weeks, I was
impressed by the difference it made to my phone
calls. The ability to have a faultless call experience,
regardless of where I was, made important
business conversations that much easier and
meant I didn’t have to worry about being in a quiet
space to make any calls.” Martin Stiven, VP of Business at Everything
Everywhere, the company which runs Orange UK,
added. “HD Voice is going to change the way
businesses are able to communicate through our
business mobiles, from conducting calls in places
that were not previously possible, to the ability to
hear emotions in people’s voices. We’re about
bringing people closer together, and HD Voice
does just that, making business colleagues feel as
if they’re speaking face to face. People are going to
love the clarity of calls and the lack of background
noise. Once you’ve used it, you will want to keep
it.”
HD Voice for business is now available on the
Nokia E5 and the Samsung Omnia Pro B7350
handsets with more HD enabled handsets to
follow in the coming months.For more information on HD Voice for business
please visit: www.orange.co.uk/business/hdvoice*Research conducted by Redshift between
13/08/2010 and 18/08/2010. Sample: 1,000
business owners.HD Voice runs on the 3G network and uses the
WB-AMR (Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate) speech
codec. This provides excellent audio quality due to
a wider speech bandwidth of 50–7000 Hz
compared to the current narrowband speech
codec of 300–3400 Hz. The WB-AMR (Wideband
Adaptive Multi-Rate) delivers significantly enhanced
sound quality while utilising the same network
resources.
www.orange.co.uk/business
ORANGE FIRST TO LAUNCH MOBILE HIGH
DEFINITION VOICE FOR UK BUSINESSES - THE
BIGGEST ADVANCE IN CALLS IN TWENTY YEARS
www.b4-business.com
6611
www.b4-business.com
6600
HEARING IS
BELIEVING
B4 COMMUNICATION
19
18
www.b4-business.comwww.b4-business.com
Sarah Pomeroy, a recruitment consultant at The Career Boutique, talks to B4’s Ric
hard Rosser about her own career
and what makes working for The Career Boutique refreshingly differen
t and keeps this incredible Oxfordshire
recruitment agency on course to be the best in Oxfordshire. Article by Emma-Louise Pritchard.
As a mother of two, Sarah Pomeroy knows all
about balancing fragile cups on the end of very
long sticks and has taken to working for
Oxfordshire’s most exciting recruitment agency
like a duck to water. With oodles of experience
behind her, Sarah elaborates on where she has
been, and where she and her colleagues are
aiming to get to.
“I started my career at what is now The Oxford
Media and Business School, but at 19 moved to
London to pursue a career in marketing, working
my way up to Account Manager from a
teamsecretarial position. I got a taste of the drive,
passion and commitment required to make
abusiness operate efficiently and effectively, but
always yearned to come back to Oxfordshire.”
Sarah took the opportunity to return to her roots
when she had her first child, but itwasn’t long
before she was back working. “I took a couple of
office management positions,getting experience in
a range of large and small companies, adding to
my overall knowledge ofcompanies and how they
operated.”
In particular, Sarah enjoyed a role at Oxfordshire
Citizens Housing Association, working in
thecommunications department, project managing
all of their communications, once again working at
a high level with the Chief Executive and
Operations Managers. She then went on to enjoy
a period working for a local construction firm, and
it was there that she first cut her teeth in a
rolededicated to HR, as she explains.
“Up until that point, I had enjoyed working in a
variety of roles in different firms of varying sizes. I’d
managed to learn a lot about how business works
and being appointed HR manager of the
construction firm seemed a perfect role for me. I
was able to draw on my experiences and really
enjoyed the position.”
This gave Sarah the taste for HR and recruitment
in particular, so when the opportunity came to join
The Career Boutique, she jumped at it. “Over a
period of just over ten years, I was lucky to work
for some great companies, but when I heard about
the vacancy at The Career Boutique, I was
desperate to get the job. First impressions of The
Career Boutique are of a very sophisticated,
glamorous agency, maybe more suited to The
Kings Road than Didcot, but I can assure you,
there’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the
scenes which makes choosing The Career
Boutique for your recruitment needs a smart
move.”
Sarah’s focus is on filling sales, administration and
marketing roles which suits her particular career
background and own experiences. “It certainly
helps me to identify what our clients are looking
for, having worked in these roles before myself. I
have the benefit of having sat on the other side of
the fence, and it’s certainly an advantage.”
Sarah is keen to stress, however, that The Career
Boutique’s modus operandi is far removed from
that of the High Street recruitment consultants
which, she strongly believes, do not ‘get under the
skin’ of their clients.
“Our philosophy here is to deliver, deliver and then
deliver some more. Value for money is crucial
today, in every business, and we really do leave
nothing to chance, leave no stone unturned and
make sure that our clients’ demands are fulfilled.
We have to get the right person for the role our
client is looking to fill, and that means not only
finding the right person for that job, but getting to
know our client and the team the successful
candidate is going to be working for.
“’Never judge a book by it’s cover’, or so they say,
and we certainly never judge a candidate by their
CV. A CV is valuable, but it is not the be all and end
all. It’s about finding the right person to fit into a
business, and all the qualifications in the world will
be insignificant if the character of the person we
are recommending for a role isn’t suited to an
existing team.
“In order to get the balance right, we have to get to
know our clients, and that, hopefully, means we
are the first port of call for all future recruitment
needs if we manage to recruit successfully. It’s all
about building up a trust, and there’s absolutely no
point plucking a candidate out of thin air just to fill
a role if the fit isn’t right. It doesn’t do our client any
favours and it certainly won’t endear The Career
Boutique to our client.”
With the hard work that goes into finding the
perfect match, I ask Sarah if this creates a mountain
to climb and limits the chances of finding the right
candidate.
“I do know where you are coming from, but the
point is without investing time in finding the right
person, the chances of finding the right person by
luck more than judgment are limited, and that’s no
good for our client. Yes we have hit a dead end
with some roles, but, given the choice, we would
RECRUITINGWITH STYLE
“Over a period of just over ten years, I was lucky to work for some great
companies, but when I heard about the vacancy at The Career Boutique, I
was desperate to get the job”
“It certainly helps me to
identify what our clients are
looking for, having worked in
these roles before myself.
I have the benefit of
having sat on the other
side of the fence, and it’s
certainly an advantage”
B4 LEAD
Single page £600Double page £1,000Four pages £1,900
2. EDITORIALOPPORTUNITIES:
1. NOTES
Double page £900Single page £500Half page £250Quarter page £175Back Page £1,500Inside Front DPS £1,250
4. DISPLAY ADVERTISINGOPPORTUNITIES
• Lead Article - x1 three page article in one edition ofB4 + Cover Shot of one individual + 1 page Display Advert
• First editorial in the magazine £2,250
3. LEAD ARTICLE
B4 News and dedicated Company News Page*:
Single page £550Half page £400Quarter page £275
5. OTHER PRESENCE IN B4
IoD Oxfordshire Branch Pub Hubs provide an ideal opportunity to meet
like-minded company directors in a convivial environment - if you have
not been to one yet make sure you can get to the October event.
IoD members and potential members are invited to drop in to The Fishes, North
Hinksey Village, Oxford, OX2 0NA, on the last Thursday of every month. It is an
ideal venue to meet fellow members, and IoD Oxfordshire Branch committee
members.
