Not the usual beast!

Last night Brando won the EVENT award category at the prestigious CIPR (Chartered Institute of PR) Excellence Awards "Belting out a hit at Christmas has become as festive as scoffing mince pies". The Sun, Dec 2009 The CIPR Excellence Awards are the most revered in the PR industry and getting to the final is a massive coup. Last night Brando's GATWICK FACTOR won the EVENT category award against a number of extremely tough competitors. Following the sale of Gatwick by BAA to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Brando were briefed to build the airport's profile, develop passenger loyalty and secure as much positive coverage and buzz as possible in the lead up to Christmas. Brando's solution was to launch the "Gatwick Factor" – a high-tech karaoke competition held in a giant, inflatable snow globe. X Factor runner's up, Stacey Solomon and Olly Murs opened the event, generating high profile PR coverage as they performed for passengers and engaged with crowds. Passenger's karaoke performances were filmed, uploaded onto a website and voted for by the public. Social media sites went wild with comments and 22,000 people voted across 112 countries. The judges felt it was a fun, creative, high impact event that also included an online experience. Results were outstanding, with an ROI of 1:22 and 86% of passengers saying it made their experience more enjoyable, as well as creating long term value for the airport. Not a bad day's work really...

London Gatwick Airport, the UK’s second biggest airport has appointed Brando to run a four month PR and experiential campaign over the summer.   Part of a major marketing campaign to increase retail spend at the airport during the peak summer months, Brando will be running an intensive media relations and event-led programme to remind holiday-makers about the great shopping and money savings available at the airport.   The account will be headed up by Brando’s Managing Director, Mandy Sharp, and one of the first jobs will be organising an exciting ‘Gatwick Fashion Week’ at the North Terminal with TV fashion presenter, Gok Wan confirmed as celebrity host for one of the days.     The experiential event will show-case retailers’ products through a series of glamorous fashion shows and holiday makers will be treated to hair, make-up and fashion makeovers from top stylist Kirsty Drury who has worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Rachel Stevens and Claudia Schiffer.   Brando joins forces with other top agencies including advertisers Naked, media planners MindShare and BTL agency DNX as part of the external marketing team for this project.   Mike Luddy, London Gatwick Airport Commercial Director, said: “We’re really looking forward to working with Brando over the next few months. Brando responded to the brief with creative, yet strategically sound and deliverable ideas.”   The activity will be supported with an extensive social media programme, run by David Cushman from Brando Social. 

Brando has won a Gold Award at The Institute of Sales Promotion Awards 2009 for its work on Paula, the children's dessert from Dr. Oetker. The agency won the 'Best Product Launch' category in conjunction with i2i Marketing, beating off stiff competition from big budget campaigns for Fiat 500 and Colgate Palmolive. It's been a good year for awards so far. We were a finalist at the EMEA Sabre Awards for our Sony Ericsson internal comms programme and are shortlisted for best internal magazine at the forthcoming CIPR Excellence Awards.

Brando hosted a 'Big Night In' event for Somerfield to show the outstanding cost savings that can be made by simply eating at home. The media were wined and dined with Somerfield food and drink at The Violin Factory, an exquisite and original home which featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs. They also enjoyed a series of 'eating in' scenarios such as the classic 'Romantic Night In' and 'Girls Night In'.

Brando is currently promoting Cirque du Soleil's new show 'Quidam' which premiered in London during the first week of January. It was a red carpet affair which had the crème de la crème of journalists and celebrities in attendance, including Jaime Winstone, Alfie Allen and Hollywood A-lister Naomi Harris. The event was managed by the Brando team and cemented the brand's position as one of the UK's biggest must-see events.