Description The College http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights Thu, 30 May 2013 15:53:00 Thu, 30 May 2013 15:53:00 http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/james-hogan James Hogan is a colleague, a partner at College Hill, part of College Group. He's a very wise media consultant and at one time he edited BBC TV's Question Time. James has recently been advising international business schools, including Cheung Kong Graduate School, the most important business school in China. James is also a prolific expressionist painter. He doesn't take holidays, preferring to work feverishly in his London studio, attacking canvasses with large amounts of paint, creating a never-ending series of stunning works. Check his site www.jameshogan.co.uk As with any work of this kind you really need this stuff in the flesh. James has shows and studio visits from time to time and many of his works are offered for sale. You can email him and be put on his next invitation list… James.hogan@collegehill.com http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/james-hogan http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/james-hogan Thu, 30 May 2013 15:53:00 Niall Callan http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/expro-website Expro commissioned The College to design and develop a new corporate website to underpin the company's new market positioning.  The company's vision is to be the market leader in well flow management, using the industry's best people to deliver the highest standards of safety, quality and personalised customer service.   This is achieved through delivering a breadth of products and services across the well life cycle, through six new 'capabilities'. The key challenge with this project focused on how to clearly communicate each of these capabilities, whilst linking them through to relevant products and services, without presenting users with multitudes of links - ensuring a smooth user journey throughout.  Through the use of an effective dropdown navigation, as well as a product and service finder accessible from every page, users are provided with a breadth of easy-to-access information.   The website is further enhanced by a range of information, including the in-depth careers section that provides job seekers with relevant information and employee testimonials on what life is like working across the company.  This incorporates new information around the range of employee development programmes, which will be enhanced with material such as videos, blogs and testimonials.  The new interactive location map provides local contacts in Expro's areas of operation, with links and contact details to regional offices, as well as the Group's corporate HQ.    The addition of interactive elements to the website was demonstrated throughout, particularly the creation of a key interactive infographic that acted as a landing page for the six new capabilities.  This gives users a highly engaging overview of Expro's expertise at each stage of the well-life cycle and invites them to investigate the website in more detail through web-links to more detailed content. With a full-responsively designed version of the website to follow very shortly we are proud to have worked with Expro Group on a website that firmly positions them at the forefront of their market place in regards to digital communications.  www.exprogroup.com Kay Marshall, Corporate Communications Manager, EXPRO: "It has been a pleasure working with The College to deliver an exciting and highly engaging new website for Expro. The website met our brief both in terms of design and communication; providing a strong interactive element that maintains us at the forefront of our peers, whilst meeting our key objective of communicating our brand, marketing capabilities and products.   We are delighted to see the results of our website, which is designed to be fully responsive and linked to our social media platforms, ensuring we meet the demands of a modern day expectations. The design work that The College also provided on our new blog and advertising, as part of an integrated campaign, is receiving positive feedback and we look forward to building on this in the future. We know that whatever our challenge, The College can step up and fully support our needs. Thank you for all the hard work!"   http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/expro-website http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/expro-website Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:00 Niall Callan http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/expro-blog http://40th.exprogroup.com/ The blog promotes the company's 40 th anniversary. The design is based on taking a playful approach with the company's brand to give it more appeal than standard corporate blogs and history timelines. It has a simple and easy-to-use content management system allowing Expro to manage quick updates on the move at one of the industry's leading conferences, OTC. Events calendar and social media links allow external and internal stakeholders to follow the 40 th Anniversary celebrations throughout the rest of the year.  Note: Expro's business is well flow management. Expro is a leading provider of products and services that measure, improve, control and process flow from high-value oil and gas wells. Expro employs more than 4,500 highly-trained staff in 50 countries. Expro's website www.exprogroup.com http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/expro-blog http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/may/expro-blog Fri, 03 May 2013 12:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/god's-work Barocci is the most wonderful Renaissance painter I had never heard of until the current National Gallery show, which runs until May 19. I was staggered by his God-given brilliance and believe he is up there with Michelangelo and Da Vinci. I don't understand why he is not well known. Is it because he only really did altar pieces and the odd commission besides? Is it because he wasn't a polymath? Or maybe he hasn't had a PR guy and a twitter trend going on. All this makes going to his exhibition even more delightful. It is a discovery. And even better, there are no crowds. You can wander around, right up close to the paintings and drawings, without being jostled. Things I like about Federico Barocci : his sumptuous, gorgeous colours; his supreme draughtmanship; the structure and architecture of his compositions; and his capacity to use the platform of Christian story-telling to reveal the human condition. Get in there guys and tell me what you think!   http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/barocci-brilliance-and-grace   Image: Federico Barocci (1535-1612) Rest on the Flight into Egypt, about 1570-73 Oil on canvas 133 x 110 cm Vatican Museums, Vatican City cat. 40377 © 2013. Photo Scala, Florence http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/god's-work http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/god's-work Fri, 19 April 2013 15:09:00 Niall Callan http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/eurochem-raising-the-bar-in-russia With the launch of the new corporate website for our client EuroChem, Russia's largest mineral fertilizer producer, we are delighted to have helped them position their digital communications at the forefront of the Russian marketplace. By using a compelling visual design based on graphics and illustrations, EuroChem have taken a big step in defining how their brand is expressed online. Our visualisation of their vertically-integrated business model gives audiences unfamiliar with EuroChem an overview of how they run their business. The understanding that we have gained from working with EuroChem means that the website structure has been created with each key audience catered for. Whether it is customers, job seekers or investors - content is within easy reach of the dynamic homepage via effective information architecture and the introduction of intuitive navigational tools such as drop-downs and roll-overs. Olivier Harvey, Head of Investor Relations, EuroChem: "The site really is a sea change from the previous one. It complements our extensive disclosure practice with an intuitive design to highlight EuroChem's values and business model. Our site positions us as a world class company - this is exactly what we wanted."      