FM Winter 2025 - Flipbook - Page 9
Event Review: Samsung Galaxy
AI Bus Tour Summer 2024
actually don’t know if there were AI vacuum cleaners on my bus or
not. I saw them on Cain Aiden’s review and heard about them from
the King’s Cross experience. Whether they were added later in the
tour or whether Dani decided my time was best spent engrossed in
the Z Fold, I don’t know. I found her insights and delivery so
engaging I was happy to stay with my personalised story. That
said, before getting hands on with the Z Fold, I had also enjoyed
hearing about the Galaxy Ring “a smart ring that uses AI to track
activity and sleep”. Danie noted the smartwatch that I was already
wearing as she showed me this new product. It does the same job
and more, but it isn’t really that comfortable to wear at night. “Do
you wear your watch at night?”, she asked me. “No, I confessed, I
don’t like to wear it?” Danie knew that as a multiday ultrarunner,
sleep patterns and recovery are important to me. The Ring is a bit
of a luxury on my budget, but nevertheless currently under
consideration.
Powerforce
The base concept here, take a big visible bus on a big visible tour
and educate consumers about new consumer electronics
developments is one of those operations that are frequently seen at
FMBE. That shouldn’t matter if the concept works and is even better
if you can devise a way to get the very best out of it. And for a high
end, tech invested brand like Samsung there are major advantages.
The logic is hard to argue against. A bus is logistically great for
touring in, packs up relatively easily and is highly visible and
intriguing. It is also a secure space for a controlled number of
hands-on demos, whilst allowing the products themselves to be the
star of the show. Across 2 floors there is enough space for an
experiential journey. There are no competing brands in the same
location as there would be in store. This was the best version of this
concept that I have seen. The main reason for that – great brand
ambassadors coupled with very intelligent use of space.
In one of the video reviews of this tour the reviewer “Cain Aiden
Travels” referred to being guided by a Samsung Technician and I
thought it was a great inadvertent compliment to the Blue Square
staff. My own guide Danie McIntyre was pitch perfect, taking me
through the experience whilst listening to and reacting to my
lifestyle requirements. She immediately noted that I was a Samsung
user and tailored my experience towards getting the most from a
proposed new handset rather than helping me to learn the system
from the ground up.
Whilst attending to her advice I also had half an ear listening out to
the experiences of other guests, and everyone was getting a
different one. My interest in any handset relates to robustness,
photography, video editing and reporting and this was the
experience that I got, learning new shortcuts to get through my
camera options more quickly and learning new AI shortcuts. It was
impressive to understand that many of the apps I had downloaded
enhance my photo manipulation on my existing phones and had
been provided as standard on the new Galaxy Z Fold. These folding
phones had previously appealed to me… having one in May hands
gave me confidence that it could survive the move-record-photogo requirements of a runner-writer-reporter.
Danie and I moved from zone to zone in the bus pretty seamlessly. I
Cycle to Work Day was also embraced by agency Powerforce. The
agency is also part of the Advantage Smollan group and so shares
some of the same initiatives and principles as REL. For instance,
Powerforce also celebrated its status as a Great Place to Work for
Women this summer. Further announcements from Powerforce
also saw the agency champion its environmental consideration
with an Ecovadis silver rating, as well as its ISO certification.
Powerforce holds ISO 14001 for Environmental Management and
ISO 27001 for Information Security Management. On 15th August
the agency stated, “Trust us to uphold the highest standards in
both sustainability and data protection.”
REL Field Marketing
REL was another early adopter of the Big TOE project, generously
sponsoring from well before the start date. Whilst I was running
through July and August, a string of announcements coming out of
REL really struck a chord with my messaging and ambitions. Every
week or two through the summer REL seemed to be announcing
agency developments about good work conditions, wellbeing,
equality and opportunity – alongside key announcements about
sustainability.
In July the agency was awarded recognition specific to its
well-being focus by the Great Place to Work scheme (a scheme it
has subscribed to for many years) after anonymous feedback forms
had been collected from across the agency. The announcement
was followed up later in the month with the agency also being
named as one of the best workplaces for women, by the same
scheme.
This direct recognition was also complemented by broader
statements that show REL – and the broader Advantage Smollan
group’s commitment to the bigger picture, such as the UN’s
Sustainability Initiatives championing good health and wellbeing
for all. A July agency statement read: “Our commitment is to create
a healthier future by promoting access to quality healthcare,
encouraging wellness, and supporting initiatives that aim to
improve the physical and mental well-being of communities
worldwide. Together, let's work towards a world where everyone
has the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilling life.”
The agency also embraced the 1st August Cycle to Work day,
something that resonated well with me on what was one of the
hottest days of the summer and I was running along the south coast
through its dramatic fishing villages. Furthermore, Danielle Watts,
product trainer for REL’s Adidas team brought running fans from her
Wallsend club down to the Big TOE finish in Newcastle to add to the
jamboree as I ran the last of my 1971 miles.
Winter 2025
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