News

Authenticity will define 2012 - Brilliant words from Wally Olins

2012-01-20T17:46:00.005Z

So what do we really want – cheap and nasty, or responsible, sustainable and authentic?In October 2011 Asda lowered its prices. Again. 3,000 products had their prices slashed and there was a special offer: spend £40 this week and you get £5 off the next £40 you spend. Tesco also cut prices like crazy and Sainsbury had ‘brand match’ – whatever you cut, we’ll cut too. Even Waitrose started comparing prices – in a rather genteel way, of course. As for Aldi and Lidl – don’t ask. Christmas and post-Christmas was a price-cutting bonanza. And it hasn’t stopped.As household incomes go down, shoppers get much more careful and prices come down too. Chickens – £1.99. What kind of a chicken can you get for £1.99? Only one that has been tortured to grow fat since its birth six weeks ago.When things get tight nobody wants to know anymore about factory farming and all its associated ghastliness. It’s all been quite forgotten – at least for the time being. Nobody is interested in the pressures on suppliers either. We don’t want to know about sheep farmers going bankrupt as long as lamb prices stay low in our supermarket. It’s price, price, price at the moment.So, does this mean that responsible, sustainable, local, authentic, organic was a brief fad – that now with the nation in an apparently profound and long recession we recognize it was a dream? I don’t think so. Somehow or other organic products keep on getting more shelf space and supermarkets still like to talk about their loyal suppliers with their local roots. Farm shops still flourish. Authentic, organic, local – all that stuff is still in the frame – if only just.So, what’s going on? Do we want cheap and greasy on Monday and higher quality and tasty on Wednesday? Of course we’re conflicted. Of course we want both at the same time, or at least in rapid succession. But it doesn’t look to me as though ‘environment’, ‘sustainable’, ‘natural’, ‘organic’, ‘fresh’, ‘local’ have been chucked out of the window. On the contrary, wherever you walk – even in the tawdriest supermarkets – you see these words popping up. And it isn’t just supermarkets either. It’s everywhere.McDonald’s, always a bellwether where public taste is concerned, has been going green literally for the past couple of years. Although McDonald’s still retain what they risibly call their ‘ Golden Arches’, the facias have changed colour from a startling scarlet that looked like it was bursting a blood vessel to a profoundly bucolic green. It’s so green you expect to see cows walking all over the interiors. So presumably McDonald’s have researched themselves silly in their efforts to find out where to go and what to do and they’ve taken the view that the environmental values are here to stay. And they have modulated their branding to match.For what it’s worth, that’s my view too. Right now business is terrible – there’s one economic crisis after another and everybody, except bankers, is looking to save some cash. Even Goldman Sachs incurred a loss recently. Terrible isn’t it? Budgets are going down and everybody is shopping around for a bargain so a lot of branding is emphasising price.But in the longer term I feel sure there has been a profound change in the way we think about ourselves in relation to the environment and particularly in relation to food. All those Heston Blumenthals and Jamie Olivers and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls are not just talking to themselves. We are moving towards what you might call ‘authenticity’. We want things to be real, we want things to be properly crafted, we want things to taste as though they come from somewhere. And that’s having a big impact on branding.There are a number of different and apparently separate movements that suggest this. The focus on local foods is one, the power of the celebrity chefs, the encouragement to emulate them at home and the striking success of organics is another. And it isn’t only food. The anti-banking protest movement, Occupy, is another manifestation of the desire to make life a bit simpler, a bit nicer. There is a feeling that we’ve had too much, too much of everything. Too much greed. Too many cars. Too much drink. Too much drugs. Too many clothes.There’s a feeling around that we need a bit less of everything and that we need to find something a bit simpler and more profound and less superficial in ourselves.The post-modern exhibition at the V&A Museum in London exemplifies the era we have just been through that is just ending. Post-modernism was about the rejection of modernism, of form follows function, of simplicity, in favour of fun, excess and exaggeration. And now post-modernism is ending too.Brand builders are an integral part of the dominant contemporary culture. For the last couple of decades many really successful brands have represented, however obliquely, post-modern ideologies – they have been funny, superficial, oblique and maybe a bit fantastic.That era is ending. Now it’s not only about price, it’s also all about authenticity. Where it comes from, who made it, how lovingly it is produced. Country of origin; even city of origin. Staffordshire china.Authenticity is back. Brand builders – you had better recognize that. Tomorrow, I believe, the world will be about authenticity. No more excess. So what does that mean for brands? It means that you have to try to be yourself, you have to try to be restrained, you have to try to be modest, you have to try to be authentic.