Don’t forget to join us at our free event on Thursday October 28, 2010, from
6:30pm to 9pm!
Why not join us at our monthly Pub Hub?
news
For more information on all these events, please contact the Institute of Directors Event Bookings, on 02380 266548 or email:
[email protected] or online at www.iod.com/southwww.b4-business.com
55
IoD members are invited to visit Oxfam House
on Wednesday 24th November from 6-9pm,
and obtain an exclusive insight into one of
Oxford's most respected and globally recognised
organisations.
Hear from senior Oxfam staff members about the
highly innovative and commercial approaches that
underpin large parts of our work. Discover how we
are working closely with the Oxfordshire business
community to respond to global catastrophes and
alleviate poverty in some of the world's most
challenging environments. Presentations will be given by Jane Cocking
(Humanitarian Director) and Hugo Sintes (EDP
Manager). There will be a Q&A session at the end
as well as informal ‘networking’ sessions at the
outset and close where attendees will get a chance
to chat with key Oxfam staff. Complimentary wine, soft drinks and canapés will
be provided through the generosity of one of
Oxfam's local corporate supporters. The IoD will be donating a sum of money to Oxfam
from the attendance proceeds, as IoD members will
be charged £20 and non-members £25 per person
for the evening.
The Festive season is soon upon us so prepare
your party frocks and dust off your dinner
jackets in preparation for your Branch’s annual
Festive Dinner. Join fellow IoD members and their guests at Oriel
College, the fifth oldest of Oxford's colleges on
Friday 10th December from 7-11pm. Situated in
the centre of Oxford city, and regarded as a friendly
and attractive establishment, Oriel was founded in
1326 by King Edward II. Expect an evening of exceptional entertainment
with a classic jazz quartet and bonhomie in the
company of some of Oxfordshire’ most
accomplished and personable residents. A drinks
reception followed by a sumptuous dinner including
wine and coffee will be prepared and served with
care, flair and attention to detail. Wondering how to entertain your customers, clients
or colleagues this Christmas? For just £75 per head
for members and £80 for non-members - look no
further than Oriel.
Festive Dinner - laughing All the Way to Oriel College
Oxford, Oxfam & Innovation: Oxfam House, Cowley
We had a massive 23
7 Ambassadors, Mem
bers
and Guests at o
ur 30th September B4
Event
held at Malmaison, superbly
hosted by
Malmaison General M
anager, Andrew
Creese
and his staff.
It was quite an
unbelievable turn
out for a wet
Thursday night in
Oxford. Apologies
to those of you
who had to queu
e, but hopefully th
e quick thinking
of the wine wait
ers to attend to
you with a
welcome glass of wine be
fore you got your
badges
helped to numb the pa
in.
Following a presen
tation of the 201
0 B4/MGroup
Cup to James White
of InTouch CRM,
we heard
from The Goodhead G
roup’s CEO, Davi
d Holland,
who told us why
Oxfordshire is a g
reat location for
one of the UK’s
leading printers
which employs
600 in Bicester a
nd Banbury.
Ian Wenman, Chai
rman of the Oxford
shire IOD,
then talked abo
ut the need for
businesses in
Oxfordshire to sh
out louder and s
trive to raise
Oxfordshire’s prof
ile in an increasin
gly competitive
world.
Finally, John Ho
y, Chief Executive
of Blenheim
Palace, Oxfordsh
ire’s leading tou
rist attraction,
introduced the
new Visit Oxfor
dshire tourism
organisation whic
h has been estab
lished to raise
the profile of Ox
fordshire as a tou
rist destination
(see www.visitoxfordan
doxfordshire.com
). As
always, John spok
e passionately abo
ut Oxfordshire
and the wonderf
ul hotels, attractio
ns and events
which many of u
s take for granted
. John was also
graciously praising
of what B4 has a
chieved and is
fully behind our
endeavours to lin
k like-minded
businesses in Oxf
ordshire and prom
ote Oxfordshire
as a great place to
do business.
“Many thanks fo
r your generous
hospitality at
Malmaison and to co
ngratulate you o
n a very
successful occasi
on. Everyone seem
ed to network
very well and it w
as great to see lo
ts of old friends
as well as to make som
e new contacts. B
4 is a real
force and that is a
great credit to you
all at B4. Well
done and thanks
again for a super
event.”
Here are just a
couple of the ot
her notes we
received after the
event:
“The B4 Malmaison rec
eption was a grea
t success.
The number of p
eople attending
reflected the
popularity for B
4 Magazine an
d its role in
supporting the
local business c
ommunity. A
storming triumph to ge
t 250 people toge
ther on a
wet Thursday eve
ning.”
Richard Venable
s, Director, VSL &
Partners
“Congratulations
on a great evening
….really useful
and enjoyed it Ric
hard.”
Paul Horsell, Se
nior Manager C
ommercial,
LloydsTSB Commercial
www.b4-busines
s.com
9
B4 News
Come along an jo
in us for an
informal
Christmas Lunc
h on Monday 20
th December.
Starting at 1pm, Malmaison ar
e putting on a
three course meal for
just £35 a head
(not
including drink).
Open to B4 Ambassado
rs and
Members only and th
eir guests.
Please e-mail Jenny
@inoxford.com to regist
er your
interest or send
your cheque f
or £35, made
payable to Malm
aison, to us at B4
Magazine, The
Firs, Headington
Hill, Oxford OX3 0
BT.
Enter Christmas week
as you mean to go
on – who
knows, we might have
a drink or two a
fter in The
Visitors Room!
The B4 Christmas Lunch
, in association w
ith The
Career Boutique
and Malmaison
We have been
invited by RBS
Williams F1
Conference Cen
tre in Grove to
stage our next
Ambassadors even
t with them on Thu
rsday
28th October, fr
om 6pm to 8pm. This is
a
stunning venue a
nd a great oppo
rtunity to see
the private Willia
ms F1 Grand Prix C
ollection in
all its glory.
If you would like
to be included o
n the guest list,
please e-mail Jenny
@inoxford.com. We wil
l then
confirm your place. Pleas
e note, Ambassador
s and
Members of B4 are most welco
me to bring a guest.
Please note, the
policy on guests
is that you are
most welcome to com
e along to an ev
ent as a
guest once, but th
ereafter, you must be a
Member
or Ambassador to be el
igible to come along a
gain.
For full details about B4 Membership
and
Ambassadors, see t
he Advertising se
ction on the
www.b4-business.com website.
RBS Williams F1 Con
ference Centre h
osts the
next B4 Ambassado
rs Event
237 Queuing out
of the door at M
almaison for B4 Am
bassadors Event
Company News PageB4 News
• All rates are quoted ex VAT which is 20%• All editorial is proofed to you for your approval prior to printing – so no surprises• Subjects of two, three and four page features are invited to visit our preferred studio for a professional photo shoot, at no extra charge
Why not become a B4 fan
A RAMADA
WITH A VIEW!Built in a
dramatic waterfront loc
ation in the rejuve
nated London Do
cklands, the Ram
ada Hotel and Su
ites provides
excellent guest ca
re and facilities in
a stunning new
contemporary developm
ent. B4 enjoyed
the Ramada Hote
l’s
excellent hospital
ity for the night in
advance of a trip
abroad, flying fro
m the nearby City A
irport.
