Talk about the glamorous life of advertising… me and the boss man Landi have just returned from a very successful trip to the Midwest.
Our friends Hydratight invited Access to join their Marketing Summit, held in the beautiful town of Red Wing, Minnesota. The meeting brought together the entire marketing team from around the world for a full-on three day meeting, discussing the hot topics on the Hydratight horizon, and it was a fantastic honour to be included as part of their M7 (Marketing 7) team!
And what a week it was, the Americans sure know how to work hard and play hard (at least us Europeans won the bowling!!). And that coupled with the jet lag that being six hours behind brings, gave the whole trip a very surreal edge to it.
But I can safely say being able to spend so much time with the team, both on and off the pitch, has given me a much deeper understanding of them – how they work, how they think and the challenges we collectively face. And this understanding, coupled with the opportunity to be privy to, and to help shape Hydratight’s future plans, has left me feeling very focused and very excited about the future… keep an eye out for some exciting stuff coming out of Access towers in the new year!!!
But in the meantime, just in case you thought it was all play and no work, here’s a blow by blow account of the trip:
Sat
It was a very cold, very early Saturday am start when Simon and I shipped out of Manchester Airport heading for Chicago, and what a city – it felt like we walked the width and breadth of it in our pursuit of xmas presents for the Landi family, but it certainly got me into the Christmas spirit.
Sun
Jet lag kicked in very early on Sunday morning so I was lucky enough to see the sun rise over Lake Michigan before we set off to join the rest of the team in Minneapolis. First stop a meeting with the team’s US video production company Token Media and from what we saw I’m very much looking forward to working with George and the team!
Next we were whisked off to see one of the best loved local sites; the Mall of America, proud owner of the coveted title largest mall in America, complete with full size funfair. When we arrived in Red Wing a few hours later and checked into the delightful St James Hotel, we were more than ready for bed, but instead we decided to check out the hotel bar, only for a couple of course, knowing we had a full on day in store.
Mon
Up early for an 8.30 am meeting at Hydratight’s Red Wing facility where we were treated to a full tour and demo of some of their innovative machines, before getting chance to meet some of the team and discuss what’s happening in product development and sales. After lunch we reconvened back at the St James for an afternoon of discussions including web and exhibitions, before heading to the Treasure Island Resort for the largest buffet you have ever seen, followed by bowling – did I mention we beat the Americans?
Tue
Just when I thought I was getting into the time zone we were up early again for more of the same including pr, advertising, digital marketing and crm, all very positive discussions followed by the world’s largest lunch and some sharing of secrets (what happens in Red Wing, stays in Red Wing) and then the opportunity to meet the owner of the world’s largest boot, when Maurice McClurg of The Red Wing Shoe Company paid us a visit to tell us about how they have used research to inform their branding decisions – inspiring! Then we got chance to meet more of the troops from Red Wing over drinks, providing us with a great opportunity to get the low-down straight from the horse’s mouth, don’t worry we’re working on it fellas. And with a few wines inside us we headed across the road to see this boot in all its glory – all 16ft of it!
Wed
Scheduled to be picked up at 9.30 to make our way back to the airport, we opted to start the meeting at 8 as we hadn’t quite covered everything the previous day. And with a long list of actions for all, we bid our farewells, hoping the weather would allow everyone to get home in due course. Alas American Airlines failed us and we were delayed for four hours at Chicago, leaving us a total of eight hours to kill at the dullest airport I’ve ever encountered, so being with the boss work resumed until I could bear it no more, and eventually we boarded about 10pm for another hellish eight hour flight home, think I’m kidding see Simon Landi’s tweet…
And since being back, it’s been nothing but Hydratight and the gym for me!
If you want to check out some of the other pics from the trip they’re all on Flickr
