Tag Archives: Newsletter

Event Organisers Update June 2017 ISSUE 153

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TERROR CHOICES The recent terrorist atrocities in Manchester and London have certainly put unwelcome pressure on those planning to attend live events…

NEW HOTEL FOR PICCADILLY Planning permission is being sought for a luxury 102-bedroom hotel with conference facilities, named-chef restaurant, bar, a Wellness Spa …

FALSE CLAIM? A five-star hotel in Crete is counter-claiming £170,000 from a couple who submitted a £10,000 claim for food poisoning, a claim the hotel says is false…

AND ANOTHER? Legal action for damage to its reputation is being threatened by a Tunbridge Wells restaurant after a customer posted a negative review on Tripadvisor…

OLYMPIA SOLD Olympia London has been sold for £296 million to institutional investors who plan to have hotel accommodation on site. The 130 year old venue, which hosts …

TRAINS TO AMSTERDAM DELAYED Eurostar have announced that they will be running a direct service from London St Pancras to Amsterdam by the end of 2017…

BEST FOR BARGAIN BOUTIQUE Those who enjoy the chic of boutique hotels might be interested in a recent rating of 50 of the best in Europe by the experts at the Daily …

HOKUSAI An exhibition featuring around 100 works, mostly woodblock prints, by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) has opened at the British Museum …

SUNTAN It’s been 30 years since the 1987 American thriller Fatal Attraction scared the hell out of philandering males everywhere with the morality tale of the weekend affair …

Marketing Matters May/Jun 2017 ISSUE 56

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BAD IDEA FROM OFGEM SWITCHED OFF Those who thought that energy regulator Ofgem worked to protect consumers from rapacious energy companies might want to …

COMPANY LAW CLEAN-UP NEEDED The director of a company that inflicted 100 million automated nuisance telephone calls over an 18-month period has avoided …

BATTERY CARTEL FINED £147 MILLION A cartel of four rechargeable battery manufacturers has been fined a total of £147 million by the European Commission (EC)…

CANNY CON A Scottish sea salt company has ceased trading after its product was found to be mostly cheap table salt imported from Israel. The Hebridean Sea Salt …

BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS Some of those who have wanted to avoid wearing real fur, so as to deny support to fur slaughterhouses in Asia, have been disappointed after…

DON’T CALL 118118 Calling a 118 directory enquiries service to get a phone number can cost up to £8.98 per call, if you use 118118, which was 58 pence in 2003. Even worse …

COOLFIZZINGCRINGEMAKINGTOECURLINGDOWNDUMBINGPEPSI Congratulations to Pepsi for supplying this year’s most naff ad, which was quickly withdrawn by the …

YOU’RE HATING IT Meanwhile not far behind Pepsi in the naff race is McDonalds, where the little gem hatched up by their marketeers attracted more than 100 complaints to the …

Event Organisers Update May 2017 ISSUE 152

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SEXUAL VIOLENCE AT EVENTS TARGETTED IN UK The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) and Rape Crisis England and Wales have teamed up to build awareness…

DRONE DEFENCES Passengers understandably concerned that their aircraft, and lives, could be endangered by drones being accidentally or deliberately flown too close to …

KEEP IT FASTENED A severe bout of turbulence hit an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bangkok, 40 minutes before landing and injured 27 people, with some broken bones …

STAY SEATED, PLEASE Meanwhile an 11 year old schoolgirl on a May 9 school trip, Evha Janneth, has died at Drayton Manor theme park, Staffordshire after she stood up …

DANUBIUS FINANCIAL CONTROLLER IN COURT The financial controller of the four-star Danubius hotel, Nasser Ahmad (42) stole more than £110,000 over five years by …

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? This much-garlanded revival of Edward Albee’s pitch-black comedy play about the toxic lives of two American academics and …

THE OLIVE TREE A film without much sex, violence or foul language might not sound like a feast of fun to some but The Olive Tree, a quirky, leisurely-paced and bitter-sweet …