This four star hotel has a stunning
waterfront position
and offers supremely
comfortable accommodation
and superb
cuisine with a w
elcoming atmosphere
. For
those who like t
o keep fit, there
is also have a
Fitness Room on the
Ground Level with all th
e
main Cardio machines.
With air-conditionin
g
throughout and
treble-glazing, a
restful night's
sleep awaits at th
e Ramada Hotel and Suites,
and that’s exactly
what we needed ahead
of our
early start and fli
ght to Italy.
The kids loved
the small apartment we
had
booked, complete wi
th mini kitchen, ‘two
TV’s
Dad!’ and super
comfortable beds.
This was the idea
l prelude to a holi
day, and safe in
the knowledge th
at the car would
be in secure
parking for our tw
o week trip, we st
arted to unwind
as soon as we ch
ecked in.
But maybe I had hit holi
day mode too soon. Fir
stly,
the helpful front
desk staff helped
me to print out
our e-tickets for th
e flight which I rea
lized were still
firmly in electronic fo
rmat on my laptop – what a
plonker I am! Second
ly, when we cou
ld see the
planes literally bla
ze a trail over our
scrambled eggs
at breakfast (and
what a great bre
akfast that was
by the way), we g
ot complacent and had t
o run to
the plane after o
ur five minute ca
b ride to the
airport. Don’t be s
o relaxed if you f
ly out of City
Airport as the ch
eck in and secu
rity checks are
igorous and very s
low.
Thanks to The R
amada for a great
start to our
holiday, although
next time we w
on’t get too
relaxed!
General Information: The Docklands a
re home
to London City
Airport and ExC
eL, London’s
premier events venue,
whilst also on th
e doorstep
is Canary Wharf. The
O2 Arena is on
ly few stops
away by DLR.
Rapidly become a lead
ing London locat
ion, it is
with easy access
from Stansted Airport,
just along
the M11. Easily connec
ted by the A12 an
d A13 as
well as the award
winning Docklan
ds Light Rail at
Prince Regent stat
ion, London's hea
rtland is within
easy travelling dis
tance of this Dock
lands hotel.
Parking facilites: Outdoor Parki
ng: Mon-Sun
9:30am-5:30pm 12.00 G
BP Per Day or 2.0
0 GBP
Per Hour - Pay a
nd Display. Com
plimentary car
parking is also av
ailable in front an
d at the back of
the hotel on first
come first serve basis
.
www.ramada.com
“This four star hotel
has a stunning
waterfront position
and offers supremely
comfortable
accommodation and
superb cuisine”
www.b4-business.com
43
B4 R&R
Display Advert
Blenheim P
alace
P R I N T • N E T W O R K I N G • P
A R T N E R S H I P S • PR O P E R T Y • R
& R • EV E N T S
B U I L D I N G BR I D G E S B
E T W E E N BU S I N E S S
I S S UE 1 9
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A D V I C E • CO N F E R E N C E • E
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w w w . b 4 -b u s
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B 4 Magazine
Why this leading Oxfordshire recruitment agency likes to do things differently
Very much in the news in this issue of B4 with four great features
A simply stunning venue in the heart of Oxford
The Career
Boutique
Pembroke C
ollege
Double PageSingle Page
The Career Boutique
prides itself on the
personal relationships
it has with its clients.
Our reputation is built
on professionalism,
integrity and trust.
www.TheCareerBoutique.com
FindingCompaniesOutstanding
People
01235 854 046
with some roles, but, given the choice, we would prefer to say to a
client that we have done our best than hope someone might do. It’s a
risk we are willing to take, and, thankfully, as The Career Boutique
strengthens its foothold on the recruitment market in Oxfordshire, we
are getting more and more suitable candidates coming in for each
role, which makes the chances of finding the right person for the job
much greater, and eliminates the risk of not finding someone.”
The whole recruitment process is fraught with problems. Identifying the
right person for the job is easier said than done. Embellished CV’s and
serial job appliers are only two of the problems that come to mind. The
time and cost involved in placing an advert and, sifting through the
applications is bad enough, but then you have to co-ordinate interviews
and have the interviews, remember who you have seen, make sure
you tell those who have not been successful and, potentially, have
second and even third round interviews. Do you honestly have the skills
to identify the right person? Do you have the time to do it is the more
pertinent question?
The candidate Jekyll and Hyde’s have all been to your offices. You know
the ones, the ones that are pure as the driven snow in an interview
and then turn up with a hangover on the first day of work. So how
does Sarah get down to the right ones for the job? “Experience more
than anything. When you are advertising as many jobs as we are, we know the serial
appliers, we know those who have applied before (and you wouldn’t
believe the ones who don’t think we will remember) and we know
what our clients are looking for. We know what to look out for on CV’s
and we have a good instinct.
“Putting the wrong person forward to our clients puts our reputation
on the line, so, believe me, we put up a fairly stiff test for candidates
to get through. There are obviously some very effective ways of getting
candidates in to interview these days, particularly through the web, but
when it comes to high profile roles, I firmly believe you need some
objectivity and impartiality in the process of selection, and investing in
our expertise is certainly worthwhile.”
The continuity of providing clients with successful applicants for roles
is obviously having quite an effect, with a number of HR Managers
utilising The Career Boutique when they themselves move on, as Sarah
confirms. “Yes we have had quite a few HR Managers who have moved
on for one reason or another then call us in their new roles to continue
using us, and recommending us to their replacements.”
Sitting behind the success of The Career Boutique is the inimitable
Katherine Dales, the real passion behind this increasingly powerful
recruitment machine. Sarah is in no doubt that the success of the
agency is down to her unfathomable hard work.
“I honestly don’t know how she does it. I have never met someone so
dedicated and passionate about their business. Her commitment to
growing The Career Boutique, making it the leading agency in
Oxfordshire and providing her clients with a five star service is absolutely
incredible. Katherine ignited my desire to work for The Career Boutique and she
is someone I look to for energy and inspiration when things aren’t
going to plan. Undaunted and dynamic, she’s certainly taught me a
thing or two about staying focused, not losing hope and delivering, over
and over again.
“Katherine makes sure we are different, that we are set apart from the
other agencies in everything we do. We all know our service is second
to none and with Katherine at the helm, we are well on course to hit
our target.”www.thecareerboutique.com
B4 LEAD
21
www.b4-business.com
Photo
graph
y: www.s
tudio-
8.co.u
k
Lead Article
RATES FOR B4 – MAGAZINE, WEBSITE, INSERTS AND ARTICLE REPRODUCTION
Magazine Rates
Supporting charities is important to B4 andwe are pleased to offer charities and not forprofit organisations with complimentary B4Memberships and have been instrumental inpartnering charities with local businesses fortheir mutual benefit.
2011 marked the first year B4 Oxfordshire hada preferred charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.We hope we will have helped Macmillan raisein excess of £25,000 by the end of this year.Preparations for our 2012 preferred charity arewell underway and we are delighted to besupporting Oxfam in their 70th anniversary year.We will be providing local businesses with awide range of ideas to help raise funds for
Oxfam, and four of us at B4 have committed toride from Paris to Oxford next June for Oxfam,joined by at least 11 other cycling enthusiasts.
We are pleased to announce that we havealready agreed that Reading’s largestindependent housing charity, Launchpad,
will be B4 Berkshire’s first preferred charityfor 2012, and Launchpad’s Fundraising andCommunications Co-Ordinator, Colin Wallace,explained more about the great workLaunchpad do.
