From Venice with love…
As you already know RADO is not only one of our absolute favorite clients but is also one of our most important. We love them and it appears that they love us…
At present we are working on a number of cool projects on their behalf - 7 to be precise. Unfortunately, I can not list them here or go into details as there might be competition reading, I’m sure you understand. However, please rest assured dear reader, we will be shouting about them from the highest roof-tops the moment we are permitted.
I can tell you however that both Yann and myself (James) were invited by RADO to Venice (Italy) to present just two of the aforementioned projects to the Swatch group and their global marketing / brand building community…
…and this is what happened…
Tuesday 20th January - Leaving Lausanne
Having seriously and typically, underestimated the drive-time to the station and having had no breakfast to speak of, I was in a bad mood before we had even left Lausanne. Arriving at the station at 08.18, two minutes before our scheduled departure and being forced to run like a lunatic to the platform to meet up with Yann, I knew this wasn’t a great start to the week… Yann, of course, had arrived early enough to grab a coffee and purchase supplies for the 6 hour train journey ahead and looked generally relaxed and composed. This did nothing to improve my mood.
So, on a cold grey and wet Lausanne winters morning we boarded the 08.20 to Venice…
It’s only a short(ish) / comfortable train ride and you get to do stuff that you just can’t when flying. Like watch a full movie on your MacBook or have an argument with a train guard for moving you from seat to seat half-a-dozen times just because you happen to be in the wrong carriage, or put your feet up on the opposite seat… It’s simply more civilized.
Anyway 6 hours later we pulled into a very wet Venice and with our iPhone’s in hand and using the built in GPS navigation we headed into the city to find our hotel. Which we did very easily. The iPhone really is a work of genius. Unlike our bloody awful hotel. The Hotel Rialto (don’t ever stay there by the way) is the worst hotel I have ever had the misfortune to visit. The rooms a extremely small, cramped and generally crappy and the people who work there are the rudest most unprofessional bunch of misfits you could ever imagine working in the hotel industry. So, following row about moving a cupboard to charge my phone with the guy on reception we checked out. A hasty decision maybe but one must uphold some principles, I’m sure you agree(?)
So with nowhere to stay and standing outside in the pouring rain we needed to be decisive and act quick. Now, I’ve not been to Venice for a few years and the only other hotel I know is the Hotel Danieli. Which just happens to be the nicest hotel in Venice but because we walked in off the street, cold and wet and because we told them about how badly the Rialto monkeys had treated us we got both an amazing rate (less than the previous place, I hasten to add) and an upgraded to a superior room - RESULT!
The rest of the evening is a bit of a blur really. I know that it started in a bar watching Obama’s speech and that it ended up with Yann and I being forced to drink copious amounts of Grappa and Lemoncello from an old Italian restaurant owner who insisted her restaurant was shrinking and that we were the only two people in the world who could help! In fact at one point I think we agreed to stay there and work in the kitchens for free and leave Lausanne, the mountains and all this digital nonsense behind us, for a life of dirty dishes, more Lemoncello and general unhappy poverty. Anyway, we got back to the hotel late and a little bit the worse for wear.
Wednesday 21st January - Presentation Day
So today is the big day - the day of the presentation. Both Yann and myself meet for breakfast a somewhat blurry eyed and unsure if we will be able to shake off the previous nights events in time to perform in front of the entire global RADO team in a few short hours.
Throughout the morning and over lunch we work on getting the presentation just right. Drinking ourselves better with Italian coffee and trying numerous local dishes for lunch we were soon ready for action and ready to go.
16.00 - The time has come, we are on… We walk into a very large and very beautiful hall and quickly prepare ourselves for the hour ahead. Microphone in hand and the Electronlibre logo projected proudly behind us we both stand in front of the best marketing brains the watch industry has to offer and start our presentation.
I introduce the two projects and talk through our objectives, challenges and ambitions for the RADO brand. Next Yann is up. Yann takes the audience through the detail of the first project, clearly and with great skill, holding their attention throughout. It is credit to Electronlibre that we are able to produce such simple / understandable concepts that markets simply want, regardless of the category. Ideas that demonstrate a deep understanding of numerous disciplines and complex business needs, that connect with consumers and business partners alike and drive brands forward. Yann sits down with a round of applause and I stand for the second project, a quick summery overall and request for questions… of which there are not that many but the questions that are asked are insightful and demonstrate that our projects have been understood.
Following the presentation we received some fabulous feedback and the thanks of our clients. Electronlibre did well and we thank our friends at RADO for their trust and support.
So that’s it… we then all went out for dinner, had some more Lemoncello, went to sleep had some breakfast and got on the train home… and I wasn’t late this time.
; )
