What happened
On the eve of London Fashion Week underwear brand Björn Borg recreated the visual phenomenon of the Northern Lights as part of a Swedish spectacle to showcase its Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

Launching the ‘Björn Borg says Ja! to turning the lights off!’ campaign, Battersea Power Station was transformed into a Scandinavian-inspired winter landscape. In an event that steered clear of the predictable norms of London Fashion Week catwalk shows, the evening was a celebration of the label and wholly embodied the Borg brand’s unique persona.

The unquestionable highlight of the night was the seamless fusion between fashion and technology, which presented itself in the form of a 4D light show on the Thames. A short film created by award-winning director Paris Kain was projected onto a 25 x 50 metre wall of steam that rose from the river. The film merged moving images of the Northern Lights with models revealing the upcoming season’s glow-in-the-dark range of underwear, and clearly delivered the multi-sensory experience promised by Björn Borg prior to the evening.

Why we love it
The evening, far from segregating the catwalk and after-party elements of a brand’s customary London Fashion Week schedule, was a leap forward in the deployment of edgy branding activities pursued by Björn Borg. The brand has identified London as one of its most important expanding markets and a vital area in which to establish itself; and there is no doubting that the performances at Battersea had the level of impact required to drive forward Björn Borg’s international expansion.

Whilst the film projection itself was not the first to use water as a canvas (note the spectacular Nike ‘Explosive Water Projections’ for the launch of Jordan Melo M8 trainers in New York), this was a first for the UK, and raised the bar for fashion labels’ experiential originality during London Fashion Week. Not only did the Thames lightshow create another dimension to the evening, it remained in keeping with the core idea behind the Spring/Summer season’s ‘illuminated’ collection.

For those not able to secure a coveted invite, Björn Borg partnered with MTV for the night and live-streamed the event in seven European countries, helping to generate maximum awareness of the campaign. The visual quality of every aspect of the evening drove forward the brand’s digital presence, which resulted in a record boost for the brand’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Images from the night were also used as a springboard for the launch of Björn Borg’s Pinterest page.

By Fiona W on March 20th, 2012

Tags: Art & Design, Default, Fashion, PR, Synergy Loves, YouTube

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The media landscape bore witness to a new dawn yesterday, with the launch of the first ever Sunday edition of News International’s stalwart newspaper The Sun. Arriving almost seven months after the closure of the Fleet Street icon The News of the World, and 43 years after the first daily edition of The Sun, yesterday was a hugely significant moment for the industry.

In the event, it turned out to be a somewhat understated one. Ostensibly, this was a regular daily edition of The Sun, retaining much of the same layout and content of the traditional paper, including favourites such as Bizarre, TV Biz, Goals and Deidre’s Casebook. This was to be expected, given the relatively quick turnaround of the first edition, and the fact that the paper is largely leaning on the existing resources of the current editorial staff.

The first ever front page splash was given up to a celebrity exclusive, with Amanda Holden giving a five page feature interview talking about the recent birth of her daughter Hollie. In the scramble to be amongst the first brands to secure PR coverage, Marks and Spencer were amongst the big successes. In an exclusive from Business Editor Steve Hawkes, it was revealed that Gary Barlow is to cover George Harrison’s hit Here Comes The Sun in an upcoming ad campaign. There was also strong presence for England football kit makers Umbro, with a picture exclusive of the line up for the brand’s strip launch.

A new round of headline columnists were revealed, with Katie Price, Nancy Dell’Olio and Heston Blumenthal all joining the stable of regular features.

Whilst The Sun is not the first newspaper to share editorial staff across both weekday and Sunday editions, for now, at least, it appears the first to have a truly seven-day feel. It will be fascinating to see how the paper evolves over the coming weeks, and whether it adapts more of a traditional Sunday style and tone of voice. After rumoured three million sales on debut yesterday, no doubt the red top rivals Sunday Mirror and Daily Star Sunday will be keenly following developments too.

By Donald Parish on February 27th, 2012

Tags: Default, Media

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To celebrate the 55^th BFI London Film Festival and Jameson’s third year as ‘Official Spirit’, the brand introduced The Jameson Apartment, a pop-up cinematic speakeasy in the heart of London’s Soho.