“Launchpad works to break the cycle ofhomelessness and overcome social exclusionby providing affordable, well maintained andsafe supported accommodation which can offerthe stability needed to give our clients a realchance of succeeding.
“Launchpad (formerly the Reading SingleHomeless Project) started off as a soup kitchenin the 1970s and was formally registered as a
charity in 1979 and we are looking forward tocontinuing the crucial work we do for manyyears to come. We have bed spaces for up to100 people across several properties in Readingranging from shared accommodation to onebedroom flats. We can also offer support for upto a further 50 people at any given time.
However, we recognise that just providing aroof over someone’s head is not always enoughto give them a realistic opportunity to progresson to independent living and a sustainabletenancy. We also provide support forrehabilitation alongside vocational, recreationaland therapeutic opportunities such as healthyliving initiatives, substance misuse counselling,practical skills and assistance with the morecomplex aspects of modern life.
We are committed to helping our clients restorea sense of pride and independence by offeringthe chance of a fresh start in a safe andsupportive environment.” We are working towards a fundraising target of
£25,000 for Launchpad in 2012, so please dowhat you can to help us reach this goal.
www.rshp.co.uk
“...Launchpad works to break the cycle of homelessness and overcome social exclusion...”
10
LAUNCHPAD
www.b4-business.com
B4 CHARITY
“….the person to fear is the entrepreneur rather
than the corporate, because the corporate is far too
slow in moving….”“Start off in a small way, test the market and get
traction. Once you have that, you keep going. If
you start too big, you can flounder quite quickly.“When we started Auto Trader, we looked at every
single cost control there was. The big companies
used to open nine to five, Monday to Friday, and so
we would operate until nine on weekdays and ten
to four at weekends. We did everything our
competition did, but more. That’s why I always say
that the person to fear is the entrepreneur, rather
than the corporate, because the corporate is far too
slow in moving. They have to have copious
amounts of meetings in order to change anything,
whereas if you have an entrepreneur, they can
decide or change direction just like that,
instantaneously. They don’t need to wait until the
November board meeting before they can
implement anything.”Starting a business in a recession takes even more
nerve than would normally be required, but the
recession has forced businesses to cut numbers,
which have, in turn, metamorphisised into start up
businesses. I asked Sir John whether he thought
that the recession had stimulated long overdue ’fat
cutting’ in businesses, and what did he feel the
natural consequence of this would be? “I think the
recession is actually exciting for that very reason.
Not only will we see inefficiencies cut away within
businesses, but we will also see a lot of the old
‘dinosaur’ businesses disappear, to be replaced by
energetic, young businesses which will come up
with fascinating ideas and become hugely
successful.”
Sir John will no doubt hope that some of the
youngsters coming through his personally funded
Academy in Reading will be at the helm of some of
these exciting new businesses, “I fully endorse the
youth of this country, but, sadly, all too often you
hear about the negative aspects of our youth in
society today. We only seem to hear and read
about the feral youths and drinking louts, but there
are an absolute multitude of incredibly dedicated
young people who really are fit for purpose and
who, as grand as this may sound, will save the
world. Sadly, they just don’t get enough publicity
and press to demonstrate how good they really
are. No doubt that will happen in the fullness of
time, but we should always encourage youth,
because they are going to be the pathfinders.”With regards to talent spotting and as someone
who must have conducted his fair share of job
interviews, does Sir John make appointments on
gut instinct, or is he a sucker for a ‘too good to be
true’ CV?
“In my opinion, you’ve either got ‘it’ or you haven’t.
I find that those who have got qualifications tend to
rest on their laurels, whereas those without are
willing to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in and
make it happen, as they feel they have to. I’ve
interviewed people in the past who ask me what
am I going to do for them, which isn’t really the
best way to approach me or any potential
employer. I know that at my Academy, every child
that comes through that school gate has a talent
and is good at something. It is up to the teachers
to find that and get that child to pursue that talent.
Because my opinion is that once you find out what
somebody is good at, and they know they are good
at it and can do it, you have captured that person
forever. That then determines whether they are
going to become feral or whether they are going to
be part of the human race, part of the system. We
are all good at some things and bad at others, and
if you can find out what you can do, and hone
whatever it is at a young age, then it bodes well for
the future.”
Successful delegation is, therefore, as a natural
consequence of Sir John’s mantra, a natural
by-product of his thinking. Did he find it hard
himself to recognise what he was good and bad at
and did he fail to delegate successfully when he
was starting out in business? “At the beginning, I thought I was the best at doing
everything on the list. You are also too scared to let
anybody do anything because you think they will
screw it up. But the only way to expand is to
delegate, and you have to appreciate that. When
we started to replicate Auto Trader, we had ten of
me all trying to produce the perfect Auto Trader.
Some would do it poorly, some would be average
and some would actually do it better, which makes
the whole package more attractive as I was
improving the product through delegation. It is no
good earning money, you have got to make
money, and you can only make money if you start
delegating.
“Delegation is the key in my opinion. It not only
frees you up, it gets more done. You have to give
people you are entrusting some rope. If they mess
it up, you replace them until you find the right
person. You have to empower people, otherwise
you won’t move forward.”With a lifetime of rich experiences and after a not
inconsiderable amount of hard work, Sir John
Madejski is certainly well placed to answer the
questions we all want answers to. Do the money
worries pale and the sleepless nights become a
thing of the past? “Good God no. It’s all relative. We
all have worries. It just depends how you cope with
them.” Learning to cope with our problems is half
the battle, but retaining a sense of perspective and
humility, like Sir John, is something we would all do
well to aim for.
“….the only way to expand is todelegate….”
49
B4 SPOTLIGHT
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Only 50 Platinum packages are available:
• Two pages per edition to be used as you see fit• Banner on B4 website (non home page)• One Platinum Ambassador• One other B4 Ambassador• B4 Membership• Logo included in Platinum Ambassador logo page in 4 editions of B4• Invited to one Platinum dinner in the year as our guest£5,000 + VAT per annum
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Size Run 50 100 200 300 4002 page A5 225 275 325 375 4254 page A5 300 350 400 450 5002 page A4 400 425 450 500 5504 page A4 500 525 550 600 6501 page A3 450 475 500 525 550
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ROYAL
ENTREPRENEUR
We would all like
to make a hum
dinger of a succ
ess of our busin
esses, to be able
to do the deal w
hich sets us up
for life. No more
money worries, n
o more sleeples
s nights. So is th
is what we can lo
ok forward to, if,
by some strange
quirk of fate, it w
ere ever to happ
en to us? Sir Joh
n Madejski is be
tter equipped th
an most to answ
er this question.
As founder of A
uto Trader and
Chairman of Re
ading Football C
lub, not to men
tion the owner
of a plethora of
commercial inte
rests in publishi
ng, property, me
dia and hospital
ity, Sir John has
been there, see
n it and brough
t a
wardrobe full of
t-shirts. Here, h
e gives B4’s Ric
hard Rosser an
insight into his v
iews and opinio
ns on the econo
my,
education and fo
otball, and offer
s us all some inv
aluable advice.
I met a relaxed Si
r John at his ‘ho
use’, The Madejski
Stadium, home of
Reading FC. He
spends a signi
ficant amount of
time in his pentho
use
overlooking Re
ading, and it was there
that I saw ‘Rich M
an, Poor Man’, a
BBC 4 documentary o
n the life of Sir
John Madejski
OBE DL.
