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MINI film is mighty powerful

Our film of the MINI Westfield store shows the power and value of this much misunderstood medium. It captured the whole zeitgeist of the BMW Group’s modern retailing in a way a press release or photo never could:

1. You can feel the mood – you’re almost there in the store popping on the 3D glasses
2. See the genuine reaction of customers – bringing an authenticity a quote never can
3. You can see the buzz of the place and footfall for yourself – the joint was jumping!

For us, modern retailing wasn’t about the technology…the iPads, 3D virtual products presenter or the interactive mirror.  It was about the people experience.  You would never have known that unless you had visited the store or watched the film.

Film is so easy to distribute – a couple of clicks to an FTP like YouSendIt or WeTransfer and you can send it anywhere.  Drop it on to YouTube, Vimeo, LinkedIn or Facebook as well.

For a multi-national organisation like the BMW Group the film creates the opportunity for internal people to see what cutting edge initiatives the company is investing without the expense of having to travel there.  For customers it promotes the fun of the brand and gives people an incentive to visit to the store at Westfield Stratford City.

So if you don’t think you can stretch your budget to film.  Think again.  Can you not afford to?  With a little planning and focus it can be remarkably cost-effective.  From brief to deliver was barely more than 3 days.

WATCH FILM>>

Amidst the splenetic debate about bankers’ bonuses, I was chatting the other evening to a friend with a long career in investment banking, much of it spent in Germany.  He was pointing out that Germany’s economic success is in part down to its backbone of privately-owned companies, at the heart of which is a vibrant Mittelstand community – the many thousands of small- to medium-sized private companies which feed Germany’s mighty manufacturing machine.

Germany’s Mittelstand is booming – with double-digit growth according to some measures.  René Obermann, the CEO of Deutsche Telekom, observed last year that this is “faster than the Chinese economy.”  It set me thinking.  The UK Government repeatedly tells us that our economy will stand or fall on the success of our own entrepreneurs and growing private companies.  But how much encouragement do we really give this crucial constituency?

In a surprising burst of humility, my investment banker friend said that his own industry is probably partly to blame for preventing many private companies from maturing into the adulthood they deserve.  “The problem is, investment banks are incentivised to churn the private market,” he said.  “We positively encourage businesses to grow as fast as possible, then sell out after five or six years to one of their publicly-listed competitors – or to private equity, which holds onto them for another three or four years and then sells them on.”

He has a point.  With the right financial support and fiscal encouragement from Government, how many more JCBs, Virgins, John Lewis’s and Triumphs would we have in the UK?  These are great brands, big brands, market-leading brands – all privately-owned (not a venture capitalist or private equity investor in sight), unhindered by the constraints of a listed share price or the short-termism of institutional investors.

As our investment bankers ponder their worth and their bonuses this January, it might be worth them reflecting on the Mittelstand – and how they could help create the same phenomenon here.

When was the last time you despaired reading an exec summary?

The Sumo wrestler in Speedos
(ridiculously fat document squeezed into a ridiculously small one)

The 60-second Hamlet
(boring proposal with all the boring bits taken out)

The naked emperor
(Why didn’t anyone tell me this didn’t make any sense?)   

The burst balloon
(a bright and promising pitch with all the air sucked out of it)

The Marie Antionette
(it’s all about me, me, me – let the customer eat cake)

The polished t**d
(fabulously well-written, but the content stinks)

The road to nowhere
(well built, well signposted, but with no clear conclusion)

The vicar’s knickers
(practical and functional, but lacking excitement)

You probably recognise a few of these. We do – we’ve seen them all. That's how we've come to know what works and what doesn’t: the difference between a killer exec summary and a long-winded suicide note.

Here are 10 tips to help you produce the best exec summary in the business:

Download Top 10 Exec Summary Tips

As I was leaving our office in Marylebone on a Monday recently I saw the usual queue of customers outside the Le Relais de Venise restaurant.  Queues 20 deep are not uncommon in the evening with customers standing outside shivering as a gale and driving rain chills them to the bone.

It made me think about their business model in a time of recession.  Although London is less affected than other parts of the country, there are dozens of restaurants within a stone’s throw with vacant tables – particularly on a Monday.

I’ve dined there a few times.  The service is not great.  So it’s not that.  There is no choice on the menu either.  Just a walnut salad followed by steak frites.  The only choice you have is how the steak is cooked – rare, medium or well done.  Not even medium rare – non merci!

But then again, that’s it’s secret. In a world where we’re swamped with choice it’s nice to switch off and know what you’re getting.  Spend the evening with friends or business acquaintances chatting and not worrying if the duck is cooked properly or the pasta is fresh.

With retailers trying to offer more and more choice at higher and higher cost to them, perhaps there’s a place for sticking to a simpler, more predictable customer experience.