Charity Matters Apr/May 2017 ISSUE 72

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CRUELTY HIGHLIGHTED Animal abusers could face far more severe sentences if a Private Member’s Bill presented by Redcar Labour Co-operative MP Anna Turley is …

ETHICAL LAPSE Following a two year investigation the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has now fined some of Britain’s largest and best-regarded charities for …

ROYAL BOOST FOR MENTAL HEALTH Public awareness of mental health issues has been increased by the admission by Prince Harry to anti-suicide charity CALM …

FAMILY FUN DAY TO HELP PAEDOPHILES CRITICISED The Safer Living Foundation, which works to rehabilitate paedophiles, has been criticised for organising a Family Fun …

KIDS CO DISQUALIFICATIONS The Insolvency Service has warned all former directors of the collapsed Kids Company charity that they could face disqualification …

WHY? A Bedfordshire charity, Preen, has been the target of mindless and disgusting vandalism over the Easter holiday. Persons unknown broke into the Biggleswade …

JUST POCKETING AGAIN JustGiving, the charity donations website that makes £20 million a year from donor’s generosity has been criticised for refusing to waive its 5% …

Marketing Matters Mar/Apr 2017 ISSUE 55

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DIRTY MONEY AND GOOGLE Google’s stupidity in accepting extremist content on YouTube and placing ads alongside it has resulted in more than 250 concerned …

BBC SHAMED BY CAPITA Press revelations of low ethical standards at Capita, the outsourcing firm the BBC pay to collect TV licenses have resulted in damage to the …

DEATH OF A NEWSPAPER? It is said that those working on the editorial, as opposed to the advertising side of newspapers and magazines should not have any financial links …

BT WOES BT have been ordered to cut at least £5 a month off the £18.99 a month it charges customers who only buy a land line from them. The cut, ordered by telephone …

BACK TO LAKER DAYS One positive aspect of travel in the 70’s was return flights to the USA for less than £100, courtesy of the pioneering Sir Freddie Laker, who took on …

SAVE MONEY, CHECK THE TILLS Those who don’t have the time, or the inclination, to check their receipts in supermarkets are not always getting the attractive offers shown …

DIET WARS Asda have withdrawn a range of Slimzone diet meals they promoted as being suitable for one of Slimming World’s diet plans, after the weight loss organisation …

PHONE ME IN THE JAG The Advertising Standards Authority (AS) have banned an ad by Jaguar cars that promoted a vehicle’s hands-free mobile technology with the …

Event Organisers Update March 2017 ISSUE 150

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NAMED AND SHAMED The number of hotels amongst businesses named by the government as paying employees less than the national minimum or living wage rate …

MURDERER FROM PREMIER INN A former receptionist at Premier Inn, Cardiff has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for the murder of a former girlfriend …

WEASEL WORDS Relatives of the 38 British tourists killed in the June 2015 terrorist massacre in Sousse Tunisia have claimed that Tui, the parent company of travel agent …

BAD NAME CHOICES Following our piece in last month’s issue about Liverpool streets, such as Penny Lane, named after slave traders, a row has broken out over a building …

TO CURRY FAVOUR Those who admire our pillar of political integrity and judgement, Speaker John Bercow, might well spot him at his favourite curry house, Madhu’s at…

TACKY THEN The five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Knightsbridge, formerly the Hyde Park Hotel is “as tacky as a plastic Christmas tree in a spray tan salon”…

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS Boasting one of the most impressive cast lists in cinema history A Man For All Seasons, the 1966 film of the final years of Sir Thomas More …

Charity Matters Feb/Mar 2017 ISSUE 71

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SICKENING ECHO OF HOLOCAUST Amnesty International have provided photographic and witness evidence that between 2011 and 2015 Syrian president …

SEX ABUSE IN FOOTBALL Another one hundred football clubs have been named in Operation Hydrant, the police investigation looking at cases of sex abuse in football…