Having known Si
r John for over th
irty years, nothin
g in the docum
entary gave
me cause to bel
ieve that he had
changed one jo
t since I last me
t him, before
he sold Hurst Pu
blishing (compri
sing Auto Trader
). I had always k
nown John
as an engaging
, down to earth
and personable
character, and
neither the
documentary, no
r the subsequent
interview, altere
d that impression
. That alone
should tell you a
ll you need to kn
ow about a man
who has enjoye
d as much
‘bonne chance’
as Sir John.
What became ab
undantly clear fro
m our chat, how
ever, was his de
ep concern
about the state
of the econo
my and the po
ssible implication
s for the
continuing unce
rtainty that all
of us are expe
riencing. Talking
before his
property develo
pment firm, Sac
kville Developm
ents, was grante
d planning
permission to re
vamp Station Hi
ll in Reading, a m
ulti-million poun
d scheme to
redevelop the ru
n-down area ar
ound Reading St
ation, Sir John q
ualified his
fears. “At the m
oment, there is
no bottom line
to anything, an
d that’s the
problem. Until w
e know where w
e are, then it is v
ery difficult valui
ng anything,
and nothing can
really improve u
ntil we reach th
e so called ‘bot
tom’ of this
trough. Althoug
h we keep he
aring that the e
conomy is supp
osed to be
recovering, the n
ext minute we he
ar it’s on the wan
e.
“There is a state
of flux and, qu
ite frankly, until
it starts easing a
nd we start
moving out of th
e recession, it is
very difficult to p
redict anything. T
here are so
many mixed me
ssages out ther
e, as you must
know being the
editor of a
business maga
zine. You must
talk to lots of p
eople in busine
ss, and it is
obviously a chal
lenging time for
all of them. Peop
le are just doing
their very best
to meet the cha
llenges, and th
at’s what we all
have to do. We
have to be
totally positive.
“It will come to
an end, there is
no doubt about
that, but the qu
estion has to
be ‘when’. The
significant diffe
rence between
this downturn a
nd recent
recessions that
I have experienc
ed, is that this ti
me the banks a
re in trouble.
Banks have alwa
ys been solid in
my lifetime, ins
titutions to rely
on. This time
the banks have
n’t been so dep
endable, and th
is has culminate
d in the state
stepping in. This
is a fundament
al factor and ma
kes an enormou
s difference.”
There is no dou
bt that Sir John
’s opinion count
s. It is, howeve
r, a strange
paradox that, d
uring the BBC
4 documentary,
he was shown
receiving a
fellowship from
Henley Manage
ment College in
front of a room
full of ‘text
book’ business
students. They w
ere there to ho
nour and appla
ud him, but
would they do it
the ‘John Madejs
ki’ way? “I felt str
angely inadequat
e receiving
that fellowship. T
here I was in fro
nt of a very talen
ted group of ind
ividuals who
were looking u
p, admiring me
, but I couldn’t
do what they
do and they
probably wouldn
’t do as I have d
one. It certainly
was a strange iro
ny.”
One thing that S
ir John has a dis
tinct aversion to
is adding to his
burgeoning
eighteen compa
ny portfolio. His
open courting
of an offer for, a
rguably, his
pride and joy, Re
ading Football Cl
ub, highlights his
desire to start w
inding down
his business int
erests, rather th
an look for the n
ext Auto Trader.
Although the
flame is certainl
y not yet out in
that department
.
Sir John purchas
ed Reading FC in
1990 from the
jaws of the recei
vers, and by
1998, following
his £25 million
injection, the C
lub’s Madejski S
tadium had
been built. Desp
ite helping to s
ecure the club’s
first ever promo
tion in their
one hundred a
nd thirty five y
ear history to
the top flight,
and recently
proposing plans
for the stadium
’s expansion to
38,000 seats, h
e would sell
tomorrow if the
right man came
along, having fa
mously quipped
, ‘I’ll listen to
sensible offers, b
ut from billionair
es only. Milliona
ires need not ap
ply.’ Whoever
takes over the re
igns following Sir
John’s near dou
ble decade tenu
re will have
to have significa
nt resources. Th
e Club achieved
pre-tax profits o
f £6.6 million
during the tax yea
r ending in June
2007, and has r
ecently been va
lued at £100
million.
“If there is some
body out there w
ith enormously
deep pockets, th
en I would
step aside, it’s as
simple as that.
Who knows, if so
meone comes i
n, they might
want me to be
involved in som
e way.” Says Sir
John, underlinin
g his deep
affinity with the C
lub. “I know I cou
ld bring value to
the club.
By his own adm
ission, John was
a relative footba
ll novice when h
e took over
at Elm Park all th
ose years ago, so
where does he s
ee himself again
st his peers?
“My contribution
is reflected in th
e fact that we ar
e a well run Club
. We are not
a Club that is go
ing to be reckle
ss – I would ne
ver condone put
ting the Club
in jeopardy for
the sake of sh
ort term gain. A
nd as regards
my football
knowledge, I can
now hold my o
wn when explai
ning the offside
rule!
“When we gained
promotion to th
e top flight in 20
06, we did it in
some style
“….this time the banks are in trouble…..”
www.b4-business.c
om
46
47
B4 SPOTLIGHT
with 106 points,
the highest that
any Championsh
ip
Club had ever
achieved. We w
ere promoted
by
March, and, quite
incredibly, we w
eren’t a team of
superstars, just
home-grown ta
lent that we ha
d
nurtured. Alan P
ardew started t
he process and
Steve Coppell fi
nished it off. It
seemed as thou
gh
we could do no
wrong as we fi
nished eight in o
ur
first season in
the Premiership
, but came bac
k
down to earth
with a bump
when we were
relegated in onl
y our second ye
ar.”
The cynical view
of footballers an
d success, is tha
t
as soon as they
experience the
‘big-time’, they lo
se
focus, motivation
and their prioriti
es change, a vie
w
which Sir John
does not subs
cribe to. “They
certainly became
complacent and
the hunger had
gone. We narrow
ly missed out la
st season, losing
out to eventual
winners Burnley
in the Play Off
s,
and it was a ma
jor blow for all o
f us. However, eve
n
though I do thin
k that profession
al footballers ten
d
to put themselve
s on a pedestal,
I just think it’s a
natural conseque
nce of the adulat
ion they receive
.
Footballers have
short careers, w
e mustn’t forget
that, and we can
easily point the
finger and blam
e
the players for n
ot getting us pro
motion. Inheren
t
physcological f
actors come in
to play, at tim
es,
which not even
they can cont
rol and, in the
ir
sub-conscious,
they will put the
mselves first, an
d
that’s only natura
l.
“There is no oth
er business like
football. It is whe
re
showbusiness
and football
collide. In mos
t
businesses, you
leave your work
at the factory ga
te,
whereas with
football, it’s 2
4/7, that’s the
difference.”
Away from the b
right lights of the
Madejski Stadiu
m,
one of Sir John’s
most exciting p
rojects focuses o
n
road studs, as h
e explains. “Cle
arview Traffic ar
e
producing sola
r powered road
studs which a
re
100% powered
by the sun. They
are the sequel t
o
cat’s eyes, and a
s they highlight
the linear contou
r
of the road, redu
ce the need for
street lights, thus
saving money. R
esearch has als
o shown that the
studs could re
duce up to 7
0% of fatal ro
ad
accidents. They
really do tick al
l of the boxes.”