Synergy’s role was to maximise PR communication around the Jameson Apartment through different media, including print and social media channels. The ultimate aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of Jameson’s association with film through the BFI partnership and to recruit more consumers by driving awareness amongst target consumers.  

To launch the Jameson Apartment Synergy held a press evening, inviting key journalists and bloggers from lifestyle, film and drink titles, not only to enjoy the concept of the 1920s speak-easy and new Jameson cocktails, but to help build key relationships and leverage coverage.

In addition, Synergy successfully negotiated media partnerships with Who’s Jack, Hey U Guys, Empire Magazine, Urban Junkies and Eat Sleep Live Film, who hosted individual nights at the Apartment to generate coverage and recruit key target consumers. Over the course of the festival, the Jameson Apartment was heaving with budding film-makers, actors, actresses, film buffs, drink experts, and general bar enthusiasts.

Throughout the festival, Synergy also ran a comprehensive press office, placing listings in London’s most influential titles, The Evening Standard and City AM, plus ticket competitions for screenings with influential film blogs like Hollywood News and Vue Cinema. Overall, Synergy delivered 76 pieces of coverage, reached over 3 million consumers and generated an ROI of 5:1.

Keep up to date with the latest from Jameson and visit: www.jamesoncultfilmclub.com or www.facebook.com/jamesoncultfilmclub.

By Francesca Gamble on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Brand marketing, Event management consultants, Film, PR, Public relations, Synergy

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Synergy, working as part of a cross agency team, has developed a rugby campaign this autumn to activate the GUINNESS brand’s rugby partnerships with the RFU, WRU, Scottish Rugby and the IRFU. Synergy contracted GUINNESS rugby ambassadors Lewis Moody, Lee Byrne and Sean Lamont (alongside Irish winger Tommy Bowe) to create an integrated campaign across TV, print, digital and PR targeting international rugby fans.

The ambassadors featured in print ads showing them flying the GUINNESS flag and giving their all for their country, in doing so proving that they themselves are made of more. Point-of-sale creative was rolled out in pubs and supermarkets across the country offering fans the chance to win tickets to the RBS 6 Nations (of which GUINNESS are Official Beer Partner).

Synergy secured national and regional press, broadcast and online coverage across England, Scotland and Wales through interviews with the players. Dynamic action shots of the players accompanied the interviews linking their national flag with the flag featuring in the TV ad campaign and reinforcing the brand’s support of the home nations.

To get fans closer to the action, we sponsored the Lewis Moody app to deliver an exclusive blog. GUINNESS fans who left messages of support for both Lewis and Lee on the brands Facebook page had the chance to receive personalised messages back from the players.

For those fans that haven’t been able to follow their team out to New Zealand, our man “Hutch” has been supplying a weekly video diary of his travels and meeting the home nations’ supporters.

To engage fans offline we took England pace man Ugo Monye to Asda in Gloucester to meet fans and staff at the supermarket, allowing them to have their photo taken with the rugby star and take part in the GUINNESS Rugby Reflex game.

Finally, the campaign’s TV ad, directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper and produced by ad agency AMV, sees our intrepid hero overcome an army to prove that he and his team are made of more. Check it out below.

By Caroline Ayling on October 13th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Alcohol, Facebook, Food & Drink, Guinness, PR, Public relations, RBS 6 Nations, Rugby, Synergy, YouTube

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Here at Synergy towers we’re always looking for fun, quirky ideas that have genuine media traction while fitting with our clients’ target audiences and business objectives. So with the London 2012 test events rolling into town the Betfair team put our thinking hats on and looked at how Betfair could get involved. We focused specifically on the beach volleyball tournament at Horse Guards Parade - an event with high media and consumer interest that would engage the brand’s target audience and deliver a tactical campaign within budget.

Further to a recent Ofcom report highlighting that one third of British adults now owns a smart phone, Betfair developed a concept to promote their mobile offering.

Synergy negotiated a deal with Team Mullin-Dampney, the number one British beach volleyball duo, to position Quick Response technology, known as QR codes, on the players’ kit. When photographed, the QR code would drive people to  Betfair’s free-bet and registration page.

Given the limited space available on a beach volleyball kit, the signature ‘hands on knees’ stance, and likely viewpoint of media and spectator cameras, the QR codes were placed on the players’ bikini bottoms to maximise exposure, whilst their arm bands carried the Betfair Mobile logo.

