t2 business solutions blog

The Fastest Skip on Earth?

One of my personal favourite PR stunts in Welsh business over the last year has to be the famour Skipcar.

For those of you who haven't heard of the Skipcar before, it was created by James Norvill, Managing Director of GD Environmental, to represent the 'fastest skip hire around'.

Mr Norvill bought a 4-WD Subaru Impreza rally car, stripped it, and replaced the body with a skip! With a 2000cc engine and 300 break horse power, the 1-tonne vehicle has a top speed of 147mph and goes from nought to 60mph in 5.3 seconds.

The Skipcar has made a huge statement this year, not only by featuring at Monster Jam in the Millenium Stadium in June, but more recently for claiming a world record for being the fastest skip on earth, after a recent spin on a race track.

Love the Skipcar? It's not only a business car but can now be hired for Stag and Hen nights!!

Find out more about the Skipcar here! 

What Bakes a Great Advert?

The new Skoda ad has only just been released, but already it is being hailed as a 'classic' and 'legendary.'   Much like Hondas 'Cog' advert (the one with the domino effect cogs) the new Skoda advert hooks in the audience with suspense and curiosity.

I think the ad is excellent, and is supported by an excellent soundtrack (a few of my favourite things) - which ties in fantastically with the end result.  The website also has the same confectionary theme throughout, making for a very interesting and co-ordinated campaign.  There is even a 'Baking of' documentary on the website.

There is no doubt this ad will become a favourite - and no doubt that Skoda have taken another very well deserved step up in the eyes of the potential consumer.

Marketing at its best.

See the ad here.  Visit the website here

Sweet Marketing!

How I wish I was in Covent Garden yesterday morning when Thorntons unveiled their edible billboard made from 390kg (860lb) of pure chocolate!

Following poor christmas sales, the firm decided to promote Easter, doing what they do best - making lots and lots of chocolate!!

The Easter creation, a world first, was made of 10 chocolate bunnies, 72 giant chocolate eggs and 128 chocolate panels, each weighing 2kg.  The billboard took three months to plan and 300 hours for the team of 10 to build and was expected to last a week - but got devoured within 3 hours! "There was something for everyone from giant bunnies to hazelnut eggs," said chocolatier Barry Colenso.

What a way to make your mark at Easter, and the good news is, apparently, more chocolate creations are planned for the near future.......

Employer Branding

Below are the 2 faux training videos for Microsoft UK employees that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have made. Ricky dons his tie once more and becomes chilled out entertainer (and now management consultant) David Brent.

In addition to being exceptionally funny, they are also one of the best forms of employer branding that I have encoutered - how many microsoft "perks" can you count Stephen Merchant crowbaring in?

Still not sure how Microsoft managed to convince these 2 to do it but maybe it had something to do with a very large cheque...                 

                       

You can download the individual video's by going to google video or clicking here: Number One or Number Two

If you think your job is rubbish...

Found a great advertising campaign for a German jobs website called jobsintown. They have cleverly added a print to the side of everyday machines such as atms and drinks dispensers to make it look like there is someone working inside them.

This is a great way of getting the attention of its target market, with a simple but visually memorable idea.

And it does really make you realise that there are some rubbish jobs out there, maybe if you work in a drinks dispenser you should have a look at our training courses and get trained up and earn a promotion.

Training in The Nile?

In August 2006, we opened our meeting rooms for public hire and so far it is proving extremely popular!   

At Melrose Hall, St Mellons, we have 6 individually designed meeting and training rooms set in 2 acres of landscaped gardens.  All room hires include parking, wireless internet access, presentation materials, lunch*, refreshments and even a dedicated event co-ordinator - so all you need to do is turn up!

We have a half price promotion on all rooms until October 2006 - so why not use that as an excuse to get out of the office and hold your next meeting or training session in a peaceful, uninterrupted environment.  We have named each of our executive suites after a river, which River will you choose, maybe The Zambezi or even The Nile.....?

*not included in half day hire

Local Talent

A Cardiff based photographer, Betina Skovbro is holding an exhibition of her work at the CBAT Gallery.  The exhibition is based on the day to day life of a Father of 20 children from the South Wales Valley, and takes place between 11th - 29th of September 2006. 

Betina has worked on several projects for us at t2 including photography for our meeting room hire and documenting our 10th Anniversary, celebrated in June this year.

Bottom line is, even dead cats bounce

Love it or loath it but Management / Corporate speak haunts us in every office and in every meeting.

Are you a corporate speak culprit? Or cringe when you are asked to "think outside the box" Check and see if any of the words are in your vocabulary? Found this website which has some funny office terms which we can all relate to.

Maybe you're not corporate enough, use this random generator to improve your management speak.

Alternatively you could avoid using useless jargon and become a great manager by clicking into our main website and sign up for one of our management training courses...

When men were men, women were women and skeletons sold videotapes

Found a fantastic site that has a huge amount of classic television programmes from lots of genres and eras. TV Ark has mountains of stuff.

But my favourite sections are the Public Info films-there are some classics from the late 70s / early 80s (watch out for the Adults Learn to Swim film)

The adverts section is also fantastic with a huge selection of ads from the past, when all you needed were some clever jingles to sell the product. See how many of the tunes you remember and how many famous faces you can recognise. Who thought Grant Mitchell would have ever advertised Fruit & Fiber cereal...

Saucy Marketing

Found a great site for fans of package design, Condiment Packet Museum, is an online museum which exhibits ketchup packets, mayo, mustard, salad dressings and so many more. Click on each packet to see the artwork in detail.  Also liked the 70s fast food design site, great for some retro American packaging.