Sir
John took over
the company six
years ago, but
it
had already bee
n running for ten
years. It is now
expanding world
wide and the po
tential upside fo
r
Clearview, and S
ir John, is vast.
Although he has
another sixteen
companies whic
h
“There is no
other business
like football.
It is where
showbusiness
and sport collide
”
R E CR U I T M
E N T • C H A R I TY • H E A LT
H • M E E T • I T
• E N J O Y • H O T E L S
B U I L D I N G BR I D G E S B
E T W E E N BU S I N E S S
I S SU E 1
3 WI N T E R
2 00 9
F I NA N C E • A D V I C
E • P R O M O T I ON • S P O
T L I GH T • P R O P E R T
Y • N E W S
w w w . b 4- b u
s i n es s . c
o m
B 4 Magazine
Sir John Mad
ejski talks to
B4 about s
uccess, foo
tball and the
future
Oxfordshire
’s Leading P
roperty Man
agement co
mpany
The thinking
behind Lon
don Oxford
Airport
Royal Entre
preneur
Proper Prop
erty Manage
ment
All in the N
ame
A4 Article reproduction (4 page A4)Your main article image inserted into the current issue’s coverincluding strapline with article reproduced across centre pages.
Why not add your Advert on the back page?
Why not follow B4
8. SECTION SPONSORSB4 News page: Banner running underneath news pages (at least 3 pages) £750Contact details: Banner running underneath contact details pages £750
NewsCarter Jonas is strengthening services to clientsacross its business divisions with theappointment of Louise Ashby as Client ServicesManager. Louise will coordinate relations withclients who work with multiple divisions, andensure that all clients are kept aware of the firm’sservices and activities.
Mark Charter, Partner and head of the Carter JonasOxford office: “As a multi-divisional property firm, we
are entering a new phase of growth and provision ofservice to our clients. This appointment allows usto ensure that all of our clients are fully aware of whatwe can do for them. Louise has a great deal ofexperience in the wider commercial community aswell as in property and we are delighted to welcomeher to the team.”
Contact Louise Ashby on 01865 511444 [email protected].
Blenheim Estates has purchased WindrushIndustrial Park, a 28-acre industrial estate in theheart of Witney in a deal which has beendeclared a vote of confidence in the town’seconomy.
The estate is a base for 17 businesses, includingmulti-national packaging company Smurfit Kappaand furniture producers Corndell Furniture.Roger File, property director of Blenheim Estates,said “We’re locally based and we have been looking
to expand our commercial property portfolio for awhile, waiting for the right opportunity. For us it wasthe logical place, on our doorstep, and we couldsee a lot of potential. Our current plan is to hold itfor the long term and to invest in the site asopportunities present themselves.”
The Windrush Industrial Park will be managed bythe Blenheim Palace Property team from its baseat Blenheim Palace in Woodstock from where theteam already manage a substantial mixed propertyportfolio throughout Oxfordshire. See page 45.
Blenheim Buys Windrush Industrial Park
SpecialEffect is a charity dedicated to enhancingthe quality of life for young people withdisabilities by enabling them to enjoy computergames and other creative leisure pursuitsthrough cutting edge technology - forrehabilitation, inclusion and fun!
Based in Charlbury achievements in our shorthistory include the creation of the world's first fullyaccessible games suite at Helen and Douglas
House Hospice and award winning roadshows fordisabled groups throughout Oxfordshire.SpecialEffect's own Centre was recently opened byPrime Minister David Cameron.
Its games library helps many people - from soldiersinjured in Afghanistan through to young people withdegenerative conditions who can no longer play inany other way. www.specialeffect.org.uk
Louise Ashby Joins Carter Jonas
SpecialEffect
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Instituteof British Geographers), one of the world’sleading geographical societies, in collaborationwith Wecommunic8, the award winningexhibition delivery company (responsible for theinternationally acclaimed ‘Earth from the Air’photographic exhibition), have created ‘Britainfrom the Air’, an aerial view of Britain for the 21stcentury. The exhibition is intended to inspire,enthuse and inform about Britain’s extraordinarilydiverse human and natural landscapes and,through them, tell the stories of our history and
geography.
This street gallery exhibition was first staged in theheart of the city of Bath, where it has been seen byan estimated 4 million people since its launch inSeptember 2010. ‘Britain from the Air’, comprisesover 100 photographic street gallery panels andcomes to Oxford in June this year as the first leg in aproposed national tour.
For more details please contact Alasdair Macleod [email protected] or 020 7591 3015.
Britain From The Air at Oxford Castle
Cowley Road Works, organising charity forCowley Road Carnival, announces a series of keyappointments for this year’s event on 2-3 July inCowley Road and South Park, Oxford. Anya Fox is appointed Carnival Producer: Road andProcession, responsible for artistic direction of theCarnival procession, programming of activities forCarnival on Cowley Road and as the main interfacewith community groups, traders and otherparticipants.
Lucy Barrie joins the team as Carnival Producer:Park and Stalls, overseeing programming for Park
activities, including family activity areas, parkentertainers and the traders’ village.Richmond Event Management has won the tenderto manage the infrastructure, layout, legal, safetyand insurance requirements for all elements of theCarnival in 2011. The company, which hasorganised nationally-renowned events such asBristol Balloon Fiesta, is in the process of buildingan Oxford-based core team to support Carnival inthe coming months.
Cowley Road Carnival attracts over 35,000 people- one of the biggest audiences in the Oxfordcalendar. Details of sponsorship packages areavailable on cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk or [email protected]
New recruits for Carnival
Unlock the door to great savings within the wallsof Oxford Castle.
Oxford Castle is offering B4 members theopportunity to provide their staff and colleagues withthe chance to take advantage of all of thepromotions, fun, and frolics that Oxford Castle has tooffer – EAT – DRINK – ENJOY!
The Oxford Castle Key Card entitles holders to somegreat discounts at the various restaurants andattractions on the Oxford Castle site. Details of offers,plus terms and conditions can be found on ourwebsite www.oxfordcastle.com.
Oxford Castle are happy to deliver a stock of KeyCards to your business in Oxford for distributionamongst your staff. We would ask in return only thatyour staff sign up to our e-newsletter (they canunsubscribe to the e-newsletter at any point if theyfind that they no longer wish to receive the news).This will allow us to contact them (roughly once amonth) with updates of the offers available as wellas providing information about forthcoming events atOxford Castle.
For more information on receiving your Oxford CastleKey Cards please contact Sophie Egleton on 01865201657 or email [email protected]
Oxford Castle Key Card
On Thursday 10th March, Bloxham School’sYoung Enterprise team, consisting of; RebeccaJardine, George Adams, Henry Woodward,Alice Wood, Matt Cooper, Jon Cooper, BenKirk, Jack Inchmore, Emily Carvell andAdrienne Poole, travelled to Witney to visitthe Prime Minister – David Cameron.One of the students commented. “We went to tellthe Prime Minister all about our Young Enterprisescheme that we have been participating inthroughout the academic year. Our project hasbeen about creating an advertising directory to bedistributed to school parents and the local residents,which allows local businesses to create a profitablelink with the parents and supporters of the pupilswho attend Bloxham School which will bedistributed in the bills at the end of this term; anda selection of jewellery created with a variety ofscrabble pieces attached, which have proved very
popular with students.”