http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/eurochem-raising-the-bar-in-russia http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/eurochem-raising-the-bar-in-russia Thu, 11 April 2013 10:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/selfridges-building,-birmingham This stunning design by Future Systems is well known… after all, it had huge impact and has been around since 2003. So what's the point of me writing about it? First, it is as fresh now as it was 9 years ago: it has not dated one jot (or one disc). Second, it remains by far the most distinctive building in Birmingham (perhaps in the UK?). Third, to state the obvious, it has no windows (because Future Systems obviously figured that noone in department stores needs them! Fourth, it is an object of beauty - this is perhaps why it is timeless). http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/selfridges-building,-birmingham http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/selfridges-building,-birmingham Wed, 03 April 2013 11:25:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/calligraphy-at-the-college A very talented member of our design team, Cristina Jaramago-Bertrand, from Seville, put on a show on 20 March at Richmix, Bethnal Green, alongside other fine artists. Cristina: "Creating calligraphy keeps my creativity flowing. The compositions pay great attention to detail, the letters are created in a technical way and the mix of specific colours, shapes and directions make up vibrant and powerful work".  Well done Cristina. From me the work looks better the bigger it gets! http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/calligraphy-at-the-college http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/april/calligraphy-at-the-college Wed, 03 April 2013 10:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/easter-roundup It's been an exciting first quarter at The College. A few selected highlights: we launched www.emperoroil.com in double-quick time; went online with Beazley's annual report on the day they announced ( http://reports.beazley.com/2012/ ); produced annual reports for X5, the largest supermarket chain in Russia ( www.x5.ru ), Validus ( www.validusholdings.com ), and Morgan Crucible ( www.morganadvancedmaterials.com ).  As usual for this time of year we are in the process of producing a number of other annual and sustainability reports, as well as digital and branding projects.  Our brand consulting team launched a new brand name on February 7 for our Polish client Exalo ( www.exalo.pl ). Our work included name generation and rollout of the visual identity for this oilfield drilling services company.  It has been very exciting to win several new mandates including new corporate websites for two of Russia's leading extractives; a leading oilfield services company based in Aberdeen; and for a pioneer in low cost, ultra-low power wireless technologies. We've also been conducting a scoping exercise for a new intranet for a leading City trading firm. Given our growing Russian client base, we are now fortunate enough to have four Russian team members, Anastasia Gagarina, Anastasia Kopernik, Tatiana Ridley and Yana Shaparenko. In fact our team is very international… we have team members from Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. One of our team just went back to New Zealand, where he is currently trying to recover from the draw in the Test cricket match!     http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/easter-roundup http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/easter-roundup Thu, 28 March 2013 12:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/the-revolution-in-domain-names-is-happening-this-is-the-dot-big-bang I just attended a fascinating seminar by our well-trusted domain partner NetNames.   They reckon this is Big Bang for domains. We all know that the dot.coms and dot.countries are taken, we need more suffixes.   At this point most people say that they've heard it all before.   But watch out folks, this is the big one. There are only about 300 TLDs (top level domains), eg .com, .co.uk, .org available now.   So the world has to change.  By the end of next year there will be around 1,700 TLDs. These are called NTLDs (new TLDs) or GTLDs (Generic TLDs). The new 'open' TLDs will be either geographic (.london, .paris), generic (.shop, .secure) or transliterations (eg the Chinese for .com). The new 'closed' TLDs will be owned by corporates (.bmw, .oreal).   The organisation responsible for this is ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). They are managing this revolution to allow for competition and brand protection, given that the current system no longer works.  To find out more go to www.gtld.com and/or email mark.chapman@the-college.com http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/the-revolution-in-domain-names-is-happening-this-is-the-dot-big-bang http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/the-revolution-in-domain-names-is-happening-this-is-the-dot-big-bang Thu, 28 March 2013 09:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/irony-man Roy Lichtenstein had an idea and we all know what that was. He executed it brilliantly and deserves his place in the pantheon of pop artists. Like many other pop artists he wasn't the genius that the art establishment would have us believe. But I guess the art world always has to talk up the stock. Let's say he lacked the breadth of Richard Hamilton. Whether he was a 'great' or not, I must say I found one of his paintings at the Tate Modern's show very appealing. I'm not sure if it was the mood I was in or whether, objectively-speaking, it ranks as a 'corker'. It was in the early days, often the best days of an artist's career (cf the Stones). For me, this painting, 'We rose up slowly', is not just an exercise in irony (although clearly, Roy was the Irony Man). Unusually for 'contemporary art' it actually sparked some emotion rather than just a wry smile. Reason? The phrase 'like swimmers … who didn't need to breathe'. Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental but this stuff had real poetry, rather than just pastiche. Rock on Roy! Image: We Rose Up Slowly, 1964 by Roy Lichtenstein (© Estate of Roy Lichtenstein 2013) http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/irony-man http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/irony-man Mon, 18 March 2013 09:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/russian-painters The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow is a wonderful surprise. You half expect it to be full of Renaissance or Impressionist paintings acquired by Czars and oligarchs. Not a bit of it. My naivete was soon dispelled when I realised that actually the museum is full of, you've guessed it, paintings by Russian artists! Portraits, biblical and allegorical works, landscapes, seascapes, historical scenes, social commentaries…. The works are diverse, fascinating, stylised, and above all, Russian! Why has there not been a show in London or Paris of these amazing paintings? Why is that British people are largely unaware of these paintings? Come on, Tate, Royal Academy, National Gallery, get a show put together of a selection of Tretyakov paintings. It would create quite a stir in London, I am sure. And if that doesn't happen, and you happen to be in Moscow, make sure you go to the Tretyakov!  http://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/en/   Image: 'An Unknown Lady' by Ivan Kramskoy  http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/russian-painters http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/russian-painters Mon, 11 March 2013 09:16:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/exalo Poland's state-controlled natural gas utility PGNiG SA has merged five of its drilling service subsidiaries to pave the way for a potential initial public offering of the merged business. The College was appointed in November 2012 to advise the company. Our role was to devise a brand name and identity.  