Lotus, David Laws, The Raft: It's The Drum's Quotes of the week
A look back at some of the things said as part of the news reported by The Drum throughout the last seven days.
“My departure comes as no surprise to The Raft as my exit has been planned and managed for the past three years. I have always harboured the dream of a better quality of life for my young family and as a keen scuba diver to live in Australia has always been a lifelong ambition. I’m incredibly proud of what has been achieved at The Raft and I wish the team well for the future. I now move on to head up a new marketing agency on the Sunshine Coast, near Brisbane,” were the departing words of Phil Storton, managing director of The Raft who had left to go walkabout down under.
Another man who has recently has a plane ticket in hand, was Martin Steele, senior brand manager for Irn-Bru, who has just returned from Brazil where he began the brand’s new online campaign ahead of the World Cup. He explained the idea behind it; “Both Scotland and Brazil are nations well-known for their love of football, and while we’re all looking forward to this summer’s events in South Africa, the nation can’t help but reflect on what we can do to secure our place in years to come. We thought it was about time Irn-Bru took action, and at least give Scots something to smile about if they miss seeing their team in action". Andrew Brown, corporate affairs director for the British Printing Industries Federation, explained the print increases introduced by paper suppliers last week; “In some way that incentivises efforts on the parts of merchants to try and counter some of these increases through economies in the processes,” he continued. “It is difficult for some of them as they can’t use technology in quite the same way that we can to take our costs and of course, so much is tied up in the cost of paper and the cost of transportation.” Ross Laird, director of Grayling Scotland, shares his thoughts on why former chief secretary of the Treasury, David Laws‘ political career is far from over; "David has an opportunity to become an authoritative commentator on the UK economy - in much the same way as Vince Cable was. Cable's new Ministerial post restricts what he can say, whereas Laws will have a free reign. David could certainly use this to his advantage. The media enjoys strong political rhetoric and a clever campaign to build up his media profile through thoughtful economic commentary would keep him in the running for future ministerial posts. "He’s acting like an entrepreneur and spotting opportunity; not prevaricating about the bush as the opportunity drifts away like ash on the wind. Obviously though, Malcolm Roughhead and his team will be the real architects of the plan,” were the thoughts of Mark Gorman, former boss of advertising agency 1576, when asked to respond to VisitScotland boss Mike Cantlay's £5 million marketing plans which aim to make Scotland over £100 million through tourism. "This type of opportunity, to influence the future of a true automotive icon, is very rare and a real privilege for the team who will be leading the work;” said Dean Lovett, CEO of McCann Erickson Central on his company’s appointment to work with car brand Lotus. “…forward thinking, organic, an ever-evolving brand with the community playing an intrinsic part. Delivering against a clearly stated ambition to redefine the purpose of libraries in the 21st century, whilst taking into consideration how the identity will engage and benefit the people of Birmingham. Inspiring, inclusive, transforming, connecting… a brand that must appeal to all potential users, be fully-inclusive, engender public support and avoid the sort of negativity that often accompanies publicly-funded projects;” part of the brief given to KLM as it creates a new brand identity for the Library of Birmingham.