“The experience is one which we have all reallyenjoyed, and would definitely recommend to any
aspiring business minds in the 5th form when theopportunity is presented to them at the start of nextyear.”www.bloxhamschool.com
Bloxham School Success
47 Castle Street. Reading, Berkshire, RG1 7SRTel: +44 (0) 118 958 0224 www.pitmans.com
47 Castle Street. Reading, Berkshire, RG1 7SRTel: +44 (0) 118 958 0224 www.pitmans.com
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, g y Road Carnival, announces a ser ppointments for this year’s event on 2-3 July Cowley Road and South Park, Oxford. Anya Fox is appointed Carnival Producer: Road andProcession, responsible for artistic direction of theCarnival procession, programming of activities forCarnival on Cowley Road and as the main interfacewith community groups, traders and otherparticipants.
Lucy Barrie joins the team as Carnival Producer:Park and Stalls, overseeing programming for Park
an Carn organis
Bristol Ba an Oxford the coming
Cowley Road - one of the calendar. De
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Only £75 adults and £25 16 years and under
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Now even better value!
Still a greatfamily day out
To book call 0118 968 1010 or email [email protected] include VAT. Alcohol is available to purchase at the bar.
Still unlimited foodand soft drinks
13
B4 have been evolving their web presenceever since the first B4 Oxfordshire site waslaunched in 2006 and operated as,essentially, a holding page for the electronicversion of the magazine.
Version 2.0, if you like, provided B4 customers witha platform to promote themselves online, withdirect access to a customer’s own page to amendcontent or, more importantly, upload pressreleases, event details, offers and job vacancies.
With increased functionality came improved trafficand add to that over 700 articles which haveappeared in B4 Oxfordshire cut and pasted into thesite, and you have a web presence with masses ofcontent and useful information for local Oxfordshirebusinesses to find out about!
Alongside the website, we have been busyimproving our social media activities. We’re allbeginners, let’s face it, but social media is certainlyproviding us with an excellent outlet to promote thepress releases on the site, talk about great articlesand just tell the local community who’s joined and
encourage Twitter followers, Facebook friends andLinkedIn contacts to find out more about ournetwork,
So we come to B4 Web version 3.0. With a fresh,more grown up look, the new site has beendesigned with the key aim of simplifying thecontent and providing a bulletin board of latestnews for our visitors. Our home page has beencondensed and the latest information provided ina much clearer format.
We’ve retained all of the existing functionality butadded in some extra touches, such as enablingmembers of staff to feature on company pages,providing more of a staff contact directory withinthe site. You can also switch between sites and,who knows, we may be adding to the list of B4
territories you can visit later in the year. It’s all partof the plan to facilitate business to business contactbetween territories, but we will maintain each siteand each magazine as being populated only by thebusinesses with a presence in those territories.
We welcome any advice as to how we can improvethe site, as that’s the only way we will be able todeliver what our customers want. If membersstruggle with the site, we’re always on hand to helpand there’s a handy guide explaining how to putup press releases and other forms of uploads.
B4 Oxfordshire has seen the launch of monthlyworkshops where we demonstrate how to uploadcontent to the site and explain more about thebenefits of B4 Membership, to existing membersand those looking to become members. We havealso opened up these sessions to members topresent their businesses and these are becomingmore and more popular as an additional outlet forface to face business promotion. Look out forsimilar monthly workshops in Berkshire.
If you have any queries about the site, howit works or how you think we could improveit, call us now or e-mail [email protected].
www.b4-business.com/berkshire
THE NEW B4 BERKSHIRE WEBSITEProviding the third element of B4’s platform alongside the magazine and quarterly networking events, the B4 websitehas been steadily improved over the past five years and the launch of B4 Berkshire coincides with a brand new lookfor the B4 Oxfordshire and Berkshire websites.
B4 WEB
www.b4-business.com
“...the new site has been designed with the key aim ofsimplifying the content...”
B 4 Web Rates
For further information contact: 01865 742211 www.b4-business.com
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:
1. Presence on the B4 Berkshire website in your preferred business category
2. Contact details in four quarterly editions of B4 Berkshire
3. Invite to four B4 Ambassador events in the 12 months of your membership
4. 10% discount on quoted B4 Magazine advertising and editorial rates
Additional benefits of being a B4 Ambassador (you will be known as a Founding Ambassador if this is booked before31st December 2011):
a Photo alongside contact details in B4 Berkshire Magazine
a Details in Ambassador section of B4 Berkshire website
a B4 Oxfordshire Ambassadors receive invites and special offer opportunities from other Ambassadors and members on a regular basis and we imagine this will also be the case in Berkshire.
All rates quoted net of VAT at 20%
Please note that the discounted rates apply to businesses committing to annual membership before certain dates,however, the charges apply for the period 1st January to 31st December 2012.
So, commit to B4 for a 21 to 50 employee membership on 18th November 2011 and we will invoice you for£375+VAT on 1st December 2011 (terms, 30 days) but your membership will be valid from 1st December 2011 to31st December 2012.
NB Ambassador rate is consistent at £500+VAT per annum
Why not become a B4 fan Why not follow B4
BERKSHIRE WEB MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS & RATES
RATES:
Number of Employees
Rate for membership per annum (rate available for bookings placed from 1st October to 31st December 2011) £
Rate for membership per annum (valid from 1st January 2012) £
1 to 5 150 200
6 to 20 250 300
21 to 50 375 450
51 to 100 600 750
Over 100 900 1,200
Combine award winning fine dining with luxury overnight accommodation.
Just £95.00 + VAT per couple
•Awarded 2 AA Rosettes in 2010•Seven course Gourmand menu
•A Twin or Double bedroom•Full use of our leisure facilities
•Complimentary parking
•Upgrade to a club room for £20.00
From just £47.50 per person, based on 2 people sharing a twin or double room on Friday & Saturday only, subject to availability. All prices exclude VAT.
Tuesday –Thursday available at a supplement.Call Reservations on 0118 [email protected]
Cilantro is open for residents and non residents every evening (Tuesday - Saturday) and available every day for private bookings.
www.b4-business.com
B4 ADVICE
After years of preparation, the 2012 OlympicGames are now fast approaching. As one ofthe few truly global events, which reachesbillions of people in around 200 countriesand territories, businesses are keen to beinvolved. Businesses are paying significantsums of money to sponsor the OlympicGames and get access to certain exclusiverights.
From a sports sponsorship perspective, theOlympic Games are unique. They have a strict‘clean venue’ policy. This means that any type ofcommercial branding is prohibited inside anOlympic venue in view of the cameras. Athletes arealso restricted in what they can do and can wear.For example, they are forbidden from having anysponsorship or commercial branding on theirclothing – other than a small trade mark of theclothing or footwear manufacturer. Given the globaltelevision audience for the Games, and growingcommercial pressures, it is impressive that theInternational Olympic Committee has maintainedthis policy.
As a result, sponsors of the Olympic Games haveto work harder (and spend more) to promote theirassociation with the Games. Whilst sponsors willhave access to tickets and hospitality which may beused for consumer and B2B promotions, to getvalue for their sponsorship they must rely onexternal media. This will include promotion on
billboards, TV and radio advertising and throughother ancillary events.