We recommended the name, Exalo because it works well internationally and has authority. It is based on 'Ex' (extract) and 'alo' (Latin for support).  The logo for Exalo represents the five companies coming together; is inspired by a five-part drill bit; and creates the shape of Poland. The colour red was adopted because it is the national colour of Poland.  We fast-tracked the process, which included diligence, board approval and legal processes, to meet the launch date on February 7.  www.exalo.pl http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/exalo http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/exalo Tue, 05 March 2013 15:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/my-favourite-modernist-building-in-london Without doubt the finest post-war building in London is, in my view, the Royal College of Physicians in Regents Park, London. It has all the qualities I look for in truly great design: intelligence, boldness, a wonderful aesthetic and a sensitivity to the context… or as Keats would have it, 'truth and beauty'.   Designing for a gap in an elegant row of houses and apartments in a Regents Park terrace was the Pepsi challenge of the day (the 1960s). Sir Denys Lasdun rose to that challenge and gives us a statement that is sublime, sophisticated, outrageously modern, substantial (yet light of touch), and above all, of enduring value.   In other words, totally unlike most buildings designed since 1945.   If you haven't gone to see it, go for it!  http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/my-favourite-modernist-building-in-london http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/march/my-favourite-modernist-building-in-london Fri, 01 March 2013 15:07:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/my-typo-hero Everyone in the studio knows I rave about Bruno, the typemaster! We meet occasionally and talk about loads of things: Brazil (where I go sometimes and where Bruno has an office - in Porte Alegre - and has been working on the typography for the Brazil Olympics); cycling; having a good time; and of course, the pure tyranny of Helvetica, the omnipresent, crushing power of the lowest common denominator! So here's my plug for Bruno and his growing, fab studio in Brixton: http://www.daltonmaag.com/people/Bruno_Maag.html Long live beautiful typography! If only more companies invested some of their money in having their own fonts! http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/my-typo-hero http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/my-typo-hero Mon, 18 February 2013 12:00:00 Dr Michael Groves http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/sustainability-as-competitive-advantage As economic and political turmoil continues apace, the case for corporate sustainability would seem to be somewhat diminished.  However, while climate change remains an existential threat, the pressure on companies to reduce waste, respond to resource security, take stakeholders seriously and pay more for energy is growing.  At its basic level, businesses have to respond to a growing raft of eco-regulations which drive up the costs and associated risks of non-compliance. By being prepared, there are opportunities to save money, earn revenues, win new business and increase value.   For those companies supplying the supermarkets, take heed. The buyers may not be asking about sustainability now, but they will start doing so over the next few years. This is already happening in relation to certain products, for example, European legislation that targets imports of illegal timber. Suppliers of other products should start preparing for increased scrutiny.  Rather than consign sustainability to the pending tray, this is the perfect time to address it, in preparation for that moment when the legislators, customers or even financiers come knocking. From its eco-roots, sustainability has emerged blinking into the light as a full-blown source of competitive advantage.  Having recognised the logic, how does a business proceed if it wishes to take sustainability out of the box marked 'eco-freak' or 'tree hugger'. Here are some tips:  Firstly, ensure that it is taken seriously at Board and senior management level.  Secondly, seek advice. There is loads of it out there and much of it is free. Speak to WRAP, Carbon Trust, Environmental Protection Agency, Ethical Trading Initiative, trade associations and any number of other organisations. They can help with advice, audits, standard setting and contacts.  Next. Start to measure performance and put in place a simple roadmap to manage in the long term. A management system may be appropriate, it may not. Also think through the expectations of your employees - how can they help and contribute. Your customers, suppliers and investors will also have questions, particularly where you are bidding for new work or terms of trade are changed, with greater emphasis on sustainability.  At the same time, somehow work out a means of managing and monitoring sustainability in the long term. You may not be able to afford the resources to do this in-house, but perhaps its a part-time role or one that can be economically outsourced.  Finally, learn how to communicate what you are doing. This will be required in order to speak and listen to your employees, however, it will also be important when customers and investors come calling, looking for a concise and credible summary of your actions.  If you do report, my advice is to divide it into two parts.  One part is an extended spreadsheet with data on key indicators and some associated narrative.  By all means use standards such as GRI - but don't let the tail wag the dog.  The second part should be based on what you are doing and what your stakeholders think.  Imagine an online dashboard with real time environmental performance data, blogs and feeds from stakeholders such as customers with associated analysis of sentiment.  This may be linked to meetings and events focussed on key material issues, out of which you produce concise reports.  In the current paradigm you may have an award winning sustainability report but your customers can still think you provide rubbish service or local communities can have no real influence.  Regardless of how you report, you will be able to show how your sustainability programme has saved on landfill costs, found outlets for waste packaging, reduced your water and wastewater bills, saved on energy costs, reduced the risk from poor suppliers and raw materials, won more work and motivated employees. You might even have developed new products and services.                                                                                                   Along the way, you will find and benefit from companies who have taken a similar view, which can only be a good thing. If you have international ambitions, not only will it free up some cash for export marketing [through greater resource efficiency and employee motivation], it will be a fantastic calling card, since all key international markets are upping their own scrutiny of sustainability performance.  While there will be up-front cost, some of this outlay will be required for compliance purposes anyway. The rest, if spent wisely, will more than pay itself back through greater resource efficiency, lower bills, more business, a better reputation and enhanced corporate value. Regardless of economic and political turmoil, there is merit in revisiting sustainability, not as eco-irrelevance, but as part and parcel of competitive advantage.   Dr Michael Groves   M ichael is co-founder of Great Circle, specialising in communications in the environmental and sustainability in industry sectors as diverse as financial, mobile technology, entertainment, mapping, food and drink, and energy. He worked as an environmental policy specialist with Aspinwall before establishing the Indonesian environment and forestry division of SGS, the world's biggest independent inspection company. Michael is a geographer with a PhD in remote sensing and GIS. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/sustainability-as-competitive-advantage http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/sustainability-as-competitive-advantage Fri, 08 February 2013 10:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/moscow-metro Many of you probably already know that the Moscow metro is remarkable. The stations were designed as palaces for the people. They are wonderful examples of art deco by leading architects and designers from the 1930s onwards. They have the space, stature and grandeur of vast City museums and they celebrate Stalinist social planning and cultural expression that prevailed at the time. Far from depressing underground rat runs they open up into cathedrals of space containing columns, arches,  heroic statues, extravagant lighting and sculpted typography.  London Underground specialists went to Moscow to advise on the construction of the network - bear in mind that the London Underground is the oldest in the world so we had gained plenty of experience by the 1930s. Then they were kicked out by Stalin for being spies.  Perhaps you do not know that the Moscow metro is a marvellous, well-oiled machine. I never seem to wait more than about a minute for a train. They don't seem to have 'signals problems' or have 'defective' trains. People don't seem to hurl themselves on the line either. Trains are a decent size (rather than the pencil cases you get in London). They turn up. They stop briefly. They speed on to the next stop.  Tickets are pretty cheap too, compared to London.  At rush hour you get lifted up in a river of commuters. This saves the need for walking - you just get swept up and poured onto the platform.  Bear in mind that Moscow is usually grid-locked so the metro becomes really quite essential if you want to go to more than two meetings a day. The Russians love of cars and car brands means many of them would rather sit in a Mercedes in a two hour traffic jam than join the hoi polloi.    Check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Metro   http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/moscow-metro http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/february/moscow-metro Fri, 01 February 2013 17:00:00 Niall Callan http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/january/emperor-oil Leonard Bernstein was famously quoted as saying "To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time" . I have always questioned whether this could be the case…until last week, with the launch of our latest website www.emperoroil.com .  This digital and brand project was delivered to the tightest of deadlines (to coincide with a key event) and was achieved thanks to close collaboration with Emperor Oil's team. This allowed both teams to gain a rapid and complete understanding of the technical and creative requirements of the project. This enabled our designers to produce the ideal online identity and interface in record time. The client is very happy with result.     http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/january/emperor-oil http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/january/emperor-oil Wed, 30 January 2013 10:18:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/january/true-rouge My twin brother, Simon Lane, who died on 28 December 2012, was a poet who worked with many artists including Tunga, a prominent Brazilian artist. Inspired by Simon's 'True Rouge' poem. Tunga created a wonderful sculpture/installation in a bespoke, dedicated pavilion within an art garden called Inhotim, near Belo Horizonte, Brazil. I am hoping to visit this place with Tunga and would recommend other people also to do so. If you get out there let me know what you think of Inhotim and the True Rouge pavilion.   Here is the poem: true rouge   ou vers une compréhension tentative de l'existence d'une poésie/algèbre true rouge  ( tr ) étant donné une représentation ou des représentations monochromatique(s):   tr + espace (e) + rouge (r x 2) = rouge (r) + espace rouge (er) tr + e + (r x 2)= r + er tr + (r x 2) = r + er - e tr = r + er - e       (r x 2) tr = e - e tr = o = zéro/vide (vero) =true rouge                                   une page/espace soi-disant "neutre" ou "blanc" doit être/devenir true rouge par défaut   au même temps ce qui est autour de la page/de l'espace doit être/devenir true rouge en conséquence de ce qui est logiquement (in)visible:   e + (r x 2) = r + er e = r + er        (r x 2) e = e = o = zéro/vide (vero) = true rouge   simultanément tout ce qui esttrue rougeou/et qui est devenu true rougedoit restertrue rougeétant donné les circonstances de la transformation de la page/de l'espace/de l'autour de l'espace        résultat: la transformation définitive de toute matière en true rouge avec des espaces non-inclusifs autour de la page/de l'espace permettant la lecture de la poésie/algèbre true rouge même dans les conditions défavorables de lisibilité (fatigue, amnésie, ivresse, etc.)   essayez-le en servant de la ligne suivante: " true rouge is the colour that my baby wore"   ............................................. © SIMON LANE, PARIS, 18 NOVEMBRE 1997                                                                                                                      Here are a bunch of useful links: Simon's obituary: www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/simon-lane-novelist-whose-life-outdid-his-fiction-8451342.html Inhotim art collection: www.inhotim.org.br Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:True_Rouge_Inhotim_Tunga.jpg Interview between Simon and Tunga: http://bombsite.com/issues/78/articles/2442 Short video on the True Rouge pavilion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZEVyJ-MKZI Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g1747395-d1743976-Reviews-Inhotim-Brumadinho_State_of_Minas_Gerais.html Map - how to get there: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=ml&authuser=1   http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/january/true-rouge http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2013/january/true-rouge Fri, 25 January 2013 16:22:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/december/2012-roundup 2012 was a terrifically exciting year for The College. In fact, 2012 was an amazing year for British sports fans; hosting the Summer Olympics, at which Team GB managed a record medal haul; Andy Murray saw success at the US Open; England's cricket team achieving their amazing comeback win in India; Bradley Wiggin's Tour de France triumph and the English Rugby teambeating the All Blacks!!! But back to business. We welcomed some great new clients including: Afren, oil and gas company with operations in Africa and Kurdistan; Alrosa, Russia's largest diamond company; Chinook Energy, specialising in transforming waste materials into energy and fuel; Kerry, a leader in global food ingredients markets; Suek, Russia's leading thermal coal producer; Toumaz, a pioneer in ultra-low power wireless technologies; and X5, Russia's largest food retailer. As always we were strongly focused on looking after our clients, many of whom we have worked with for many years. We first advised Atkins in 1996… we've been advising Costain, Caledonia Investments, Espirito Santo and McBride for over a decade. Our brand, digital and reporting practice areas have grown in scope and quality. We have been working on several interesting brand naming and identity projects, which are due to be rolled out during the New Year. Our reporting work has been award-winning. Costain won the Investor Relations Society award for the 'most effective overall Annual Report (printed and online) in the Small Cap and AIM' category at the Best Practice Awards 2012. McBride was named as ' Best Small Cap and AIM report' at the ICSA Hermes Transparency in Governance Awards.  