Media Bitch's Diary 19 January

A decent proposal

The Bitch is back…

Sorry to all this girl’s regular readers, but she overdid it a bit on the sherry this Christmas, and has only just returned after a relaxing trip to the sunshine.

Rather than returning to the doom and gloom (would everybody please get over that, if the parties Bitch went to over the festive period are anything to go by, everyone in media still knows how to have a good time), Bitch has a nice little story to ease you into the New Year.

Seems like Alex Black, head of design at out-of-home specialist Clear Channel, has been making his own entertainment and taking his work home with him.

How else can Bitch explain the proposal that Alex made to his girlfriend, Naomi Hawney (always good to marry a girl who’s surname sounds like that), EU marketing manager at digital agency Tribal Fusion?

The proposal took place through one of the LED screens at London’s infamous Piccadilly Circus site, and what a romantic Bitch thinks Alex is, waiting until Naomi said "yes" to reveal the final line: "Naomi, you’re a very lucky girl!"

Bitch hopes Alex is now going to go in that pre-wedding exercise regime, and if he needs any help, he can get some tips from his 17 colleagues who have chosen create a Fat Club for January to lose a few pounds. However, Bitch has been told someone isn’t exactly doing that well – step forward Richard Bon, acting sales director, who has managed to put weight ON!

Next week, Bitch is hoping to out the sales team at fellow outdoor owner Primesight, who she has heard are attempting the same thing.

Hanging on the telephone

Back to last year's pitches my little pickles. News comes to Bitch about last year's global pitch for the £125m global Sony Ericsson account and the shenanigans that took place to pull in the business during the UK part of the process.

Apparently, Bitch hears, various members of the marketing department at the mobile manufacturer were sent off in cabs by one of the competing agencies, with nothing but a Sony Ericsson phone, and told to test out its functionality, with one of the briefs to get back to the office where the pitch was being held, in sunny Hammersmith.

Bitch wasn’t actually told how many made it back, but for those of you who have ever owned a Sony Ericsson phone, you can draw whatever conclusion you want, darlings.

Hold the front page

Bitch's friends at Bauer Media got in touch with her this week to tell her about a new project they're launching, "The Exclusives’, where "six young, ambitious, wannabe journalists will compete for an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a highly-prized 12-month contract with Europe’s largest magazine publisher."

They will be working with the editorial teams on Closer, FHM, Heat, More!, Kerrang! and Empire.

Apparently they will be given "incredible backstage access to some of the most high-profile and glamorous events of the year, and will be coached and mentored in the crafts of interviewing, organising photo shoots and connecting with their reader."

Sounds a little bit tame to Bitch, if any of the journos she's met are anything to measure the job by, especially those naughty Media Week boys. If they had a lesson in "how to annoy a CEO about a media agency review", "how to tick off a sales director about a people move in the team", or "how to fall out of a cab with one of your contacts after an event", Bitch thinks that would be more of a challenge!

Googlewhack

Now something to make you little petals turn a particular shade of emerald with envy.

WPP media agency Mindshare was the big winner of the Google Live Advent Calendar challenge during the festive season, picking up no less than 20 Android tablets after following a set of clues, which meant various members of the agency had to run like headless chickens across London to find the stashed devices (lucky sods).

Business director Mark Bulling won the first one in a race through Covent Garden against account manager Jason Dealey, in what turned out to be a bit of a Googlewhack in the following scrum.

Bitch hears that as the days went on, "strategies and mini teams were formed to increase the chances of winning the tablet," according to one seething agency source that missed out on any of the prizes.

Google would unveil a new clue went live at midday, with the answer to the clue being a door at a location in central London. The first individual to arrive at the door after figuring out the solution to the clue would then win an Android tablet.

Mindshare's success meant that Google even had to send out a statement to warn other media agencies, Bitch hears: "One agency in particular has been rocking the competition so far, so for everyone else, here are some tips for getting to the door first," the staff at Google warned.

Bitch also hears that there was a slightly embarrassing situation for a fellow WPP media agency, with the first tablet found in a launderette, a stone's throw from MediaCom!

Right darlings, sorry I've been away sunning myself, but normal weekly Bitchiness resumes from this week. So watch what you're up to out there, as Bitch doesn't need to tap any phones to know what you lot are up to.

Bitch xxx

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk