Hackney

1. Executive MScomAlumnivisit LondonTake a lookbehindthescenesofthe2012 Olympic GamesClick rings toviewinfo… Hackney

2. Gloucester Road Our ‘digs’ whilst in London MScomAlumnienjoyedthequaintFiftyFour Boutique Hotellocated on Queen’s Gate acrossthestreetfromthe Natural History Museum andconvenientlylocatednearthe Gloucester Road tube. Fordetailsvisit: http://www.fiftyfourboutiquehotel.co.uk/ Making friends down at the pub Several MScom generations gathered down at the Angelsea Arms pub for a British cider and ale and the start of the Euro 2012 Germany v. Netherlands football match . The match presented no competition for our dynamic alumni and friends; however, who got to know each other over hearty steaks, seabass, blue stilton, and local greens. Read more: http://www.capitalpubcompany.com/the-anglesea-arms/

3. Russel SquareHome oftheChartered Institute of Public Relations and a visitwiththe VMA Group CIPR -Jane Wilson, CEOwelcomedEMScomAlumniandsharedwithuslaunchoftheOlympicfever in London (seephotobelow). Toreadmoreabout CIPR visit: http://www.cipr.co.uk/ VMA Group – David Broome, Executive Directorintroducedthe «Business Leaders in Communications Study 2012». Comissionedbythe VMA Group, thestudyincluded a surveyof 95 seniordirectors in thefieldofcommunicationsfrom a widespectrumofindustry– from BP to Rolls Royce andfrom Deutsche Bank to Novartis. The surveyrepresentsover 7,500 communicationsstafffromorganizationsthatemploy 2.5 million. A total of 17 organizationsearn in excessof £15 billion. Findingsinclude: • 66% ofcommunication professionals reporttothe CEO • 59% of CEOs perceivecommunicationsas a criticalfunction in theirorganization • Accordingto CEOs reputationandmediamanagementarethemostrolesof a communication professional Topreviewthisground-breakingresearch in thefieldofcommunicationsnavigateto:http://www.blcs2012.com/ NEXT

4. Russell Squarewith the Government Olympics Executive, Atkins, and the Borough of Hackney Rob Yeldham, AdvisorTorchNationsandRegions Communications – GovernmentOlympics Executivesharedwiththealumnithechallengesfacedover 7 yearsofpreparationfortheOlympics. The London 2012 Games will attract anaudienceofover 4 billionincluding: 40,000 international media, 150 headsofstate, andan estimated 4.6 millionvisitorstothe UK. This year will also markthefirst extensive useofsocialmedia in coveringtheOlympic Games. Yeldham also outlinedthejourneyoftheOlympicTorchrelayaroundthe UK involving 70 days, 66 eveningcelebrations, and 8,000 torchbearersfromeverynationandregion. Tofollowthetorchvisit: http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/ Carl Welham, Interim AssistantChief Executive Communications andConsultation – London BoroughofHackney(See Hackney) Trudy Warrender, Group Public Relations – Atkins , The official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Games, outlined the 3-tier system of Olympic sponsorship that is based on cash contribution and commitment. One of the challenges that Atkins faced was working with the Olympic Committee to clarify the roles of sponsors who are from consultancies rather than consumer product-based companies. In this aspect Atkins created a template of regulation that can be applied to other tier-3 sponsors in the future. Another challenge Atkins faced was how to attract more than 4,500 talented engineers and designers required to build the park following the collapse of the economy in 2008. Warrender illustrated Atkins’ Olympic journey sharing their plan for creating an appealing beach volleyball court outside of the Queen’s Buckhingham palace residence; how they have temporarily leveled Greenich park’s 4.5 meter slope to accommodate the equestrian events; and how they navigated the wind variance regulations in designing the venue for the table tennis event. Read moreabout Atkins’ Olympicjourneyhere:http://www.atkinsglobal.com/twenty-twelve

5. HackneyOne of the 4 boroughs on which the Olympic Park is being built Carl Welham, Interim AssistantChief Executive Communications andConsultation – London BoroughofHackneydescribedthe clean-upoftheland in whichOlympic park hasbeenbuiltas an «evironmentalfeatandmoney well-invested.» The land, donatedtotheOlympicCommitteeby 4 neighboringboroughsofwhichHackneyisone, was considered a brown-fieldsitefilledwithtoxicwaste, trash, andcontaminatedsoil – a remnantofitsindustrialpast. Over 200,000 people live in theethnically diverse areaofHackney. Ithasbecome a placeforcreativeartistsandindustries. In contrasttothereputationthattheOlympicscanbankruptcommunities, Hackneyhasbenefitedbythenewinvestmentandthecreationofnewjobs in thearea. The followingYou Tube videopromotingHackney’slocal East London brandandreputationcosttheboroughonly £5,000. Watch «Hackney: The Creative Heart of London» here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmPBMIvMcz8

