Bitesize

Showing posts with tag Miscellaneous - Show all posts

• Double take

  Posted 19 January 2012

  Hill+Knowlton Strategies have been working on top of Europe’s biggest building site for the last few years — The Crossrail project. When they started work on refurbishing their in-house bar they asked us to design the hoardings that surround the installation. We thought it would be fun to take inspiration from Boris's bombsite...

  

  

  

  Posted by Luke Ebbutt James

  

  Filed under // Hill & Knowlton   Miscellaneous  

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• Guest blog: Oh those (Moscow) summer nights!

  Posted 16 August 2011

  Our Hill & Knowlton colleague Michael Zdanowski is such a fan of our blog he asked if he could have a guest spot, so here goes:

  

  A two-week summer assignment working in Moscow might not sound like everyone’s cup of tea. Indeed, it brought the usual stereotypical comments of Russia from colleagues.‘Take your fur hat’ and ‘Watch out for the Russian mafia’ were among the comments I heard. Poor Russia! Wasn’t seventy years of Communism bad enough to put up with without constantly having to hear outdated and negative commentary?

  Well, fur hats do still exist — though not in the summer where temperatures regularly hit +35 C in the capital. Though the mafia are still present, the chances of mass-scale public disorder a la London is unheard of (let’s not delve too deeply into the reasons why…).

  Russian companies in numerous sectors, such as IT, Telecoms, Heavy Industry and Energy are becoming increasingly visible not just within Russia but globally. Moreover, the country is gearing up for two major sporting events this decade, namely the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2018 Football World Cup. Both events hope to transform Russia in much the same way as the Olympics changed Barcelona’s and Sydney’s fortunes. Russians have noted with interest how the 2010 World Cup transformed South Africa as a destination for business and tourists alike and huge investments in infrastructure are already being made.

  Above all, Russia can be a fun place to live and work. Moscow is a colourful 24 hour city with the nightlife to match any other international capital in Europe or the US. The city’s restaurants offer a beguiling mixture of European, Asian (mostly Japanese), Italian but also the world's best Georgian and Uzbek cuisine. The light summer nights mean long evenings sat in outside cafes or taking walks in any number of Moscow’s green and pleasant parks.

  

  For the old stereotypes to go, Russia Plc., needs to deal with a number of key issues — the visa regime still makes it difficult for visitors to get into the country and the traffic in Moscow is horrendous. Some of these issues will take time to resolve. (Currently, there’s a really good piece running on the BBC website about where Moscow and Russia is twenty years after the failed coup. Steve Rosenberg’s report articulates neatly how the country has developed over the past two decades and focuses on the future challenges facing the country.)

  For Moscow (and by implication the country) to be successful long-term the city will have to become an attractive environment which can attract the best talent in the world. But as you can tell, the summer is a good time to see the true colour of Russia.

  Posted by Matt Cridland

  

  Filed under // Hill & Knowlton   Miscellaneous  

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• Friendly Fires at Cannes

  Posted 18 July 2011

  Our first year at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity saw us creating one of the most talked about parties of the festival on behalf of SayMedia. At the beautiful Plage du Festival, we constructed a modern tent canopy with open sides, using the beauty of the beach as the backdrop to the party.

  
  

  The DJ flown in from New York had everyone warmed up as the main entertainment of the night, Friendly Fires, took to the stage. With the clear blue skies and sea lapping behind them and 800 people jumping up and down in front of them, the setting was idyllic. Whilst more delegates queued at the door Friendly Fires took the house down with their energy and showmanship, the lead singer bounced around the stage and into the crowd making it all the way to bar before being engulfed by the crowd.

  Amazing music in an amazing setting, the party was a huge success and we’re looking forward to next year!

  Posted by Alison Yuill

  

  Filed under // Client news   Experiential   Miscellaneous  

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• Chris King illustration

  Posted 11 July 2011

  We’ve been working on a pitch with illustrator Chris King, so thought we’d share a few examples of his work, full portfolio on his site.

  We’ve had him drawing a lot of push bikes, which apparently he finds harder to draw than people – I know what I’d rather draw!

  Posted by Matt Cridland

  

  Filed under // Illustration   Miscellaneous  

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• The icing on the cake

  Posted 15 June 2011

  Here’s a little snack we were treated to before a board presentation in Cairo last week. I think that means our client likes the brand we created for them!

  Posted by Karen Porter

  

  Filed under // Branding   Client news   Miscellaneous  

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