7 April 2011
The countdown has begun with 10 working days left before I sign off from ARN in Sydney.
There are still a lot of things on my to-do list that needs to be completed before I can sign off though.
The marketing project is still ongoing and while i refer to it as the 'marketing project', it is in essence 4 different projects in one.
The main components are:
1. Stationery - Going through and changing everything that has an ARN or a MIX FM logo on it. Went through an entire network audit and it came back with 284 items that had logos on it!
There were 13 different kinds of letterheads alone!!
So the plan was to collate and combine wherever possible to achieve consistency, cost effectiveness and a strong brand presence.
End result:
284 logo/branded items down to 98
Envelopes : From 29, down to 3
Letterheads: From 13, down to 1
Complimentary slips: From 13, down to 1
Presentation folders: From 10, down to 5
Now that this was done, we searched for and found the best costs associated with printing the entire suite of stationery again. We have made some very considerable savings on that front.
Current stage: Waiting to confirm the designs to send to the printers to print.
2. Merchandising - In terms of merchandising, it is quite astounding to find out that there hasn't really ever been a formal spending process dedicated to Merchandising for the various stations. It has been quite adhoc and as and when required for a special promo. With me taking over, it gave the promotional managers across the various states to give us feedback about what they would want to give out and have in terms of merchandising.
What was amazing to see was how grateful were even with small things such as caps which were not available previously. Really gave me a personal high knowing that I had made a difference !!
So, we compiled a list of most common merchandising items and then got all the promo managers across the network to give us their feedback on what would be a 'must have' and what would be a 'nice to have'.
This we shortlisted to 10 items and worked out the quantities that would be required.,
Current stage: Waiting to confirm the total quantities per item and confirm designs for the merchandising
3. Outdoor Broadcasting Branding - From time to time, all radio stations go through and broadcast from an outdoor venue like the recent one that Mix 106.5 FM did for the house giveaway. Here, have a look here
For this purpose, there needs to be quite a few different things that are required to host a successful broadcast (and we are not talking about the electrical/music items). The items in question here are branding items. Common examples are Marquees, corflutes, outdoor banners, etc.
So, the question that we had was "what makes a successful outdoor branding?" I didn't know and neither did Jodie so we asked the people who made this possible. Once again we headed back to the Promo managers in the various states and asked them to give us lists of each item that would be a must-have if there was to be a successful outdoor broadcast in terms of brand presence.
The teams have been so co-operative and helpful which has been a bonus because without them I would be more lost than I currently am!
Once we had the list down pat, the hunt for the suppliers began and that included going through very many suppliers. I even tapped into my contacts at GSP from my previous project and they are going to create the corflutes for us at a very special rate!!
Current stage: Waiting to confirm the main supplier for the bulk of the items and drawing up an invoice for the same.
4. Signage - As with any new logos, there has to be changes on all items that have the old logos on them. This extends to buildings and structures as well and is probably the hardest of the lot to complete.
We have radio stations across Australia and each of these have ARN and MIX logos in varying ways. Unlike a letterhead or a business card this is not as straightforward as getting the printers to print a new batch.
As I found out the hard way, each of the items outside and inside the building have been commissioned individually!!
To change each of these would take atleast 3 weeks after the quote has come in.
Current stage: Finalising the quote on all the items that have logos on them that need to be changed.
End results required:
1. Stationery - New suite of stationery printed and handed to various admin managers across the network
2. Merchandising - All items delivered to various promo managers across the market.
3. Outdoor Broadcasting Branding - All items delivered to various promo managers across the market.
4. Signage - All new signage in all buildings and across the offices throughout the network.
As you can see, there is still a lot of work to be done and its only 10 working days to go. No pressure, hey!
Pressure is one thing you expect constantly with this role and then you learn very quickly how to deal with it too.
Showing posts with label gsp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gsp. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Frantic pace on its way
12/01/2011
First post for 2011. Writing err typing 2011 feels weird. But then i suppose every new year feels weird as time seems to be flying past. As a group we are almost at the 1 yr mark for this program and looking back it has been interesting. I have been fortunate enough to be involved in a huge project (in NZ Mags) and now with GSP, it is again a totally unique learning experience.
Over the Christmas break, Tracy had managed to get me in touch with Ciaran Davis (CEO, Australian Radio Network) and he was kind enough to offer me some challenging projects which will form my next block.
Before I start thinking about that, there is a lot of work at hand here at GSP.
There are still a lot of things that need to be ticked off and time is running out. One of the biggest major is finishing the website for GSP which I was putting together. Everything is running and completed except for the contact form on the website. This is the part where an interested customer fills in their details, presses submit and the information comes through to an email address here at GSP.