EuroChem, Russia's largest mineral fertilizer, was declared 'Absolute Winner' for its 2011 annual report at the 2012 Sochi International Investment Forum. We launched a highly successful site for Avanti to promote satellite-delivered broadband services, a wide range of corporate reporting sites, and are launching new corporate sites for EuroChem and Eurasia Drilling soon. We are particularly delighted to welcome some very talented new experts into our team, including Niall Callan - Digital Director; Jamie Archer - an accomplished digital creative producer; Yana Shaparenko - Digital Project Manager; Reut Palmer - Designer and Ashraf Islam, on business development and social media. We've also been busy working with other specialist teams across the College Group, including financial PR, corporate PR and public affairs teams in London; our German colleagues in Cologne; our South African office in Johannesburg, and our partners in Russia and the CIS with whom we are developing increasingly strong ties. So we are very much looking forward to another year of progress in 2013… a big thank you to all our clients, our partners, and the team for giving us such a great platform for the future.   http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/december/2012-roundup http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/december/2012-roundup Mon, 24 December 2012 12:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/november/costain-annual-report Costain Group PLC won the Investor Relations Society award for the 'most effective overall Annual Report (printed and online) in the Small Cap and AIM' category at the Best Practice Awards 2012 held on 20 November. The College's Costain Account Director Tim Dunnell: 'We worked closely with Costain to produce a Report which employs design to demonstrate Costain's commitment to disclosure and to illustrate how corporate responsibility is core to the Company's culture'. Graham Read, Communications Director at Costain: 'It is very pleasing to receive recognition from the IR Society for a publication that we believe breaks new ground in reporting'. Costain annual report http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/november/costain-annual-report http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/november/costain-annual-report Fri, 23 November 2012 17:39:00 Frederic Van Camp http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/october/should-footballers-have-a-social-media-policy This summer the UK has seen one sporting highlight after the other with England's footballers exceeding public expectations by making it out of the group stages at the Euros (although still saw their traditional tournament exit, courtesy of a penalty shootout), Andy Murray reaching the Wimbledon Final, Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France, and Team GB smashing its record at the most successful Olympic Games ever. However, the current coverage on inappropriate use of social media by athletes has put a damper on a jubilant mood. To most of us the action was brought through extensive coverage in traditional and online media and increasingly we see fans also connect directly to their sporting idols through social media. Whilst it is exhilarating for the fans to hear a direct and unfiltered voice, based on instant judgement, pumped out in the heat of the moment - live, unfiltered, raw - it also constitutes a risk for the athletes and the federation or club they represent. Recently we've seen a series of instances where athletes, predominantly footballers, have got into trouble for sending out inappropriate messages on Twitter. Ashley Cole, the most recent example, was disciplined by his club Chelsea FC and FA (The Football Association) for calling the latter a "Bunch of t***s" after an independent FA regulatory commission expressed doubt on evidence that he provided in support of John Terry. Michel Morganella and Roy Hodgson are other examples, the list goes on. These incidents have damaged their personal image and brought the entire game into disrepute. As a consequence, the FA have now announced the publication of a code of conduct for November. But do footballers really need the equivalent of a social media policy? Most footballers will believe the reputational damage is limited to their personal image. Players have a very high personal profile and are being perceived as celebrities. However, they also stem a huge responsibility as role models and as representatives of their team. Therefore, what should the FA's code of conduct cover? The temptation is to implement a social media ban, but this is short sighted. In general, people are more comfortable knowing the rules - on and off the pitch - and appreciate guidance on expected behaviour. Before the Euro tournament the FA had seminar, which was positively welcomed by players. It will be important for the FA to get the players to stand behind the values that form the basis for the rules and to proactively support them through preparation on the use of social media. In this light , what should FA's code of conduct consider ?   Defining the new 'public' space An individual's social media activity is not limited to personal engagement in social networks. It is also driven by people around you. Roy Hodgson learned this the hard way when telling fans on a London Tube carriage that Rio Ferdinand's England career had reached "the end of the road", not realising that through smart phones and social networks everyone on the tube is now a potential broadcaster of what used to be considered private conversations. Protecting people from themselves It's easy to forget for celebrity athletes and footballers what power their messages hold. Teach them how to deal criticism and how to behave in emotionally charged situations. If Michael Morganella would have let his disappointment fade away before grabbing his smartphone it might have prevented him from sending out such an emotional reaction to the Swiss team's defeat. Putting values first A code of conduct shouldn't be limited to a list of rules and restrictions. It should be driven by the organisations belief system and values. The problem with Ashley Cole's Twitter rant was not the lack of rules, Chelsea FC have a code of conduct in place, but his personal lack of respect towards representatives of the FA. Thinking of the opportunities It is important to provide guidance on what form of social media engagement is actually welcome for the club or body in terms of brand and profile building. Next time Roy Hodgson travels on the Tube, he might prefer to tell the fans how much their support means to his players. After the sporting successes which have lit up our television screens this year, hopefully a little thought and some guidance will result in less coverage about the negative side of sport and lead to more moments to remember. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/october/should-footballers-have-a-social-media-policy http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/october/should-footballers-have-a-social-media-policy Tue, 23 October 2012 15:43:00 Mark Chapman http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/september/niall-callan-joins-the-college Niall Callan joins The College as a Digital Account Director responsible for the delivery of digital projects and the growth of the digital offering.   Niall has just returned from a six month break, travelling South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Prior to this he worked for Investis a leader in digital communications and was responsible for advising clients such as Vodafone, Tesco, Anglo American and BP on their digital corporate communications strategy including websites, Mobile & app development, social media strategy, corporate reporting and multimedia.   Passionate about sport, technology and food you are most likely to find Niall playing, watching or reading about things that vary from football and NFL through to growing your own vegetables and herbs. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/september/niall-callan-joins-the-college http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/september/niall-callan-joins-the-college Tue, 18 September 2012 09:11:00 Mark Chapman http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/eurochem-award-win-october-2012 We are delighted to announce that EuroChem, Russia's largest mineral fertilizer, was declared 'Absolute Winner' for its 2011 annual report at the 2012 Sochi International Investment Forum. There were 15 categories, of which EuroChem was overall winner. The reports submitted reflected a range of sectors including minerals, oil production and refining, utilities, agriculture, transport, and financial services. The jury comprised experts from the Federal Service for Financial Markets, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the Russian Union of Industrialists and representatives of companies themselves. Each report was assessed by members of the judging panel across more than 20 criteria. Vladimir Torin, EuroChem's Head of PR and Communications, thanked the administration of the Krasnodar Territory for the Forum. He also thanked Head of IR, Olivier Harvey, and The College for our role in the production of the report. Sochi is the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Forum attracted senior industry and political leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. www.eurochem.ru/2012/09/eurochems-annual-report-receives-top-award-at-the-2012-sochi-international-investment-forum/ www.yuga.ru/news/273420/   http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/eurochem-award-win-october-2012 http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/eurochem-award-win-october-2012 Tue, 02 October 2012 11:48:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/san-leon-energy-website We've just gone live with www.sanleonenergy.com This new website forms part of an integrated communications programme for San Leon Energy, the specialist oil and gas company with an extensive portfolio of assets across Europe and North Africa. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/san-leon-energy-website http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/san-leon-energy-website Wed, 05 September 2012 15:14:00 Amanda Stockley http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/creston-2012-report Creston is a listed group of specialist marketing services companies. They needed a report enabling stakeholders to get a clear understanding of their activities, vision and strategy in a bold, clear and simple way.  Creston believes that the group as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. They have a passion for acting as one and their 'Better Together' approach encourages innovation through collaboration.  Following our development of the Creston brand identity, this year's annual report uses simple, bold and arresting graphics supported by very high production values, across both the printed and online iterations.  "We are very pleased with the creative execution and the commitment shown by The College" - Sophie Morton, Communications Manager, Creston Online version http://ar2012.creston.com/home/ http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/creston-2012-report http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/august/creston-2012-report Tue, 31 July 2012 17:54:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/july/intern During the summer months many students search for the opportunity to get a realistic feel for the working world. The College has historically helped students by offering one to two week placements during which we keep them away from the filing cabinets and, instead, get them involved in real project work. Recently, we were joined for two weeks by Chris Birt - a first year student from the London School of Economics and Political Science.    After his placement, Chris took a moment to reflect on his time with us: "My experience over the last fortnight working at The College was constructive and enjoyable, I felt like I was working not just as an intern but as part of the team, able to both contribute and be critical when working on briefs, in meetings and independently producing new business research. Having now had a range of work placements in both the UK and the US, I have never felt as welcomed and valued as I have over the last fortnight." http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/july/intern http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/july/intern Tue, 24 July 2012 17:29:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/june/avanti We've just gone live with www.avantiplc.com/hylas2 This is a microsite dedicated to the launch of a satellite by Avanti on August 2 2012. This is  one part of an integrated communications programme by teams across the College Group . The satellite will have a footprint across EMEA, bringing fast broadband and high speed internet service to Africa and the Middle East as well as Europe. "This site is very creative and a strong platform for promoting the launch - it's been a great team effort"   -  Chris Georgeson, Global Marketing Director - Avanti Communications Group plc.   http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/june/avanti http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/june/avanti Wed, 27 June 2012 10:10:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/may/collaboration-in-a-digital-age The College hosted a seminar on collaborative working last Thursday. We had some very interesting guests from a variety of organisations. Our experts talked about the great opportunities for collaboration given advances in technology. We also presented five key principles for successful collaboration: getting management on board; having a clear objective; creating and following an agreed roadmap; creating the right user experience; and guiding users before, during and after roll-out. The College team presenters were Guy Lane and Desiree Collier, Partners, and Fia Virtala, User Experience Lead Adviser. Our technical partner, David Gardiner, of UniTech, showed how Sharepoint 2010 can be used to meet clients' objectives. One good example of this is a project for British Transport Police. Detective Chief Inspector Ian Miller, Head of Special Branch, Covert Policing & Force Intelligence Bureau gave us a fascinating insight into the collaborative tools he is using for his national team. Our sailing photograph shows collaboration and technology working as it should - to achieve a common goal! http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/may/collaboration-in-a-digital-age http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/may/collaboration-in-a-digital-age Tue, 29 May 2012 16:13:00 Camilla James http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/may/bauhaus-exhibition I arrived at the Barbican centre last night to see the Bauhaus exhibition. I used to work near the Barbican - about ten years ago and I had forgotten the sheer scale and imposing structure of the place. I don't know this post-modern movement of Brutalism, but the starkness and fortress-like monstrosity of the Barbican cannot be ignored, especially on a cold wet London night. Inside the place is equally imposing, with block-like, maze-like spaces devoted to a library, communal areas, quite a funky 'canteen' space and the exhibition area hosting the Bauhaus exhibition, which, in its strange way, is probably the best place for a Bauhaus exhibition to sit. These contrasting, yet very powerful movements complement each other both in form and function. I studied the Bauhaus a good many years ago, so I enjoyed wondering through the exhibition as names and works were remembered. It is always far more rewarding seeing art for real - rather than in a text book. Names such as the founder Walter Gropius, the expressionist Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, László Moholy-Nagy, Herbert Bayer et al all came flooding back as I paused to examine examples of their work. The arts and crafts, the graphic design and fonts, the photography and the architecture. Actually - all quite inspiring for an ex-graphic designer. Even from a top-level 'shallow' perspective, without going into the whole psychology and analysis of the movement… What I never learnt back at school, and what struck us at the exhibition was the community spirit these creative personalities and artists had. What fun they had designing invitations for events and parties. The home-made gifts they made for each other on their birthdays, and the fun that came through in their work and photography. The joyful, playful approach and the passion in their approach - to enjoy and relish in their creativity and friendships. Just being silly. Maybe we've lost a bit of that as we all strive to pave a path for ourselves in today's competitive world. It struck me that maybe the hippies of the sixties and the revolution of Woodstock, was not the first modern break from society. Maybe these conservatively dressed artists of Weimar, Germany were the real ones to start a revolution. Maybe. But then, in the late 1930s, times changed. Radically. So I guess we'll never know.     