With the Olympic Games heading to London in 2012, work for the North West should not be ruled out. On behalf of our clients, Whale attended “How to Tender successfully” a seminar held by the NorthWest Development Agency to find out more!

The day was extremely informative and not only did the seminar outline how North West companies pitch for Olympic Games related work, but also other public sector opportunities.

Companies which feature current opportunities on their websites include:

- Compete For
- North West Development Agency
- The Chest
- Supply 2

Have a look and see if there is anything relevant for you!

Rather than focus on the recession blues which are dominating the media we’re busy promoting our clients more than ever to weather tougher times . Marketing through a downturn can help increase your brand visibility and importantly ensure you retain existing business . Take a look at this post that mentions a Financial Times report which agrees.

http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/e_article001311795.cfm?x=bf0pfnw,b9HDV0h8

Kevin Says Cheese & Gets Board!

Before Christmas (for a laugh) I decided to create a Monopoly board with all the traditional London places changed to different cheeses!

I didn't realise it would cause so much press!

Nigel White, Secretary of the Stilton Cheese Makers Association, siad: "The board summarises Britain's love affair with quality cheese and should be something that we're extremely proud of.

"With so many continental cheeses imported into Britain, the Monopoly Cheese Board acts as an excellent reminder of all the fantastic cheeses produced by the British Isles.

"Our main challenge was selecting the 22 cheeses on the board from the 700 plus now being made in the UK."



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7800506.stm
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Play-the-Monopoly-cheese-board.4826534.jp

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Stilton-monopoly-game-s-placing/article-575719-detail/article.html

http://www.wigantoday.net/wigannews/Mr-Monopoly-says-cheese.4832208.jp

http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwTiNwTkJWJ6IHqjNwB6IA

http://www.newstin.co.uk/related.a?edition=uk&group_id=en-010-009169054&similarFilter=ALL

Kevin Whitter

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year from all at Whale Marketing!

How Big Teeth Mark out the Sexiest Whales

We are always on the lookout for intersting Whale Facts,
this one made the headlines on the BBC today...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7783517.stm

Pot Noodle Frenzy

The Whale Pod has been hunting high and low across the Greater Manchester region for 350 POT NOODLES!!!

Don’t worry we are all well fed, the fast food favourites were part of a mail campaign we had devised for our client Image Foundry, a CGI animation studio. The noodles along with a portfolio of recent work followed an e-mail outlining “3 Easy Steps to CGI” and an image of an IF branded pot noodle, the Hot Doodle!

Prospective clients, who all received a follow up call, tucked into and enjoyed their unusual gift and provided positive feedback on the innovative portfolio of work. We’re sure they won’t be forgetting Image Foundry Studio’s for a while!

Did you know the Beef Pot Noodle is actually suitable for Vegetarians?!

Kevin Gets a Date With The Ultimate Bond Girl!

I couldn't believe my luck the other day when Brazen PR asked Whale to design the ultimate Bond Girl! As I took the brief I thought it was only fair that I take on this challenge...

Bond's ultimate lady was made up from the best parts of the past Bond Girls, she’s already been christened 008 - in recognition of her birth year (2008) and her James Bond heritage - and features Ursula Andress’s legs, Halle Berry’s boobs, Sophie Marceau’s tummy and midriff, Eva Green’s head, Britt Ekland’s bum and Maud Adams’ hands.

The image was used to promote the premier of 'Quantum of Solace’.

take a look at the links below to see its coverage:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1848651.ece
http://entertainment.aol.co.uk/film/men-vote-for-the-ultimate-bond/article/20081023134841182665367
http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/article.html?Ultimate_Bond_girl_created&in_article_id=370313&in_page_id=7&in_a_source=

Which Mobile?

I can never make my mind up when that time of year comes around to update my phone. There’s a million different one’s out there and each one has a trillion different features, so I never know which to get. I usually just tell the person at O2 to give me their recommendation and have done with it! Not this year! This year I’m doing some homework.

I’ve been looking on some really good gadget sites and recommend www.lordpercy.com. It gives good reviews on loads of different products and latest releases.

Check it out and let me know which phone you think I should go for!

Mike Frost

Online Social Networking & Gaming... A business tool?

Social networking & gaming on line is more important today for promotion as colour TV in the 60's & 70's, the next generation spend there evenings in front of a computer rather than a TV.

Online games audience has grown 16% pa, over 4 times the rate of normal internet growth. In June 2006, 28% of Britain (7.6 million) played, in December 2007, 43 million people went online to play games.

Imagine getting your product or service to these kind of numbers...

RBS F1 game below...

http://www.rbssport.com/f1-grand-prix-challenge.html

Kevin Whitter

Jelly!

This week I’m off to see Andy Bounds author of the Jelly Effect. I met Andy when he was running a local networking group 4 years ago and now he earns fees of £10k per booking and works with the likes of HSBC & Astra Zeneca, so you can definitely say he’s gone up in the world. After last catching up over a coffee (for me, herbal tea for AB now he’s oh so healthy) so it will be interesting to see him ‘perform’ for 300 people. Whale share the same views about communication as AB however as most of you know we definitely don’t charge the same daily rate! Bargain indeed... http://www.andybounds.com/

Kirsty Forman

Spanish!

This week I’ve been busy practicing my Spanish, mainly by ordering copious amounts of sangria from La Tasca! Check out their yummy menu on http://www.latasca.co.uk I’d definitely recommend the Patatas Bravas con Queso!

Also considering taking my next dive exam but unsure if I could cope with the freezing UK winter climate! What do you think? Let me know by emailing laura@whalemarketing.co.uk

I also found out the final amount raised at this year’s Relay for Life, the event I held over the summer for Cancer Research UK…. £20,000 plus!!! Well done team!

Laura Gilberts

Welcome to the pod blog!

Working at Whale has its moments, some educational, some quirky and some downright hilarious.... and we'd like to share them with you. Each week a member of the team will be providing an insight into our world!

Did you know that a blog can give you a higher ranking in Google? If you'd like to know how then drop us a line and if you'd like us to help you create a blog, then why not give us a call.

Here's an example of one of my favorites, with news and views on the latest marketing technology and innovative campaigns.

http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/

We'd love to hear what you think, so please share your thoughts, ideas and enthusiam... who knows what we could achieve...