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Once again our one and only Dan Stone has pounded the DJing world and has managed to get himself into the world’s Top 500 DJ’s!!
 
Every year DJ magazine hold the biggest DJ voting poll worldwide, and with this year having more than a huge 500,000 votes. Stoney has raced on in there at 487, proving to us all that he is more than just a MAC genius, and that he’s not holding back!

 
Attended a good briefing this morning run by The Financial Services Forum looking at the coalition Govt six months in (time flies when you’re cutting funds!). 

Andy Love MP, Mark Garnier MP and John Springfield (Social Market Foundation) all giving their insights into the regulatory, economic and social implications of the coalition so far.  Fascinating to get such a close-up view of where the potential landmines are for all the parties and all the speakers were both informed and refreshingly realistic. 

A key issue: how to handle the financial services sector in order to safeguard consumers and our economy from the “casino” operations of the investment banks whilst maintaining London as the pre-eminent financial centre of the West.  Let’s just say the jury’s still deliberating on that one. 

But a good session.   Check out the FSF’s other sessions here.

This January balloon dog’s Pret extraordinaire Will is going to reach new levels trekking Mt. Kilimanjaro for the fantastic Railway Children charity!

The Railway Children charity is dedicated to helping children living on the streets in the UK. To raise money for this worthy cause, Will shall be digging out his walking boots and packing in those extra calories to reach the summit of the highest freestanding mountain as well as the 4th most prominent mountain in the world, rising 19,298 ft from the base!!!!

It really will be an astounding achievement for our young Will, and we at balloon dog want to get you all involved by asking you to sponsor him for this fantastic charity.

So winter has set in and the weather is getting blustery and cold, and if you want to get that extra feel good factor on these dismal days there is nothing better than the selfless act of a little sponsorship to get you there……..and what better than this fine cause. So come on, support our Will at;

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/WillCole

To find out more about the chosen charity Railway Children go to; http://www.railwaychildren.org.uk/

A great time was had by the balloon dog board at the RAC- organised "Kili 4 Kids" charity ball last Saturday. With our own Will Cole part of the team planning to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro next January, the ball aimed to raise funds for the Railway Children charity which gives kids on the streets a chance to get into school and a better chance in life.

Pictured is our resident footie expert Greig, now the proud owner of a signed Norwich City shirt for our new Reception area. What Greig doesn't know about football isn't really worth knowing so it was nice to see him secure such an iconic item, even if it did involve a Scotsman parting with money!

More on Will and the team's intensive preperations (two Pret Love bars a day!) for the climb in due course…

OK, so that's two dreadful puns in the space of one title, but, our latest Pret A Manger success has gone to my head and turned my prose purple. Perchance it was ever thus…?! So what's got balloon dog's digital team all of a lather now? Well it's our hugely successful simultaneous launch of Pret A Manger's eCRM and Social Media campaigns – an entry into the digital world that's been as warmly welcomed as cup of Pret's Sag Aloo soup on a Monday morning in January.

For a brand so synonymous with sociability, and with such an outstanding record of real world communications, it may come as a surprise that Pret's digital footprint has, until now, been a size 2. Fan-created Facebook and Twitter pages have been around for some time but it's only now, with balloon dog's digital capacity having grown to match their needs, that they felt ready to engage.

The strategy we devised was based on channel integration in order to give Pret the biggest bang for their buck. Resource therefore wasn't assigned to building the Social Media platform's in isolation, but rather using Pret's existing email list to drive awareness and engagement. The launch email focussed heavily on recruiting fans and followers to the recently created official Facebook and Twitter pages. It also conveyed the message that from here on in they could look forward to a regular email digest and another way to have a tête-à-tête with Pret.

It's a strategy that has already paid dividends. Since Thursday followers on Twitter have risen by an astonishing 74% and over 900 new fans have joined the Facebook page and, as they say in prog rock circles, 'You ain't seen nothing yet!' Watch this space…