It was the summer of 1990. I just turned 21. I was sat at a piano in Menlo College Campus in California, whiling away an afternoon on an 8ft concert grand that had seen better days. It was a creative place for me and whilst it was mid holidays and the majority of students were on vacation, I really got a sense that I was in a special place. I had a great summer and made some lifelong friends and although I considered moving there, I was fundamentally a musician and back then, wild horses would have not dragged me from my vocation. I never realised just how important Palo Alto was going to be in the technical revolution that followed. With Stanford University on its… Read the Rest »
It was not an easy decision. There has to be a degree of emotion attached to a sponsorship deal and if it was left to pure passion and there were no financial penalties to staying, I am sure I’d do everything in my power to stay. That’s certainly how we felt at the end of last season. Each season, we review the effectiveness of the relationship and the benefits of a symbiotic relationship with a sports club. There are a great many things to consider, performance on the field, management, community contribution, hospitality, the list is endless. In spite of a poor 09/10 season and some drastic management restructuring we decided it was the right thing to remain with the club regardless of potentially difficult… Read the Rest »
This week saw the fashion retailer Henley’s file for administration. It only seems like yesterday when Simon and Ben the 2 owners sat with me at a Sale Sharks match discussing online retail. One of the boys confidently said, “our customers need to touch and try on our garments, we will never do more much than the £10,000 per month we are doing now. The online shop can’t compete with our high street stores” This sounded very much like a challenge. And as someone who hosts hundreds of online retailers, some huge ones too, I knew I couldn’t lose. I bet them £1 I could prove them wrong. Sitting with my web designers and marketing team, we immediately found ways of improving their system. Their… Read the Rest »
Who are the UKFast girls and what is their purpose? The UKFast girls work incredibly hard. They are all super intelligent, fun characters with big personalities with the caring gene which means they make the perfect hostesses. You find the UKFast Girls at all the outside events, Twickenham, Sale Sharks, Silverstone Grand Prix and all corporate hospitality. They also fly with me on a great deal of my business travels and commitments. I find it helps having fun people around. The girls help break the ice at events and play an invaluable role in so many areas of the businesses. They all double up in some capacity or other – be they a PA, sales person, account manager or even senior manager. By hanging around… Read the Rest »
Well it’s out! For a few months we have been sitting on the news that UKFast are officially the main sponsors of Sale Sharks Premier rugby club. So why a sport sponsorship deal? It was not an easy decision spending millions of pounds of a hard earned marketing budget in one go, with the recession still firmly gripping society however I felt it important to take the opportunity and be decisive. Its a 3 year deal and when an opportunity as large as this comes up, in my opinion you grab it with both hands. It is also important to look beyond the economic downturn. The credit crunch will not last forever and it is important to stand by what you believe in. For those fans who… Read the Rest »