Photo: Iwao Yamawaki Bauhaus Building, Dessau, 1930-32 Vintage print 37.8 x 28 cm Galerie Berinson, Berlin © Makoto Yamawaki http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/may/bauhaus-exhibition http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/may/bauhaus-exhibition Fri, 04 May 2012 17:00:00 Camilla James http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/april/eurochem-holds-international-seminar-on-corporate-social-responsibility-and-reporting EuroChem, in association with The College, hosted a seminar on the promotion of corporate social responsibility and reporting on April 20 2012.  The event was organised to promote sustainable development, social responsibility and reporting practices of Russian companies abroad, as well as to facilitate the exchange of professional experience and expertise between Russian and international CSR specialists. Leading Russian and British experts exchanged professional views and experience, discussed practices and prospects for sustainable development, social responsibility and reporting in Russian and British companies. The seminar, held in The College's offices in London, was attended by senior executives of CorporateRegister.com, the world's largest online register of social and environmental reporting; Great Circle, the leading environmental sustainability consulting firm; and Ethix SRI Advisors, an adviser to institutional investors in the area of sustainable and responsible investment. The Russian delegates included leading expert organisations in the area of social responsibility and reporting: the Centre of Social Corporate Responsibility and Non-Financial Accounting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the non-commercial partnership of grant-giving organizations "Donors Forum"; and the Agency for Social Information.   Source:  http://www.eurochem.ru/2012/04/eurochem-holds-international-seminar-on-corporate-social-responsibility-and-reporting/   http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/april/eurochem-holds-international-seminar-on-corporate-social-responsibility-and-reporting http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/april/eurochem-holds-international-seminar-on-corporate-social-responsibility-and-reporting Wed, 25 April 2012 12:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/april/jamie-joins-the-college Jamie Archer has joined our team as Digital Project Manager. Jamie has a post-graduate MSc in Digital Design and Media with excellent analytical and computing skills. Jamie possesses an in depth knowledge of multimedia production and computing, with a keen interest in new digital technologies.   His skills include Agile software development, front end development, UI, UX, design wire-framing and using content management systems. He is also keen on digital video and photography production.   Jamie's interests beyond digital: "I have travelled extensively in over 20 countries and possess an in depth knowledge of current affairs, history, both ancient and modern and I like reading the latest scientific theories. Occasionally I work on independent documentary film and photography projects that interest me and regularly teach Capoeira for kids and adults at St Andrews Youth Club in Westminster." http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/april/jamie-joins-the-college http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/april/jamie-joins-the-college Thu, 19 April 2012 18:23:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/march/beazley-publishes-online-annual-report-in-record-time http://reports.beazley.com/2011/ Beazley is an innovative insurance business with a desire to report to shareholders as soon as possible after the year end.  The College was chosen by Beazley to design and produce the annual report and provide the online version on the same day as the public announcement of the year end results, on 7 February 2012.  William Pitt, Head of Marketing and Communications at Beazley, said: "We have historically been the first major insurer in the Lloyd's market to report results. This year we wanted to ensure that the full interactive annual report was live on our website as soon as our results were issued. I'm very pleased with the result. The College did a terrific job".  Amanda Stockley, Account Director, The College: "This project was challenging. We had to plan it very carefully. We don't normally go live with an online annual report at 9am on the day of the announcement. We got there by working closely with the client team and being well on top of the technology!"   About Beazley: Beazley plc (BEZ.L), is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, the US, Asia and Australia. Beazley manages five Lloyd's syndicates and, in 2011, underwrote gross premiums worldwide of $1,712.5 million. All Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best. Beazley's underwriters in the United States focus on writing a range of specialist insurance products. In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states. In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's. Beazley is a market leader in many of its chosen lines, which include professional indemnity, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business. For more information please go to: www.beazley.com http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/march/beazley-publishes-online-annual-report-in-record-time http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/march/beazley-publishes-online-annual-report-in-record-time Thu, 01 March 2012 11:00:00 Camilla James http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/shrove-tuesday-at-the-college-russian-style! On Tuesday, 21 February 2012 we celebrated Shrove Tuesday - Russian Style! Piles of home-made pancakes stacked high, stuffed full of authentic Russian Salmon caviar and cream cheese, or a sliver of unsalted butter, a spoon of chopped beetroot, a sprinkle of chive… You could feel and literally hear the pop of caviar in your mouth, followed by the salty, oily deliciousness that makes this food so addictive. As it was the middle of the working day we celebrated with Russian bubbly rather than shots of Vodka. Had it been a Friday, it may have been a different story! Thank you to our friends at EuroChem for the bubbles, which we used to toast to our great team and some great work we have been producing these past and busy few months. На здоровье! Na zdorovie! Cheers! http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/shrove-tuesday-at-the-college-russian-style! http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/shrove-tuesday-at-the-college-russian-style! Thu, 23 February 2012 12:00:00 Paul Owen, Camilla James http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/eurochem-wins-the-2011-rspp-award The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has awarded EuroChem the "Russia's Best Companies: For Development of Non-Financial Reporting in the Chemical Industry" award. The award, given for the company's corporate sustainability report, which highlighted the transparency and quality of the company's dialogue with stakeholders, was presented by RSPP President Alexander Shokhin. The RSPP holds the "Russia's Best Companies" awards annually in order to identify the fastest-growing companies and help support initiatives that recognize responsible business practices. These include developing non-financial reporting, promoting the free flow of information and improving transparency and dialogue with stakeholders. In 2011, EuroChem won two "Leaders of Corporate Philanthropy in Russia 2011" awards-one for its corporate social programs and the other for its non-financial reporting. The Corporate Charity Ranking awards are run by the Vedomosti newspaper, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the nonprofit Donors Forum.   