Russian Standard Vodka is widely recognized in its homeland as a benchmark for excellence, therefore it is little surprise that their team turned to Mash Marketing to provide fantastic hostesses for their recent, exclusive members night.

Look out for the Mash girls at the upcoming Russian Standard Vodka Originals Film Festival, in collaboration with Empire Magazine – which sees truly classic films playing in luxuriously decadent cinemas right across the country – kicking off with a VIP launch night in London on 31st August at the Everyman Cinema in Belsize Park.

Hailing from Colombia and having just recently completed her 3rd year in the field for Mash…we’d like to say a massive well done and thanks for 3 years of dedication and professionalism to Monica Botero.

Monica has completed hundreds of projects for us and never lets us down and always prepares really diligently and thoroughly for every campaign. She is currently knee-deep in her dissertation for her Masters in Marketing – and is focusing her project on Experiential Marketing.

Mashing through the years has clearly inspired her to take her experience to the next level and is hoping to land a graduate role with a top agency soon…

In the meantime, she’s still holding out for that elusive “Salsa Dance” campaign…

Well done Monica from all at Mash Towers.

Is none other than the mighty Paul Hanson a.k.a. Frog.

Frog has delivered to the highest level all year round and consistently goes that extra mile for us. Not least when recently he stepped in last minute to help avert a bit of a van and stock crisis at some very unsociable hour on the M6.

It really is appreciated by us all here at Mash and this award is in recognition of someone who truly appreciates the teamwork and partnership focus we need throughout our campaigns.

Frog informs us that he has already started work on building a trophy cabinet.

We love a confident Masher…

Mash were out in force at the Annual Field Marketing and Brand Experience Awards at the Marriot Mayfair last night.

We received a ‘highly recommended’ Silver Award once again. We felt we were in with a really strong chance of Gold but no matter, it was still an awesome night and we’re over the moon at the success of this year.

We have delivered over 235 projects this year alone, working with some of the coolest brands on the planet at gigs, festivals and events all over the UK and Europe. We have a lot of work in the pipeline for 2010 already, some of which we will start planning and booking very soon. We’ve also got an awesome new development on the database front and hugely improved interactivity in the new phase of the website.

Lots to come, and lots to celebrate.

Not least our Mashers themselves. Without them nothing would be possible and as if to prove this very point – a team of our girls and guys did us immensely proud at the awards last night effortlessly hosting the guests and presenting the awards – with class and professionalism that only Mash can offer!

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead.

Congratulations to Vicky Parkinson who has consistently impressed everyone at Mash Towers and team-mates and clients alike through her continued dedication and positive attitude.

When interviewed at a top-secret Sheffield hotel, Vicky gave us the following response…”Thats fantastic news! Eeek Im’ so excited and it is so nice to be rewarded for my efforts, thanks to all the team!”

…and in response to our seasoned questions put to our top Mashers…

You know me as a Masher but in another life I would have been….. a sportsperson, I love sport, so it would have to be a sky sports news reporter, a professional golfer, playing centre midfield for Sheffield United (!?!) or a super hero, banana man was always my favourite.

Im not a politician but if I was….there are far too any things to comment on! Well, I would scrap higher education fees, lower the price of petrol, introduce more sport into schools, scrap the obvious taxes, grant everyone 3 genie-esque wishes and many other controversial things!

In a nutshell,my philosophy is….”The world always look brighter from behind a smile!”

With regard to work – “Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day and of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.”

Our very recent Masher of the Month Christiana Dobbie has very kindly put together some helpful hints to get the most out of a day in the field with Mash.

You have been selected as one of our Mashers who we consider to be extra hard-working and who performs well over long shifts requiring high-energy, which is why we thought you would be suitable for this fun activity! We want you to have the most enjoyable working day as possible and to perform at optimum level right the way through!

Below are a few hints and suggestions we have to make your day go by as comfortably as possible. While they may seem incredibly obvious (or amusing!) to you, and we imagine you will have many of them covered already, please take a minute to go through them as they have been compiled from direct feedback from Mash staff working on previous jobs similar to the one you will be undertaking, so these suggestions from your fellow Mashers may be handy to you:

1) Bring extra water and soft drinks with you than you would normally to work.

2) Eat a good breakfast. And bring plenty of lunch and energy snacks such as bananas, nuts, cereal bars and any other protein-rich snacks. NB. Caffeine and energy drinks only provide short-term boosts followed by an energy ‘slump’! Also avoid too much sugar as it can make energy levels fluctuate.

3) Consider bringing a pack of mints for your breaks (particularly peppermint) which apparently have revitalising properties.

4)Consider bringing extra pair of socks (and foot sprtiz) to keep your feet comfortable.

5) Consider bringing an extra pair of comfy shoes to slip on during breaks. Even if you’re wearing comfy trainers or flat shoes as part of your uniform, a pair of flip flops/sandals etc worn on your break gives feet the chance to cool down and get some air.

6) Consider bringing spray deodorant to pep you up.

7) In a break, rubbing the back of your neck for 60 seconds can stave off an energy slump by improving blood flow to the brain. Try splashing your face for a second with cold water too.

8)  If you are taking part in vigorous activity it might be an idea to stretch beforehand and even on your break if you feel a little achy.

9) Get a good night’s sleep the night before.

10) Avoid drinking excessive alcohol the night before, even the smallest amount can affect your sleep or make you feel a little fatigued the next day.

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Thanks for reading over this, we hope you enjoy the activity and thank you in advance for your hard work!

Should a Church do Experiential Marketing or any Marketing?