6. StratfordHome oftheOlympic Park andtheWestfieldStratford Mall hostingOmega’sflagshipboutique Susanne Strombom, Olympic Games Manager,briefly shared Omega’s long-standing history, since 1932, as the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games. London 2012 represents Omega’s 25th Olympics (including the Paralympic and the Youth Olympic Games). When the Olympics was last held in London in 1948, Omega was the official timekeeper. Susanne emphasized how shared values are important in sponsorship and Omega’s objectives have been to deliver precise timing using precision technology. Omega handles all the timing and scoring of all results that are displayed on the boards as well as data handling and distance measuring during the games. Susanne spoke about credibility and how important it is to ensure that messages communicated both internally and externally are consistent. She described one of her greatest communication challenges occurred the day after the official Omega Olympic countdown clock was launched. The worldwide press widely covered the launch of the countdown clock in Trafalgar Square and the next day the clock stopped. She relayed that this experience illustrated the importance of having an educated team in place and a solid communication strategy. For more information about Omega and the Olympics go to: http://www.omegawatches.com/spirit/sports/london-2012

7. Old StreetHome of Moving Brands Geoff Linsell, Managing Director; Darren Bowles, Creative Director; Mat Heinl, Chief Creative Officer; Hanna Laikko, COO; Georgina Milne, Marketing Manager; and Jeanette Bucher-Derrer, General Managerparticipated in showcasingtheirprojects, toincludetherebrandingofthe USI Executive MScomprogram. Theyaredoingfascinatingworkwiththefocus on how a brandconnectswithpeopleandelicits an emotional response. Words are not enoughtodescribetheexperience, so pleasevisitthe link belowtoviewMoving Brands latestvideos: http://www.youtube.com/user/movingbrands/videos David Mercer, Group Head of Design – British Telecom, one of the tier-1 partner/sponsors of the 2012 Olympic Games held an open discussion on the Olympic properties hosting the events and complexities of implementing the official Olympic logo. Mercer discussed the regulatory statutes governing the logo that protect the value of the Olympic brand for its sponsors. In addition, there are several variations of the logo in terms of color and style use. Such variations presented an internal challenge for British Telecom with over 1,000 employees with the word «marketing» in their titles. Read more about British Telecom’s sponsorship here: http://www.btplc.com/btlondon2012/ataglance/

8. Bromley-by-bowRegeneration of the Olympics began here with the clean up of the River Lee Before Derelictbuildingsandtoxictrashareslowlybeingcleanedup. Ikea (seewoodentorchbelow) isbuildingitsfirsthousingdevelopmenthelpingtoregeneratethearea. After Bromley-by-bow has been restored as a an historic village with a creative edge. It is host to a new film studio. Houseboats have appeared on the river Lee, now that the river has been de-contaminated. A new loch system has ebbed the tidal flow that once flooded the land in which the Olympic Park rests.

9. Edgware RoadHome to the Embassy of Switzerland Urs Schmid, Minister; William French, Head of Communications; and Alex Larcher, Project Executive of the House of Switzerland shared with us the important role that the embassy plays in representing the country during an international event such as the Olympics. Their main role as an embassy is to support Swiss visitors and bi-lateral visits and agreements during the Games. The embassy, through the House of Switzerland, hopes to not only communicate the traditional Swiss values of the natural beauty of the country and the trustworthy character of the Swiss, but also hopes to enrich the perception of the international community by portraying the nation’s more dynamic aspects such as the research conducted in its universites and its creative pursuits, beyond watchmaking. Alex Larcher introduced the group to the House of Switzerland which has partnered with Bernese Oberland and Swiss tourism to occupy Glaziers Hall in central London. Their communication strategy for the House of Switzerland will focus on interactive fun to include: video games, musical concerts, presentations, medal celebrations (hopefully), and a Swiss National Day celebration on August 1st. For more information visit: http://www.houseofswitzerland.org/en/ For a nice nearby pub lunch visit the Duke of Wellington: http://www.thedukew1.co.uk/

10. Oxford Street A glimpse of the Jubilee

11. Tottenham CourtHome of Burson-Marsteller - London • Ian Budd, Brand Marketing, Burson-Marsteller, spokewithusaboutbrandvalueandthecycleofpublicmoodfromthe high noteof London winningthebidfortheOlympics, tothe down-swing whenfacingthebudgetrealities, beginningconstruction, andthe 2008 Olympics. Finally, he describedthemoodhasbegunto swing upwardsasOlympicsponsorshipbuilds, constructionprojectsarecompleted, andthecommunitiesbecomeinvolvedandattendtheOlympicevents. Itishopedthatthelegacyofthe Games will maintainthe positive moodcycle. • Ian outlinedthescaleofthe Games noting: • 205 nations will participate • 5,000 officials • 10,000 athletes • 25,000 accreditedmedia • 8.8 ticket holders • 1 milliontouristsestimated • 2,000,000 peoplewatchingworldwide • 17,000 volunteers • 27 dayswith 5,000 hoursofevents • 55 sponsors Ian’s advice for sponsors who seek to gain brand value from large scale events is as follows: Start early, be consistent, build media relationships, whatever you spend on sponsorship know that you will double it activating your sponsorship, think about your audience, engage the stars of the show in relevant conversations, embrace every opportunity, and be prepared for challenges.

12. New raillineconnectsSt. Pancreas Station withtheOlympic Park atStratford International Station in 7 minutes(normally a 40 minutejourney)