We are creating an online e-learning platform with AMEC

2012-01-04T13:17:00.008Z

With 26,000 employees working in 36 countries AMEC is one of the world's leading engineering, project management and consultancy companies. We are working with them to create an online environment where employees can learn in real time, at a time to suit them and in their own language. The platform uses video, quiz and bullet summaries in easy to digest chapters that can be paused and re-started so employees can pick it up and return as and when time allows.

Tredders trading for Christmas

2011-12-09T15:56:00.004Z

tredders.com is up and running for Christmas trading. If you are looking at quality footwear to put into your stockings or indeed the other way around then as a client of CJP you are entitled to 10% discount (and free postage). Simply use code TQF10 at the check out.

Westminster Parking will be a disaster for local businesses

2011-10-20T12:55:00.000+01:00

We are fully supportive of the residents' society of Mayfair and St James's campaign against the new parking charges. From 9 January 2012 there will be no free parking on meters or yellow lines from 8.30am until midnight, Monday - Saturday, and from 1pm-6pm on Sunday. Tony Lorenz chairman of the society is heading a campaign to vote against the changes. If you are a local business or resident vote no here We are submitting the petition shortly so don't delay.

2011-10-10T16:10:00.001+01:00

The smart phone version of the Lorenz Consultancy website is now live allowing users to search for over 40,000 commercial properties throughout the UK. The site can detect where the phone is located and create a search within a specified distance of it. If you have an iPhone why not give it a try by going to thelorenzconsultancy.co.uk

40,000 properties to let or for sale

2011-10-03T16:45:00.001+01:00

We have improved the search functionality on thelorenzconsultancy.co.uk so you can now search by postcode throughout the country for offices, shops, industrial, medical, leisure or restaurant use. The iPhone version of the site that allows search based on your location is due to launch this week

Silver Reef launch event

2011-09-29T09:43:00.000+01:00

We had a great turn out for the Silver Reef launch event at the St Kitts and Nevis High Commission in Kensington.Simon Hill, MD of Silver Reef and Micha-Rose Emmett of Henley and Partners both gave short presentations together with a video message from The Rt. Hon. Ricky Skerritt, Minister for Tourism and International Transport Click here . The event was well supported by the team at Henley and Partners and The St. Kitts Tourism Authority. We have received some really positive feedback, particularly about the electronic version of the brochure which guests were able to take away on a memory stick. If you want a copy let us know.

Silver Reef Phase 2 launch

2011-09-27T09:36:00.000+01:00

We are launching phase 2 of Silver Reef St Kitts tomorrow (28th September) at the High Commission in Kensington. If you would like to come along let me know and I can arrange an invitation for you. Our second phase consists of 36 apartments - keenly priced to fit well into the economic citizenship pricing range. We have got 24 really well structured one-bedroom apartments and 12 penthouse two-bedroom apartments with a mezzanine level and prices start at $350,000. If you have clients looking at Citizen By Investment then let me know and I can let you have more details, or go to silverreefstkitts.com

Final testing the iPhone version of www.thelorenzconsultancy.co.uk

2011-09-13T13:31:00.003+01:00

We are hoping to go live with the our iPhone version of thelorenzconsultancy.co.uk in the next two weeks. The beta version of the site has a few bugs left to get rid of but the live search of over 40,000 available properties and the locator allowing search centred on your current location seems to be pretty robust. Next time you are out and about on your iPhone with a couple of minutes to spare we would be very grateful if you could give it a try and let us know what needs further work. Click here

Silver Reef St Kitts - Approved real estate for the Citizenship By Investment Programme

2011-07-05T11:31:00.010+01:00

Silver Reef is a development of apartments overlooking the Royal St Kitts golf course and adjacent to the Caribbean Sea in Frigate Bay. We have worked closely with the sales and marketing team who have successfully sold all but two apartments in phase one. We are shortly to launch the marketing campaign for phase 2 with launches in London and St Kitts together with a soft launch in Hong Kong. The apartments qualify a purchaser to apply for Citizenship through the Government's Citizenship By Investment Programme. The scheme was introduced in 1984 and is considered to be one of the most respected schemes in the world.

end2end completed

2011-06-03T09:31:00.005+01:00

Chris Pattison successfully cycled from Lands End to John O Groats in some of the most extreme weather imaginable. A total of 962 miles was pedalled in 56hours 48 minutes at an average speed of 16.91mph. There were 51,266 feet of climbing and the total calorie burn was 67,550! The last 25 mile stretch turned into a race at an average speed of over 21mph.