Not surprisingly, with the eyes of the world onLondon and the UK in 2012, other businesses willlook at opportunities surrounding the OlympicGames to raise their profile. LOCOG (the LondonOrganising Committee of the Olympic andParalympic Games) will be taking active steps toprevent so-called ambush marketing. Ambushmarketing is an attempt by a non-sponsor toassociate itself with the Olympic Games withoutsanction of LOCOG or the IOC or without otherwisecontributing to the event. LOCOG has been givena wide range of powers to prevent ambushmarketing including new rights granted bylegislation. The use of the words “Olympic”,“London 2012” and “2012 Games”, the Olympicrings and other combinations of words arerestricted. Encouraged by its existing sponsors,LOCOG will take all steps it can to enforce its rightsand prevent such ambush marketing.
Therefore, it can be risky for a company to try toassociate itself with the Olympic Games. Anybusiness trying to do so should take formal advicein relation to what is or, more importantly, is notpermitted.
However, there are still many sponsorshipopportunities for businesses in 2012, some ofwhich will enable to the sponsor to bask in the
reflective glory of the Olympic Games. In additionto the many events taking place that year,businesses could consider sponsoring individualathletes. And it need not be prohibitively expensive.Clearly costs will depend on the profile andprevious success of the athlete. However recessioninduced economic restrictions and uncertaintyabout athlete selection for Olympic teams meansmany athletes are still actively looking forsponsorship. Sponsoring an Olympic athlete willnot only enable the promotion of a company’sbrand (albeit with certain games time restrictions),but may also assist an athlete in achieving theirdream to participate in the Olympic Games.
Robert Jarrett and Jeremy Summers. JeremySummers was an in-house lawyer on theSydney Olympic Games dealing withsponsorship, amongst other issues. Pitmanswill be holding an event in its London officeto explore maximising sponsorshipinvestment on 9 November 2011.
Jeremy Summers, Partner, [email protected] 7634 4622
Rob Jarrett, Trainee, [email protected] 7634 4618
www.pitmans.com
OLYMPICSPONSORSHIP ANDGOING FOR GOLD
16
“Not surprisingly, with the eyes of the world on Londonand the UK in 2012, other businesses will look at
opportunities surrounding the Olympic Games to raise their profile...”
With the Olympics nearly upon us, how do you align your brand with, arguably, the greatest show on earth? RobertJarrett and Jeremy Summers of leading Berkshire law firm, Pitmans, explain more about the challenges, the pitfallsand the costs of getting your brand associated with London 2012.
www.b4-business.com 17
18
Next time we’ll be looking for a sign abovethe table – ‘Official B4 Review table’ – giventhis was our third visit and third time at thesame table. As for the experience? Well, itjust keeps getting better at The Vineyard.
Our guests, Steve and Zoe, were new to TheVineyard and weren’t quite sure what to expect, butwe’d tried to reassure them that the seven courseTasting Menu wasn’t a quick way to increase thewasitline but an incredible and intoxicating journeythrough a mesmerising array of tastes, textures andcolours.
With Tina and Zoe celebrating their birthday, it wasa celebratory experience in more ways than one.As we arrived at this fabulous five star oasis, justoutside of Newbury, in Stockcross, the enormouspond which forms the epicentre of this magnificent
retreat was lit by a striking fire display, controlled Ihasten to add. It was a wonderful site in the settingsun of a late July evening. A glass of champagne tocelebrate the, ahem, thirty year olds’ birthdayseemed in order, and what better place to toastthan a table aside the impressive pond.
We’d briefed our guests not to indulge too muchduring the day, so having devoured the oliveswhich accompanied our champagne, and anexchange of presents, we were led by our waiterto the dining room. As you would expect from afive star hotel, luxury abounds and the walk throughthe tastefully decorated bar precedes the entranceto what is most certainly a breathtaking setting forany restaurant. You almost feel as though you areflowing down a corkscrew on to the restaurant floor,where a handful of tables are spaciously arranged,adjacent to the pond where the faltering light
served to enhance the dancing flames.
Five star hotel, seven course tasting menu, superbsurroundings. You’d expect a polished performancewouldn’t you? Those who haven’t had the goodfortune to visit before now might presume diningat The Vineyard would be a slightly overpoweringand intimidating experience. Don’t. It’s relaxationpersonified. Staff are engaging and warm but stillunbelievably knowledgeable and keen to enter intoconversation, not only about the food or the wine(whichever is their speciality), but also about them.When you are educated about a wine whichaccompanies a particular course of a seven tieredmenu, it is interesting to learn about the educationof the sommelier and the route they have taken toyour table.
I don’t think restaurants can afford to employ
THE VINEYARDWe last featured The Vineyard in Issue 9 of B4, almost three years ago, so a return visit was long overdue. In the verycapable hands of Executive Chef, Daniel Galmiche, regarded by many as ‘the king of contemporary French cooking’,we knew we could expect something out of the ordinary. By Richard Rosser.
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B4 R&R
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robots, staff need to enhance the experience,and The Vineyard has it spot on. Staff know whento let the table breathe and when conversationis required and it’s a balance they all execute toperfection.
The food? You only have to glance at the TastingMenu to understand why this is all so special. Ifyou are a fussy eater, you simply can’t bepersnickety when entering into a Tasting Menu.You have to invest, in more ways than one Ihasten to add, in the experience. You have togive yourself to those that know best, and thatdefinitely means leaving the wine choices to thesommelier. Don’t necessarily look at The TastingMenu. Let it surprise you, listen to what yourwaiter is telling you that you have been servedand then enjoy. Obviously, if you have anyparticular allergies, that’s not necessarily the best
course of action, but this is one more exampleof the diligence of The Vineyard as all guests areasked at the time of booking if they haveallergies.
The tasting menu is fabulous and priced at £99,however, The Vineyard also offers a great valueset lunch menu for £23.
Dive in, immerse yourself in the experience. It’sone you’ll never forget. A special occasion isn’tthe only reason to visit The Vineyard, in fact, it’sprobably best not to go for a special occasion, asthe experience will soon make you forget whyyou went there in the first place (I forgot thecake!)
www.the-vineyard.co.uk
Crab scented with light lime mayonnaiseand tomato jelly
Wine: L’Apres Midi, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2009
~
Caramelised foie gras and mango terrine,mango chutney and coconut foam
Wine: Mon Plaisir, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2006
~
Scallop soufflé, wild mushroom sabayonWine:
Ma Belle Fille, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2007
~
Steamed fillet of sea bass, mussel brothinfused with lemongrass, braised leeks
Wine: La Carriere, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2007
~
Slow cooked fillet of Scottish beef,oxtail stuffed potato, light red wine sauce,
bone marrowWine:
Le Caprice, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2007Les Pavots, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2007
~
Roasted apricot with rosemary, iced nougat, peach coulis
~
Dark chocolate layers, caramel mousse, passion fruit jelly, caramel ice cream
Wine: Point Blanc, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2007
orSeasonal farmhouse cheese platter,
quince jelly, fig cake, raisin and hazelnutbreadWine:
Point Blanc, Peter Michael Winery, CA, 2007
TASTED E -V I N E
£99.00www.b4-business.com
“The food? You onlyhave to glance atthe Tasting Menu
to understandwhy this is all so
special.”
M a g a z i n e s � D i r e c t o r i e s � C a t a l o g u e s � C o m m e r c i a l � F i n a n c i a l
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