Big Pink Bake Off

posted by Liz Spencer, on 05/10/2011

As coffee and cake lovers this year Big Pink supported the Worlds Biggest Coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support by having a ‘Bake Off’

There was a good effort made with chocolate featuring heavily in the ingredients but the winner was Jackie with her strawberry cheesecakes. Well done Jackie.

A grand total of £30.50 was raised from the sale of our cakes and we are now all feeling slightly full!

Movember

posted by Liz Spencer, on 01/11/2010

Big Pink are going to be supporting the ‘Movember’ campaign, raising awareness for cancer amongst men.

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st  clean shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  

The funds raised through Movember’s UK campaign benefit the The Prostate Cancer Charity (TPCC), the UK’s leading prostate cancer charity.

Click here to visit the big pink mo bros webspace and to make a donation.

Make sure you check back to see who is taking part and how they get on.

Crowdsourcing or cock-up?

posted by Simon Wilson, on 14/10/2010

It’s fair to say that denim giant Gap’s new logo has caused quite a stir over the last week.  Gap quietly unveiled the new logo on their website without so much as a glitzy launch night, global campaign or even a simple explanation.  From the off, something about it all felt a little odd; the launch was not succinct. 

During my school days I used to work in retail, huge importance was always placed on rolling out global or national campaigns on time.  It was bread and butter stuff.   So imagine my surprise when during a lunchtime stroll in Windsor I pop into Gap and see nothing of the new branding.  Back in the office and another look at the corporate website I noticed the favicon hadn’t changed either.  Little mistakes, bad planning; this didn’t feel like a usual re-branding exercise. 

Within minutes of the new logo ‘launch’ the internet was exploding with rage (someone even took the time to build a mock website called www.craplogo.me).  So loud was the public outcry that within a day (surprisingly fast for a ‘super brand’) Gap took to its Facebook page to ask customers for their help. 

So was this a case of rushed branding, pushed through with limited market research? I’m not sure.  Was it a very quick, easy method of generating a worldwide buzz about their brand, opening communication channels with new and existing customers, and re-positioning Gap as a brand that listens? – I’ll let you decide!

Onwards and upwards (or down under)

posted by Simon Wilson, on 21/07/2010

Last week we bid adieu to one of our longest serving members of Big Pink – Christine Smith.  However, it’s not all bad news, because she is joining Big Pink Australia (lucky them). Christine has done an amazing job looking after our clients over the years, and delivering projects on time – no matter how many extra hours that meant putting in herself.  Chris, you are at the heart of Big Pink and Windsor will miss you more than you’ll ever know.  All the very best Sheila xxx

Foolish behaviour

posted by Simon Wilson, on 15/07/2010

Unfortunately rain put pay to ‘The Big Pink Picnic in the Park’ but we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. Instead, after our brand and team building work we headed for the pub and had ‘The Big Pink Cocktail Competition’.

Needless to say the foolish behaviour followed, so as promised the photographic proof!

The Big Pink Picnic in the Park

posted by Simon Wilson, on 08/07/2010

Please let the sun shine.

Here at Big Pink we believe it is our people that make us what we are.  Once in a while we get together to review where we are and where we want to be, and give a little back to all those who have done so much to make Big Pink the success it is today.

On Tuesday 13th July we are having ‘The Big Pink Picnic in the Park’ to do just that, photos of any foolish behaviour will be posted here next week, so come back soon!

Google Sidewiki – What the diggens is Sidewiki? Is it important? Do you have a Sidewiki digital strategy?

posted by Richard Smith, on 13/10/2009

We are all familiar with the concept of embracing change, it keeps things fresh, can be evolutionary or even revolutionary, however at the very least it will avoid us being left behind.   We are equally familiar with the analogy of the ostrich burying its head in the sand.  With this in mind, take a deep breath; prepare for things to be shaken up and think about how you are going to outperform all of your competitors who are going to act like our friend the ostrich.

On September 23 Google launched Google Sidewiki, a browser sidebar that lets you contribute and read information alongside any webpage.  That’s right, your company and product websites are now social media sites with attached discussion boards that you.... yes you guessed it, cannot moderate or delete.  Google Sidewiki is designed to let your customers contribute to any of your web pages allowing you to learn from others, share best practice and rate your company and products.

Introducing Google Sidewiki

Ok now is the time to remember the ostrich, we may lose some control but there could be a silver lining.   If your online digital strategy is sound & your sites are meeting your clients needs you may find you are flooded with positive comments & ratings that will only help strengthen your brand.  Comments can be easily disseminated onto social networking sites and may show up on Google searches thus assisting with traffic generation. You can carry out market research, monitor your customer’s comments, build insights and identify brand advocates.  You may also be able to address incorrect information & drive traffic to educational resources.

If there’s good Chi there’s bad Chi.   Google Sidewiki can reduce your control over your brand information, allowing negative comments to be posted & feature in Google searches.  In responding to comments your interaction may attract additional unhelpful responses & open you up to adverse event reporting and therefore active monitoring.

Before you start reaching for the brakes, hold on, all control is not lost!

Google Sidewiki does allow you as the site owner to post the first entry displayed by Google Sidewiki on each page. This can be used to positively drive the conversation, allow disclaimers to be added and block space available to contributors.  Dig even further and there are potentially other blocking actions available to increase control which may suit some companies and brands.

So what to do with the new ‘Sidewiki’ thingy?

Act like an ostrich and let your competitors steal a march or take the bull by the horns, seize the opportunities, combat the threats and build clear digital strategy for Google Sidewiki.

Google Sidewiki can be downloaded directly from Google: Google Sidewiki

13/10/09

Big Pink lands in Australia ready for action

posted by Richard Smith, on 07/10/2009

Today marks our arrival in sunny Australia, we are setting up home in our new offices in North Sydney.  Servers are connected , phone lines are on and we are ready to make new pharma buddies and start a ‘Digital Revolution’ in the Australian pharma market.

06/10/09