Almost £3,500 has been raised by very generous sponsors - A big thanks to all of those who contributed

Tredders Shoes website goes live

2011-04-15T17:38:00.005+01:00

After final testing we are now live on the tredders.com website. Two orders in the first few hours proved the power of online retailing! We will continue to develop the website and the product range over the next few months.

The APB Linked In Group welcomes its 100th member

2011-03-25T14:25:00.012Z

We have today welcomed the 100th member to the Linked in group we set up for the Association of Property Bankers. We are hoping to generate some quality discussion on issues facing the industry but to also introduce The Association to bankers operating in the property sector who may benefit from membership.

It has also proved to be an easy and quick way to notify members of upcoming events whether educational or social.

If you would like to me considered for membership to The Association please click here

thelorenzconsultancy.com launched

2011-03-25T14:04:00.004Z

The new website for The Lorenz Consultancy launched this week. It has received a great response with almost 3000 unique visits to date. The property search function which is powered by Estate Agents Clearing house gives users access to over 40,000 available properties throughout the UK from office, retail and industrial space to leisure, medical and restaurant uses. We will continue to work with Tony Lorenz and his team over the next twelve months to improve, finesse and update the site.

Tredders footwear photo-shoot

2011-02-28T15:01:00.003Z

How lucky were we with the weather last week for the photo-shoot in the New Forest with Tredders. It was a real team effort and we all took our turn both in front of and behind the camera but the photographer Martin Appleton was excellent. All of our impromptu models including horses, donkeys, dogs, pigs and children all behaved impeccably!

Silver Reef St Kitts

2011-01-19T15:35:00.002Z

We have been appointed to the marketing team for the Silver Reef residential and commercial development in St Kitts. We got some great video and photography last week which we will be using online in the marketing campaign. The development consists 70+ apartments with some commercial space at the front of the site. Built and project managed to british standards the quality is very very good.

The Association of Property Bankers' Annual Fundraising Dinner

2010-11-15T18:20:00.003Z

A brilliant evening last week at The Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge. I was a guest of President Andrew Goodbody so got the full VIP treatment. Other people on our table included Armando lannucci, Giles Barrie, John Richards, Liz Peace and Michael Thirkettle - some great conversations!

The Dinner raised substantial amounts of money for Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, St Mungo's and The Great Football Givaway.

The Lorenz Consultancy are now on Twitter

2010-10-28T16:52:00.004+01:00

We have today set up The Lorenz Consultancy Twitter account. Anthony Lorenz is certainly someone who knows what is going on in the property market and is not afraid to voice his opinion so definitely one to watch in the future. Click here

New scratch card competition is launched

2010-10-13T16:35:00.001+01:00

We launched a competition this week to City leasing agents promoting the availability of space at Sherborne House in Cannon Street. Agents will receive a series of scratch cards over the next few weeks and have to match three symbols to win a bottle of champagne. The feedback has been very strong so far with a encouraging response rates. Lets hope it delivers new interest in the space.

Innovative Hoarding

2010-09-20T13:28:00.004+01:00

We recently designed a very innovative hoarding design to wrap a shop in Westbourne Grove whilst building works were being carried out. Enstar Capital gave us our head and allowed us to create a hoarding in the shape of a shopping bag (handles and all) with a campaign to capture feedback and preferences from local shoppers via text message. Property Week picked up the story whilst we were consulting on planning. Orme Retail managed to conclude a letting before we managed to get onsite which was disappointing for us but great news for Enstar.

Beating the Tube strike

2010-09-08T14:17:00.004+01:00

The CJP team made use of our Barclays Cycle Hire corporate account to beat the Tube strike yesterday. A great success and perhaps a precedent has been set. We will try to cycle to all future meetings if weather allows.

Raising the roof of the Olympic Velodrome

2010-05-21T10:27:00.004+01:00

We have worked with Ed Hill on the video edit of this time lapse of the Velodrome roof construction. Could this be the venue for yet more GB gold in 2012?