Working with Betfair’s consumer PR agency and new members of the Engine family - Mischief - we held a photoshoot with Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney and distributed the images before the test event on 9^th August.

Capturing the imagination of both the front and back pages the story featured in four national newspapers (Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star and Daily Record), two regional titles (Metro and The Evening Standard) and seven national online sites as well as over 200 online outlets, thousands of tweets and in the international media.

By Caroline Ayling on September 1st, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Ambush campaign, Beach Volleyball, Brand marketing, London 2012, Mobile, Olympics, PR, Product placement, Public relations, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy, Team GB

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It’s been a bit quiet on the PR front over the last few weeks, our daily paper reading session was lacking the using scattering of brilliant brand PR. Last week, however, saw a storm of PR stories rage through the pages of the national newspapers. Chosing our favourites was tricky,  but as always, there can only be a few who make the select cut…

HMS Flake 99 – the floating ice cream van

Unsurprisingly, floating objects and the Thames tend to frequent PR brain storms, but it’s not very often you see a brand pull off the amphibious vehicle stunt. This week Cadbury ice cream maker Fredericks celebrated National Ice Cream Week by launching HMS Flake 99, the world’s first floating ice cream van. Bingo.

In its simplest form, the team took an old van, made it river worthy and got some snaps of it cruising down the river by iconic landmarks. However, the PR team behind this stunt made sure HMS Flake 999 wasn’t just a one trick pony, showing the devil is in the detail:

-          Link to a calendar hook – check

-          Comedian captain – check

-          ‘We are sailing’ cruising music – check

-          A UK wide waterways tour planned – check

Britain’s NEXT top model

The annual Next search for a model competition normally flies under our radar, not because team Synergy wouldn’t have a shot (good looking bunch that we are), but the competition isn’t exactly groundbreaking. This year, however the power of social media has helped to create a storm online, helping the competition make the pages of our national press. The reason for said storm? Unassuming computing science graduate Roland Bunce. 24 year old Roland is currently leading the competition in the N0.1 position despite not being what you would call ‘classic model material.’ He’s also divided public opinion. In one camp, the great British public have got behind Roland in their droves, unsurprisingly he already has a Facebook page decided to helping him win the competition. Whilst in the other camp, angry parents on the Next Facebook page rant that their little darling isn’t being given a fair chance *stomps shoes.*

The coverage will do the competition no harm, in fact the public vote only whittles hopefuls down to the last 250. So despite protests from some consumers, Roland being in the No.1 spot is not indicative of the final result. If you fancy keeping Roland in the No.1 spot (for the time being) you can vote here.

Bootylicious

Our final story nods towards the nation’s current fascination with Pippa Middleton’s bottom (me included). London boutique gym GYMBOX have reacted quickly to the column inches P-Middy’s booty has been receiving and has launched the Yummy Bummy workout, a series of classes that will help you get the bottom you desire. Gym goers can select a class dependent on the bottom they are hoping to achieve: perfect Pippa Middleton, bootylicious Beyonce, curvy Kim Kardashian, or queen of the sparkly gold hotpants, Kylie Minogue.

Simple, smart PR and a great way for GYMBOX to stand out from the likes or Virgin and Fitness First, who normally steal the headlines. I’ll be first in queue, most probably wearing the Reebok EasyTones that promised me Kelly Brooks’s derrière. Oh.

By Jennifer Mitton on June 9th, 2011

Tags: PR, Public relations, Synergy Papers

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Ballantine’s 12 (the twelve-year-old aged brand of Ballantine’s, the world’s number two whisky) wanted to own an engaging PR property that would help its markets generate PR at a local level  – bringing to life the Ballantine’s 12 creative territory of “…leaves an impression by taking you BEYOND”.

Rising to the challenge, Synergy devised the first ever Art of BEYOND bar(above) for Ballantine’s 12, designed to combine a media launch with a whisky education for all guests.  Our role included creating the concept, developing a list of potential artists, commissioning and managing the artists during the design phase and installation process, guest and event management during the unveiling and creating a PR activation toolkit to send out to markets to inspire them to create their own Art of BEYOND events locally.

