With 2012 one of the

United Kingdom’s

biggest years of

celebration, Brendan

Perring asks: “Have

events such as the

Diamond Jubilee and

the Olympics provided the promised boost to our industry?”

No small feat

Graham Wilkinson,
managing director ,
Hampshire Flag Company

Without a doubt the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics have had a major impact on our business and the industry as a whole. This last month for example, we’ve produced enough bunting to go from our manufacturing unit in Waterlooville, Hampshire all the way to Buckingham Palace and part of the way back—and we’re not talking as the crow flies but the proper route. This is no mean feat and just shows the demand and enthusiasm for the Jubilee in particular.

We didn’t expect the Jubilee to be quite as popular as it was and we had an unprecedented amount of orders in May. However, we think last year’s Royal Wedding wet the nation’s appetite for embracing these momentous occasions and this year customers starting planning their celebrations earlier and with gusto.

The Olympics have certainly boosted business for us, largely because of the torch relay. We’ve had orders from all over the UK for bunting, banners and flags for the towns, cities and seafronts that the torch is passing through.

There tends to be a national event of some kind every two years or so and it always serves as a boost to sales and production. Many people tend to go for products which are only suitable for the short term—the cheap and cheerful throwaway—but there is always the hardcore contingent which is interested in the longer lasting quality product.

Be there or be square

Sam Cook,
chief executive officer,
Prismaflex UK

“Events, dear boy, events,” is what 1950s prime minister Harold MacMillan replied when asked what would define his premiership and in a 24/7 media age, events play a bigger role than ever.

Here in the UK the big two events of 2012 are the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics. Of the two, the former—which hasn’t finished yet—is of interest mainly to UK advertisers like retailers, while the latter engages the world’s biggest corporations.

So what effect have they had and will they have on the out of home industry? Prismaflex is one of the biggest suppliers of posters in the UK, specializing in the premium end of the market with high resolution and recyclable products like our Storm-Flex system. And demand for these products is up as the outdoor industry changes.

As someone else, not Supermac, said: “If you are not part of the steamroller of change you end up being the road.”

Of our two events, the Olympics is far more significant. The official sponsors such as Adidas, Coke, McDonald’s and Visa among others have a monopoly on sites in and around the games venue in east London and are spending accordingly.

Away from the official venues, other companies will also be after their slice of the action, recognizing that most Olympics visitors will travel in from Heathrow and eventually head west to the delights of central London.

But will this produce a huge boost for the outdoor industry as a whole? Here the picture is more mixed. Yes, demand is up, but many Olympics sites have been purchased for huge amounts of money in the official auction and there are doubts that some site owners will get their money back in a generally flat economy. The whole market to my mind is looking for a last-minute rush.

Serious considerations

John Newman,
managing director,
Fabricut

Fabricut has had the good fortune of gaining a variety of work for the Olympics, the majority of which has been for the construction site and the Olympic Village. We’ve also produced a mixed range of signage on a regular basis since 2009 for the Olympics, including built up lettering, banners, way finding and signage for promotional projects.

Our latest Olympic venture is producing bespoke exhibition displays for BMW, the official automotive partner for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Although it has been exciting to be involved with the event, installations proved to be laced with red tape and in some cases our install times were doubled due to tight security measures and lack of communication amongst managers on site, so it wasn’t all plain sailing.

We prepared ourselves for the disruption caused during the actual Games. The ORN (olympic route network) and PRN (paralympic route network) operate between 6 and 12am, and with the added elements of high traffic, road closures and high security, we have found ourselves carrying out installations overnight. We have worked hard so that the implications attached to this will not compromise our relationship with clients requesting work in this area during the summer months.

Forward planning is key, and we have mapped all our London customers onto the proposed courses of the ORN and PRN in the hope that we can continue to avoid any difficulties and run things as efficiently as possible over this busy period.