The Venulum investor conference in West Virginia

2010-05-13T09:50:00.007+01:00

The annual investor conference at The Greenbrier West Virginia provided a great snap shot of investor mood in the USA. There were over 100 attendees from all over the country and whilst the clients enjoyed some great activities including golf, geo cache, croquet and trap shooting the real reason to get together was the presentation from chairman GIles Cadman. Giles outlined the various methods of investing in fine wine including en-primeur, the wine fund, wine purchase agreements and full physical purchase. Giles also outlined the property and capital projects Venulum are currently working on and the respective investment opportunities they offer. From the client meetings after the presentation it was clear that appetite for the right kind of investment was very strong, particularly for long term and lower risk profile opportunities.

We are about to send an online survey to the attendees, and will hopefully be able to use the feedback to create a better conference next year.

The property marketing and communication landscape is changing fast

2010-05-07T13:01:00.003+01:00

I think Tony Danaher of FD was insightful when he outlined the insular, almost sectarian nature of the property industry of the 90's. An industry that was of no interest to the national media or to the government apart from HMRC.

Things have changed significantly since then but there is a concern that as an industry many players still run their businesses as personal fiefdoms with little regard to "customer relations". Marketing comes well down on their list of priorities and little regard is paid to their image.

Are we heading for a market place where those who adopt modern communication methods and satisfy the instant need for information and opinion are at a distinct advantage to their competitors who are happy to sit on their hands? Only time will tell.

Interestingly the recent Property Week supplement on Marketing for the New Decade has some enlightened opinion on the future of communication from a broad panel but in a publication littered with Facebook, Twitter, Digg and YouTube logo's should we be surprised that only two of the panel can be found on Twitter? Should we be concerned that FD considered to be "one of the UK’s leading financial and corporate communications consultancies" has a latest news section on their website that hasn't been updated since October 2009?

Clearly there are a host of new communication channels available to us now but the old principals of consistency and authenticity still apply.

Groupon is coming to London

2010-04-14T14:19:00.004+01:00

Groupon is a great site that pools buyers together to negotiate better prices. It originated the concept of using collective buying to get a daily deal on local goods and services, and is an outgrowth of ThePoint.com, an online community launched in 2007 for organizing all forms of group action and fund-raising around a “tipping point” of required participants.

If you are a business that offers stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in London then you should register your business on the site.
Click here

William Newsom Head of Valuation at Savills has become our guest blogger on the Association of Property Bankers website.

2010-03-18T16:01:00.001Z

"The average prime equivalent yield for the 12 property sectors tracked by Savills’ Commercial Investment Team now stands at 5.73%. This sits 2.86% below the average prime equivalent yield recorded when capital values reached their recent trough in early 2009. The pace in the fall of average prime yields over the last 12 months has been quite staggering."

MORE

10 top tips for online networking

2010-03-12T10:01:00.002Z

March 11, 2010
Networking sites can help you build relationships with customers, generate feedback and market awareness so it is essential to get it right.

We suggest the following:

1.Browse other profiles. What draws your attention and what pushes you away? Who do you want to connect with?

2.Get the essentials right. Tell your reader who you are and what you do succinctly and clearly in two sentences. Include a link to your website. You will get the chance to elaborate as you get to know people.

3.Use the language of the medium. Business networking platforms such as LinkedIn, should be considered like any other networking opportunity and you should behave as you would at say an IOD function.

4.People will want to know how credible you are so mention qualifications. Goals are important, too – so spell them out.

5.Let a little personality through. It should not be all about work – your interests can open doors with others who share them. Balance work and personal information sensibly, though, and think about who you want to connect with.

6.Post a picture. Photographs are more immediate than words, but a picture must be right for the medium.

7.Brand your profile. Most platforms allow you to change colours or add background images. Use your company livery to reinforce your viewer’s connection with your firm’s brand.

8.Keep it fresh. Update your profile regularly. If your goals change, or you’ve got a great success story, add that in. If people can see that you have been recently active on a profile they will be more inclined to connect with you.

9. Don’t sell, engage. Never use your profile to try to sell to people – they will leave immediately and there are other channels you can use to talk about your product or service. The aim of your profile is to give people a reason to connect with you, rather than with your business.

10. Keep your site up to date with rich content. Good content once a month is better than drivel once a week.

2010-03-12T09:58:00.001Z

Incorporate Blogging into your marketing mix or fall behind your competitors
Blogging provides a medium to communicate with clients instantly and from wherever you happen to find yourself with your mobile phone or laptop.