Ballantine’s commissioned six top European artists and designers (L-R below: Jovo Bozhinovski, Laurent Louyer, Luis Gallussi, Lee Broom, Oskar Zieta, Rolf Sachs – with Ballantine’s ambassador Fredrik Olsson) from different disciplines to each create a different element of the concept bar. It was crucial that the artists resonnated with the brand’s key markets such as Bulgaria, Poland, France and Spain, and that their very individual designs worked together to form a cohesive, BEYOND concept.

Bulgaria’s Jovo Bozhinovski (below) was responsible for creating the floor to represent the landmass of Scotland, home of Ballantine’s, as a shimmering puddle of water and therefore create the illusion of a bar that is literally melting.

Lee Broom created the bar stools (below), influenced by old-fashioned cut glass and crystal decanters with a youthful twist, reflecting the brand heritage perfectly.

Creatmosphere, the creative lighting studio, used artistc lighting (below) to hide and reveal the individual elements of the installation and create the ambience within the Art of BEYOND bar.

Spanish based artist Luis Galliussi was responsible for the wall design (below) where he used trompe l’oeil effects with the Ballantine’s logo.

Rolf Sachs (below) designed a new glass for the Ballantine’s 12 Art of BEYOND Bar called Double Take. The surface of the whisky glass was frosted and included reversed text which could only be clearly read when the contents of the glass had been drunk and the mirrored coaster accompanying the glass had been used, revealing the Ballantine’s 12 Year Old brand manifesto.

Poland’s Oskar Zieta was responsible for creating the actual bar (below).  Using his patented method of inflating steel he created a bar which resembled a pile of icecubes.

To add to the experience, Fredrik Olsson, Ballantine’s 12 Year Old ambassador, created a series of Art of BEYOND cocktails inspired by the work of the artists for guests to enjoy.

By all accounts the event was a huge success. As well as press coverage on the event, an extensive library of stock photography and video footage was secured and created a base for Ballantine’s to build on both in the art world and across all of its global markets.

By Lydia Oates on April 20th, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Art & Design, Brand marketing, Communications, Design, Food & Drink, PR, Synergy, Synopsis

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This week’s top PR picks from the team could be categorised as the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good

As the great British press reveal their first bikini-clad babes splashing on Brighton beach shots of the summer and all our thoughts turn to hitting the beach this weekend (yes it is going to be sunny on a Saturday!), Trip Advisor capitalised on the warm weather by releasing a survey on Europe’s top beaches. We may not be able to compete with Cyprus, Turkey and Greece for the top spots, but the Cornish seaside town of St Ives came sixth in the poll above any of the Spanish entries. And it’s not just a pretty beach. For those summer days when the British summertime can let you down there is Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth museum to visit. Bravo St Ives for maximising on Trip Advisor’s timely survey – now get planning your summer hols!

The Bad (or just naughty!)

The old adage of any publicity is good publicity is not something we at Synergy necessarily believe in, but I can only imagine that the PR team at Jack Wills will be secretly smiling that they got a little wrist slap by the Advertising Standards Authority this week. The ASA decided to censor images from the Spring Term catalogue on the grounds of the brand’s target audience being under 18 years old. Semi-nude girls are not normally found on the broadsheet pages of the Daily Telegraph but this story got a good spread for the preppy clothing brand.

The Ugly

I suspect that many of you will think this should have gone in the former category – the headline writers of the red tops certainly did! So, who’s bad? Mohammed Al Fayed revealed his new Michael Jackson statue outside of Craven Cottage and boy did it cause a stir! Whether you love it (I bet there are some die hard Jacko fans out there that do) or hate it (pretty much everyone else), it certainly raised the profile of Fulham FC and Mr Al Fayed this week.

…until next week!

By Caroline Ayling on April 8th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Brand marketing, PR, Public relations, Synergy Papers

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We’ve got a spring in our step at Synergy Towers this week, the sight of sunshine and a hint of warm air has got us all excited. Don’t say it too loud now, but is summer on its way? The Daily Star certainly thinks so, running the first bikini clad pictures of the year on Thursday. ‘Brave babes strip off as the sun arrives,’ announced the Star as Weymouth beach goers flashed their finest pale British skin. If the Daily Star says the warmer days have arrived then who are we to argue.

