Staying close to the nationals is standard practice for us here at Synergy, both to keep on top of the zeitgeist and to help our clients become part of it.

Last weekend was no different: as well as scanning the nationals for the usual stories, we were on the lookout for the annual hoaxes that mark every April Fool’s Day, and to see if one of our own had been picked up (it was, more of which later).

Here’s a round-up.

This story in The Sun alleged that the Queen had called up James Bond to open the Olympic Games this summer, which, whilst an exciting idea, left us shaken but not stirred.

Alesha Dixon’s ‘miraculous rise’ to the GB Fencing Team after only weeks of training might not have sounded particularly convincing, but why not? She is young, takes good care of herself and is clearly ambitious. The fact that she had beaten Claire Richards, formerly of Steps, in the final run-off sadly took the claim away from reality and into April Foolery.

Mo Farah’s brand new cotton wool style training suit featured in the Sun on Sunday, revealing plans to keep the medal prospect wrapped up until the start of London 2012.

This fool was in fact one of our own, but the closely guarded secret still left many Synergists momentarily guessing. Almost as amazing, yet believable given modern training gear, was BMW’s new ‘Driverless Running Coach’ that allows your motor to follow you whilst you hit the streets for a run.

When it came to Arsenal Football Club we smelled a rat from the start. The fragrance that offered fans a chance to bottle the scent of the Emirates Stadium, fronted by Jack Wilshere, strangely enough coincided with the launch of an online interactive stadium tour. Funny that!

However, our favourite story featured in the Sunday Mirror depicting bromantics ‘Simon Cowell and David Walliams of Britain’s Got Talent’ on a picnic date, complete with flowers and swan boating on a lake. Everybody loves a happy ending, even on April Fool’s Day!

By Luke on April 2nd, 2012

Tags: Advertising, Athletics, BMW, Celebrity, Communications, Default, Football, London 2012, Olympic sponsorship, PR, Public relations, Social Media, Synergy, Team GB

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Who is ‘The Glenlivet Man’?  That’s what Synergy was tasked to help  bring to life at Chivas Brothers’ very own offices.  The idea was to give Glenlivet employees a visceral taste of their target audience by immersing themselves in The Glenlivet Man’s lifestyle and passions

On arriving at their offices one morning, staff were met by a redesigned office space which was completely decked out from top to bottom in Glenlivet green, cream and gold. Detail hit every corner including the washrooms where green and cream Molton Brown handwash sat underneath quotes epitomising the brand values.

The Glenlivet Room contained a ‘Glenlivet through the ages’ display which helped to encapsulate the unique heritage of the brand.  Throw in a few Glenlivet green bean bags and we had ourselves a veritable treat of a workshop room!

Refreshments are always a way to employees’ hearts.  As the queue in the canteen developed it seemed the pairing of 12YO, 15YO and 18YO Glenlivet Single Malts with a range of nouveau desserts (to match the different tastes) would outdo all the other work we had put in (and would make for an especially unproductive afternoon).

However, the most attention-grabbing room turned out to be the one set aside to explore  The Glenlivet Man’s recreational habits. Decked out with coat and hat stands, the room featured a wet shave barber and shoe shiner to attend to staff in a way that The Glenlivet Man might be attended to himself. While ‘Mr Swervy’, our truly ‘one-of-a-kind’ shoe shiner, pulled more customers, it was those who took to the chair for a wet shave who got to experience 20mins of pure Glenlivet Man living.  Magazines which appealed to the gent-about-town and only the highest quality chatter with our Pall Mall Barber Ben left the participants feeling debonair and ready to recommence work with a new vigour.

With Glenlivet fever a firm fixture in the office, it was demanded that the new look branding be left in place around the office.  Our job was done – Glenlivet and ‘The Glenlivet Man’ brought to life in the Chivas office block!  A little bit of Belgravia brought to Hammersmith on a Tuesday afternoon.

By Luke on July 26th, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Default, Event management consultants, Food & Drink, Synergy, Synopsis

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