Written by Daniel Herndon on July 28th, 2009

I was posed an interesting question first as a comment to a blog a few months ago and then again this week… Does Current Church Do Experiential Marketing? Should Current Church do Experiential Marketing?

Should a church spend money on advertisement? Should they seek to market themselves (like a business)?

Some would say that churches should NOT do “marketing”. They should only serve the community, and I will admit up front that I am (mostly) of this persuasion. Why spend money on promoting your assembly when you can use those resources to help those in need?

For background: I attend Current Church in Franklin, IN. Current Church is also the ‘parent’ and host of “The Gear”, a music venue that every weekend has performances from bands of all types, all persuasions, from all over the country and patrons of many walks of life. It is a welcoming environment for everyone regardless of their beliefs.

So to the question, does Current do experiential marketing? I would say yes…without trying. The Churches goals are to reach people and make a positive difference in their life and give them a place to turn for answers. The core audience is people from the age of 18 to 32 at Current. The Gear music venue provides an environment for this segment of society. Indianapolis (and Franklin) needs places where people can find community, as well as a positive environment. A place to connect, a place to engage. A place where young adults have a person to talk to, and place where “those on the fringe of society” can fit in and feel welcome. The Gear provides that.

By this, serving a simple need in the community, people are exposed to what Current offers. The next level of community… a family, and a purpose. The Gear is creating a platform for people to come without being sold on any ideologies, yet they have the opportunity to experience the fervent message and care that Current has freely received and freely gives. This is not a marketing plan, yet it is indeed experiential marketing.

What do you think?

Daniel Herndon | redwall LIVE Marketing

As part of our ‘Understanding the Challenge’ initiative, all of the internal team have committed to working on a number of our live campaigns over the course of this summer. The ambition for the project is to gain greater understanding and empathy for the challenges faced by our Mashers in the field and as a result of this new experience, gain greater insight which we hope will further fuel the innovation aspirations of the business for 2009.

We are continuously hunting for ways to improve and refine the staffing process and believe that this initiative will effectively aid us in this endeavour.

Understanding the Challenge 1 > Our first person to jump at the challenge was our very own Talent Manager, Gregorious the Gentle.

We conducted a quick interview with him post activity;

What was it like being down in the trenches?

I really enjoyed it. I think I got lucky in a way with the job I was given. Being in a positive environment like John Lewis in Kingston certainly beats leafletting in the rain on a dodgy street corner!

What was the biggest surprise for you?

Many ‘Mashers’ feed back to me that working alone is the kind of job they would rather avoid and I can completely understand after this experience. I’m the kind of person who thrives on being around people; be it colleagues, peers etc so working alone was a whole new concept for me. I suppose the biggest surprise to me was how easy it was to speak to people and how many responses I got and yet how few sales I was able to conclude on! (am not bitter…honest!!)

What was the hardest part of the job?

This was a Sales Job – no question. I couldn’t have had more conversations with consumers or demonstrated the coffee machine more in the time but it was such a complex challenge convincing the shoppers to buy a machine there and then.

What insight have you gained as a result of this?

I suppose I’ve realised the importance of practicing what we preach. The need to be on-brand in terms of appearance, punctuality, product knowledge, demeanour and attitude really couldn’t be more apparent in an environment like John Lewis where ALL the employees are employed on their ability to retain absolute standards on all these alements too.

Would you do it again!?

Absolutely. I honestly got a real buzz from it and was intrigued to see and sense the various consumer responses to what was an amazing brand and coffee machine. Consumer behaviour and psychologies have always interested me and this provided great insight into the various behaviours. Who knows, next time I might actually sell a few more…

This is a great week down at Mash Towers. After 4 years of hard endeavour, thousands of hours of hard graft and a lot of standing on soap boxes and talking about how our industry needed to change, we have won our first GOLD award for excellence. The ISP Award for Service Partner of the Year 2009 is in recognition of our added value partnership with our client BMT and all of the dedication and focus that has gone in to delivering the hugely successful School Foods Trust campaign.

We are passionate advocates of great promotional staffing, disciples of excellence and real supporters of change through innovation in our sector. We are immensely proud to have been recognised with this award and want to thank all of our fantastic clients, partners who have had the foresite to allocate their staffing fulfilment to us as their specialists and work with us as partners rather than clients, thereby providing the dynamic that has enabled us to innovate and perpetually improve our product and service offering. We would also like to send a huge thanks to our wonderful book of brand ambassadors, our Mashers. Through their dedication and commitment to our business, they have enabled us to over deliver on our campaigns, raising the bar in staffing fulfilment and adding substance and credibility to our ‘excellence in staffing’ mantra.

Thank you one and all!

Yorkshire Brand Champion :: Rowena Finn

We often talk of the opportunity to grow with Mash and Rowena is a classic example of someone who has forged a successful path with Mash.

Rowena responded to a Mash job advert on her University Careers Job Site, attended a group interview in Sheffield and went on to complete a variety of Brand Ambassador assignments. Her attention to detail and ability to take the lead were quickly spotted and she naturally fell into some challenging Team-Lead/Event Management roles which she completed with aplomb and professionalism.

Rowena is now our Brand Champion for Yorkshire and someone who completely understands the values associated with working for Mash and we’re delighted she is flying our flag.

Rowena herself sees the role’s imporance as “to assist MASH in reaching out to top class guys n gals and to get them to believe and deliver”

She’s not a politician but if she was, she’s confident that we would not be experiencing the current credit crunch…….

It’s positivity like that that sets our Brand Champions apart.
Look out for Rowena running a Yorkshire Recruitment Day near you soon