Tried to get some help from the IT team but have been told that there is a freeze and nothing will be done before 17th Jan. Guess, we will have to wait and see what happens after the 17th.
The weather is quite bad here in Sydney with constant rain and changing seasons but nothing as bad as what we are seeing in Queensland.
My thoughts and wishes are with those devastated by the raging floods in Queensland. Its hard to fathom that so much destruction can happen so quickly and without warning.
First post for 2011. Writing err typing 2011 feels weird. But then i suppose every new year feels weird as time seems to be flying past. As a group we are almost at the 1 yr mark for this program and looking back it has been interesting. I have been fortunate enough to be involved in a huge project (in NZ Mags) and now with GSP, it is again a totally unique learning experience.
Over the Christmas break, Tracy had managed to get me in touch with Ciaran Davis (CEO, Australian Radio Network) and he was kind enough to offer me some challenging projects which will form my next block.
Before I start thinking about that, there is a lot of work at hand here at GSP.
There are still a lot of things that need to be ticked off and time is running out. One of the biggest major is finishing the website for GSP which I was putting together. Everything is running and completed except for the contact form on the website. This is the part where an interested customer fills in their details, presses submit and the information comes through to an email address here at GSP.
Tried to get some help from the IT team but have been told that there is a freeze and nothing will be done before 17th Jan. Guess, we will have to wait and see what happens after the 17th.
The weather is quite bad here in Sydney with constant rain and changing seasons but nothing as bad as what we are seeing in Queensland.
My thoughts and wishes are with those devastated by the raging floods in Queensland. Its hard to fathom that so much destruction can happen so quickly and without warning.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Week 1 finishes in GSP
10 Nov. 2010
Right, so here I am in Prestons in Sydney.
For those familiar with Auckland, this is the area near East Tamaki or the Airport; a mainly industrial zone where unless you have a vehicle at your disposal you wont really get around very far.
I said my goodbyes and finished up with NZ Mags on the 29th of October and packed my bag and headed over to Sydney on the 31st of October.
Day 1 at work was on the 1st of November. Luckily yellow pages had helped me secure a hotel which was about 10 mins walking distance from GSP, for which I was eternally grateful.
Like I mentioned earlier, not having a vehicle was a serious setback.
GSP is a specialist printer for large-format printing. They produce out-of-home advertising and point-of-sale. They are the only large-format printer to have in-house equipment for every part of a campaign - from screen printing to wide-format digital.
All the nerves disappeared by the end of day one as I met and Andrew Thornberry (Client Service and Traffic manager) who firstly, took me for a tour around the massive 5000m2 purpose built facility and then introduced me to the rest of the team at GSP and then we caught up with Peter Piccione (General Manager).
We quickly got on to business and got an overview from Peter and Andrew about GSP. The way the business had been shaping up; how it fits into APN and the financial results and trends.
Outside of work, Week 1 was spent trying to find accommodation and I was lucky to sort that out with great help from Tammy and Tracy.
So the current situation is that work goes full steam ahead with GSP and I catch a bus to and from work which takes me an hour each way.
Can’t remember how long ago, public transport and I last met up!!
Right, so here I am in Prestons in Sydney.
For those familiar with Auckland, this is the area near East Tamaki or the Airport; a mainly industrial zone where unless you have a vehicle at your disposal you wont really get around very far.
I said my goodbyes and finished up with NZ Mags on the 29th of October and packed my bag and headed over to Sydney on the 31st of October.
Day 1 at work was on the 1st of November. Luckily yellow pages had helped me secure a hotel which was about 10 mins walking distance from GSP, for which I was eternally grateful.
Like I mentioned earlier, not having a vehicle was a serious setback.
GSP is a specialist printer for large-format printing. They produce out-of-home advertising and point-of-sale. They are the only large-format printer to have in-house equipment for every part of a campaign - from screen printing to wide-format digital.
All the nerves disappeared by the end of day one as I met and Andrew Thornberry (Client Service and Traffic manager) who firstly, took me for a tour around the massive 5000m2 purpose built facility and then introduced me to the rest of the team at GSP and then we caught up with Peter Piccione (General Manager).
We quickly got on to business and got an overview from Peter and Andrew about GSP. The way the business had been shaping up; how it fits into APN and the financial results and trends.
Outside of work, Week 1 was spent trying to find accommodation and I was lucky to sort that out with great help from Tammy and Tracy.
So the current situation is that work goes full steam ahead with GSP and I catch a bus to and from work which takes me an hour each way.
Can’t remember how long ago, public transport and I last met up!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