A new photography exhibition unveils the Athena ‘tennis girl’

Our favourite PR story from this week takes us back to the summers of the 90’s, remember the Athena tennis girl? Of course you do. The girl who sent teenage hearts a flutter with the cheeky tennis shot was unveiled for the first time in 30 years. Now aged 52, Mrs Walker was an 18 year old student when her then boyfriend took the iconic image. Her identity was unveiled as part of a smart PR move from a seemingly small photography exhibition in Birmingham. No big budget was involved, in fact Mrs Walker didn’t even ask for a fee, yet the story spread like wildfire across the news pages of the nationals. A timely move by the PR team at Birmingham’s Barber Institute of Fine Arts, the first sign of good weather and they bring out an iconic image that celebrates the British summer and takes us back to our teenage days.

Alton Towers – a tribute to Houdini

Our second story also taps into the arrival of the British Spring / Summer. Now in its 31^st year, Alton Towers could be forgiven for sending out a fairly bog standard message to announce the park’s summer opening hours. However, this year it chose to take a tired and unsurprising announcement and add some magic. How? The park’s PR team tapped into the birthday of Harry Houdini, the magician renowned for his sensational escape acts. A simple picture story stunt saw an escape artist hanging from the park’s rollercoaster’s, creating a strong image for the national news pages. This story wasn’t simply a one trick pony, the team also exploited this unusual way to announce a park opening across the travel and going out pages of the media.

OMG! The Oxford English Dictionary

We always look forward to the Oxford English Dictionary’s annual news story on the new words that have made the latest edition. The selection of new words and phrases not only highlights current trends in celebrity and culture, but also acts as a barometer for social change. This year the dictionary saw the edition of a symbol for the first time ever. Thanks to the rise of social media usage, the Oxford English Dictionary decided that as one of the most popular characters used across Twitter and Facebook the ♥ symbol deserved recognition. You can read the full list of new words, phrases here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/8400964/Heart-symbol-enters-Oxford-English-Dictionary.html

And so we conclude our round-up of our favourite stories, let the weekend begin. We may not be donning our bikinis and Speedo’s alla Weymouth this weekend, but try and stop us getting the flip flops and BBQ out.

By Jennifer Mitton on March 25th, 2011

Tags: Communications, Facebook, Media, PR, Synergy Papers, Twitter

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Every morning the Synergy PR team huddles in the corner of the office to talk through the good, bad and sometimes ugly PR stories that grace the pages of our national newspapers.

As a generous group of marketing professionals, we decided to start sharing our favourite stories with you every Friday. We’ll pick our favourite stories from the week and tell you why they have made the cut.

We’d welcome your feedback too. Do you agree with our picks? Do you think we have missed a story? Drop us a comment below and let us know.

So kicking off the inaugural Synergy PR round-up, below are this week’s picks…

Comic Relief – ‘Girl on Wire’:

Now in its 26th year, the Comic Relief PR machine is still delivering exciting stories. This week saw blanket coverage for Comic Relief’s ‘Girl on Wire’ stunt, which saw Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton walk a high-wire between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station. The petite blonde was the perfect choice to hoist above the towers (a task most grown men would baulk at) and the location provided a dramatic backdrop. Take these elements mixed with a great cause and lo, you have the perfect PR picture stunt.

Disney Dream Portraits:

This week Disney released its second instalment of Annie Leibovitz‘s Disney Dream Portraits, a series of celebrities posing as some of the best loved Disney characters. Ok, I admit it; I’m a huge Disney fan. It takes very little for this brand to impress me. However Disney have taken a simple idea and executed it to an extremely high standard and it has paid off.

Only Annie Leibovitz could capture the ‘magic’ of Disney whilst adding a modern look and feel, so they signed her up. Similarly the ‘models’ posing in the photos are genuine A list celebrities who have been perfectly chosen to play out the characters. Penelope Cruz as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Julianne Moore as Ariel from The Little Mermaid and only Queen Latifah could feature Ursula the Sea Witch, also from The Little Mermaid.

So, the next time you are visiting Synergy Towers, why not pop in a little earlier and join our 9.15am paper meeting! The above examples are a mere snippet of the stories we discuss day in and day out. If that’s not enough of a lure, we promise to make you a cup of coffee and we will even let you get first pick of the papers – and if you’re super keen and land here before 9am, you can even sample ENGINE‘s free breakfast…

By Jennifer Mitton on March 4th, 2011

Tags: Charity, Communications, London 2012, London 2012 sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship, Olympics, PR, Public relations, Sport, Team GB

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