A ‘weblog’, or blog, is an online diary which allows you to post your thoughts for a public audience.

Getting started

Starting a blog can be as simple as registering with a provider and typing your first message. Google’s Blogger is free and good. As one would expect it is pretty efficient from a search perspective as well. WordPress.org, is also free but will require you to download software onto the server that already hosts your website if you want to integrate it directly into your site. Alternatively you can host it for free on the WordPress site and link it to your own site.

We are integrating blog content straight into the news section of our client’s websites and linking content to Twitter.

Finding your audience

There are literally hundreds of sites and portals that want to host your content but it is easy to fall into the trap of becoming a user of too many different sites and end up failing to update any of them. If you are in the property industry there are two or three networks such as Property Week’s Network and Reorb that have the critical mass to make them of value so stick with them to start with. Don’t try to be everything to everyone or it will fail.

Search engines are very important for attracting new business, and blogs are search engine magnets. Google loves fresh content and new links. (see our thoughts on Google Buzz)

Writing your views

When writing entries, avoid marketing and sales messages. Blogs give you the chance to talk subjectively, as you would offline. Your readers will get to know you and the company, and they won’t be presented with a grey façade.

Think about what is happening in your sector and what is affecting business in general. What trends are emerging? What challenges are you facing as a result of, for example, new legislation? Can you take inspiration from news stories that your readers might have read elsewhere?

Whatever you write, be prepared for responses, some of which might be awkward to deal with. Markets are now about conversations. If people disagree with you, you have the chance to learn from and answer criticism.

The future

The next generation websites will still contain the “brochure on line” experience but users will become increasingly demanding for up to the minute opinion and content. That content will take the form of Twitter type updates, blogging type opinions and personal interview type video.

Watch this space!

Remember The Simple Mathematics Of Pay Per Click

2010-03-02T13:15:00.000Z

Remember The Simple Mathematics Of Pay Per Click

Off to Grimenz

2010-02-12T15:09:00.000Z

Spending half term in Switzerland.Can't wait

London Thames Gateway Development Corporation

2010-02-12T14:56:00.000Z

We went to see Peter Andrews at LTGDC this week to see what challenges they face from a communications perspective. We should be able to add some value

Garbe Group

2010-02-12T14:48:00.000Z

We are doing some great work with Garbe Group. They are a property company based in Hamburg Germany with a London office in the City. They are about the size of a FTSE350 company and have done some huge schemes in the UK over the last ten years. The team is pretty diverse but have the most amazing array of talent and experience. They even have an ex Fosters and Partners architect on the team.

We are doing some pretty ground breaking corporate marketing for them. Watch this space

Is this the best example of viral marketing ever?

2010-02-05T11:28:00.000Z

http://bit.ly/aePVOF

I think this is absolutely brilliant. It is not often something resonates so strongly and aligns interests so perfectly.

I love it!!!

2010-01-06T18:56:00.000Z

Welcome to a new decade, and best wishes for great creative thinking and building brand value in 2010!

The Landmark Canary Wharf E14

2009-12-04T09:36:00.000Z

We are selling our portfolio of one and two bedroom apartments in the East Tower, The Landmark, Canary Wharf London E14. The portfolio of flats is for sale at a price of around £10m reflecting an initial yield of 5.5%. Go to www.thelandmarktower.com for more information

2009-12-03T15:13:00.001Z

You can now download a PDF version of the CJP Autumn Winter Review from the home page of www.letscreate.it. A short recap of what we have been doing for clients this year.

2009-11-13T15:55:00.000Z

I was the guest of the President of The Association of Property Bankers Annual Fund Raising Dinner last night held at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel.

It was a brilliant evening and I had a good chat with Phil Tuffnell who was sitting on our table before doing his after dinner speech

BMW 1200GS Adventure

2009-11-13T15:54:00.001Z

I have just bought my new BMW 1200GS Adventure. It is brilliant.

Associaton of Property Bankers - website is live

2009-11-13T15:51:00.001Z

We launched the new Association of Property Bankers website last week. As the voice of the industry good informative communication is vital

Corporate Makeover

2009-11-13T15:49:00.000Z

We have just submitted a marketing report to a national construction company. These difficult times are an awesome opportunity for some!

Construction company proposal

2009-11-13T14:52:00.001Z

We are being considered for a corporate review. Having been shortlisted alondside one other we are very hopeful.