Original post:  http://www.eurochem.ru/2012/02/eurochem-wins-ruie-award-for-2011/ http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/eurochem-wins-the-2011-rspp-award http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/eurochem-wins-the-2011-rspp-award Thu, 09 February 2012 09:00:00 Desiree Collier http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/san-leon-appoints-the-college San Leon Energy plc is a fast-growing oil and gas exploration company with an extensive portfolio of assets in Europe and North Africa that will enable it to provide the energy solutions for the future. The College's team will work with Nick Elwes, Head of Oil & Gas PR at College Hill, already retained by the client, to roll out the client's 2012 communications programme.  The programme activities will include social media set up and implementation, engagement around blogs, forums and groups, the development of a new corporate website, creation of new content, crisis planning and search engine optimisation. Desiree Collier, Partner, The College: "This is a great opportunity to support San Leon Energy's aim to become a leading European oil & gas player". Oisin Fanning, Chairman of San Leon Energy plc: "We've been growing fast, with three rapid acquisitions. Now it's time to embrace social media and enhance and extend the reach of our communications programme. So I'm pleased to have The College on board to help us achieve our goals."    Notes for editors: San Leon is an independent fast growing oil and gas exploration company and is Europe's leading shale gas company by acreage. The Company has an extensive portfolio of assets in Europe and North Africa that will enable it to provide energy solutions for the future. San Leon's assets are located in Poland, Morocco, Albania, Ireland, Spain and Italy. The Company's portfolio across these geographies is made up of both shale (Poland Baltic Basin, Morocco and Spain) and conventional exploration assets. San Leon's key objective is to grow the Company significantly and to become a leading European oil and gas player delivering value to all its stakeholders. To achieve this San Leon, since it was founded in 1995, has built a balanced portfolio as well as an exceptional technical team. The Company is listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (ticker symbol: SLE). As at 30 June 2011 the Company had €42.2 million of cash and cash equivalents. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/san-leon-appoints-the-college http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/san-leon-appoints-the-college Wed, 08 February 2012 12:00:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/ashraf-islam-joins-the-college Ashraf Islam joined The College this week to assist our marketing and new business activities. Ash will be key in helping us to grow our three practice areas - branding, reporting and digital. He's currently studying for a BSc in Financial Economics at Birkbeck, University of London. Ash speaks German and Bengali. He's a keen surfer, frequents Cornwall and is dreaming of Hawaii. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/ashraf-islam-joins-the-college http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/february/ashraf-islam-joins-the-college Thu, 02 February 2012 18:23:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/january/awards-won-by-our-russian-client-eurochem EuroChem has won an award for best online annual report by Expert RA Rating Agency 2011 and also for best annual report in the 'industrial' category and winner for best level of disclosure at the XIV Securities Market/Investor.ru Awards 2011. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/january/awards-won-by-our-russian-client-eurochem http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2012/january/awards-won-by-our-russian-client-eurochem Fri, 06 January 2012 18:31:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/annual-round-up-2011 2011 was an exciting year for The College. We welcomed some great new clients: Beazley, highly-rated Lloyd's insurance company; Miller Homes, the UK's largest unquoted housebuilder; Gondola, owner of Pizza Express; Spirit, the demerged business from Punch Taverns; Empresaria, international recruitment (we won an award for this work); and DTZ, global real estate adviser. We also welcomed some great new members of our team: Fia Virtala, senior user experience specialist; Tracy Edgar, Account Director from Burson-Marsteller; Sean Gallagher, expert typesetter; Frederic Van Camp, social media strategist; Samantha Hayden, Account Manager, formerly of Black Sun; and Bernard Barsley, Digital design director. One of the most exciting things for us has been the growth in our Russian activities. We advise on and produce annual and responsibility reports and websites for Eurasia Drilling, EuroChem, Polymetal, and MetInvest. In fact, we won two Russian awards for EuroChem, for the best level of disclosure on the company website, and the best annual report. We are continuing to find Russian companies interested in our advice on best practice reporting and communications. Across the whole year we've been retained by Givaudan, a Swiss-based global fragrance and flavours business, to shape their global digital strategy. We've also been helping Whitbread develop the corporate site we launched for them last year. We've worked with their IR team to improve their online investor relations. And now we are advising the careers team on increasing online recruitment, a great way for corporates to cut costs by reducing their reliance on recruitment agencies and headhunters. We're looking forward to lots more challenges and opportunities in 2012. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/annual-round-up-2011 http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/annual-round-up-2011 Wed, 04 January 2012 15:50:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/leonardo-da-vinci-exhibition-at-the-national-gallery Last week I queued for an hour an half for tickets to this show. Worth every minute. Well done to anyone who had the intelligence to book tickets online ages ago. But all is not lost. The show's on until February so you've still got time (if you have the patience). The point? Leonardo, one of the finest draughtsmen and painters of all time, regarded painting as a sideline. It was just one of his talents! He produced only a few paintings in his life and you can see them assembled in London. They come from various museums and galleries and one or two from private collections. My favourite? The one of Jesus Christ. Look closely at this painting for a while and you'll realise the queuing was worth it. You can also see lots of his preparatory drawings which demonstrated the degree of his anatomical analysis. His paintings were a product of his powers of analysis. Compare and contrast, if you will, with the garbage that is most contemporary British art, totally devoid of two essential ingredients: truth and beauty. http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/leonardo-da-vinci-exhibition-at-the-national-gallery http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/leonardo-da-vinci-exhibition-at-the-national-gallery Wed, 28 December 2011 15:29:00 Guy Lane http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/brand-consultants-need-to-get-a-grip I hear that there's a brand firm that's charged a client an awful lot of money for somewhat dubious brand advice and not a lot of implementation. This may be fine for very large companies but this was for a growing (but small) PLC.  It's time strategic brand advisers got faster and less expensive with their brand strategies and better at rolling out the physical material that companies need so that they can grow. This is particularly important during a prolonged recession (depression). Why can't brand theorists work more closely with producers? We do! http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/brand-consultants-need-to-get-a-grip http://www.the-college.com/news-and-insights/news-and-insights/blog/2011/december/brand-consultants-need-to-get-a-grip Tue, 04 October 2011 09:00:00