OWN GOALS Ex-England football captain David Beckham has been accused of using his work for charity as part of a campaign to win a knighthood after emails between …

DARK NET Extreme internet pornography is being blamed for the doubling of criminal convictions for rape by those aged under 17 in the last four years. Recent cases …

DON’T DO AS I DO The married head of the Care4Calais charity set up to help migrants had an affair with one, despite preaching that her charity’s strict policy was “no …

MORE HOMELESS Shelter has revealed that two London families an hour are made homeless. The charity has predicted that 1260 families in the capital will lose their home …

MUSICAL SUPPORT FOR CHARITY An opera singer is donating some of the profits from the sales of her CD to the Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis charity after her 78 year…

TIME TO DO IT YOURSELVES The donations website JustGiving has been accused of greed as figures reveal that it makes £20 million a year and pays one of its founders a …

Event Organisers Update February 2017 ISSUE 149

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AVALANCHE KILLS 29 AT ITALIAN HOTEL A series of earthquakes and heavy snowfall triggered an avalanche in Abruzzo region, Southern Italy, which destroyed …

DEATH BY DRONE COMING UP? It is a sobering fact that the huge increase in the number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s or drones) in our skies – one million sold …

UNI RISKED STUDENT LIVES WITH MISTAKE Northumbria University in Newcastle has been fined £400,000, plus £26,468 costs after it mistakenly gave a toxic dose of …

WEDDING HELLS
o A wedding rehearsal for a £25,000 ceremony in the Cuban resort of Playa Esmerelda …
o Nearly a hundred Britons, including two wedding parties, are suing the Marelen Hotel …

WAR OVER WAR OFFICE Plans to turn the vast War Office on London’s Whitehall into a £1 billion five-star hotel and 88 apartments complex by 2020 have been met with …

TWO CHANGING HANDS Two UK conference venues are currently changing hands (Business Desk) In Blackpool the historic 180-bedroom four-star Imperial Hotel, with …

PENNY LANE HOTEL FOR SALE The 17-bedroom Penny Lane Hotel in Penny Lane, Liverpool is up for sale at £950,000. The sellers, Christie and Co., are stretching the …

RISING STARS To the annual Performing Artistes Speaker Drinks showcase at the IOD, London, where we mingle with the likes of the elegant dancer John Sergeant and …

TWO IN SCARBOROUGH The Scarborough Art Gallery makes an interesting visit for those, like Victorian artist William Etty, who appreciate the beauty of ladies without …

COVER GIRL Though some may find this exuberant 1944 musical as corny as Kansas in August there’s no denying that it’s a feel-good dancing treat dished up by some of …

Marketing Matters Jan/Feb 2017 ISSUE 54

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TIME FOR THE SELFISH TO BE LIABLE It will be interesting to see if the current travel misery deliberately being inflicted on London and its commuters, and the leaving of the …

PRESSING QUESTION Our press have brought their current woes on themselves, though sections such as Rupert Murdoch’s empire have arguably done more than most …

SARAH GOES FOR MORE Meanwhile Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York has launched a legal claim against News Group International for £25 million, losses she claimed she …

BAD MARKETING AT M&S Retailers Marks and Spencer are using technology to secretly track people’s movements via their mobile phones. Devices installed in the …

AGGRESSIVE MARKETING PAYS? One organisation that earns instant deletion from us is one that purports to offer opportunities to earn substantial income from working …

CHRISTMAS CHANGES Alterations in consumer behaviour at Christmas time, and featured in national press reports, have been noted by those who market in the sector…

KEEP CALM AND KEEP FIDDLING The rise of internet reviews, that apparently more than 80% of us look at before buying, has seen a corresponding rise in the number of …

AN ANSWER FOR NICOLA Uplifting to read that Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has big-heartedly agreed to put aside, for the time being, her party’s plan to hold another ...