In No Particular Order

It’s been a busy time speaking of late. In the last month I’ve:

• given a keynote for the DAS/Omnicom “Innovation in Retail” CEO briefing, along with Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas, FutureLab and Oxford University;
• provided the keynote for the FDIH (the Danish eCommerce Association) conference in Copenhagen on social media
• opened the Royal Mail’s in-house Retail Insights conference in London

• For BBDO University’s CEO conference outside Paris, and
• a presentation to Westfield’s “World Retail Study Tour” in London.

I was particularly taken with the venue for BBDO U: an hour outside Paris in a chateau run by Chateau’Form, a business-only venue format that takes stately piles, renovates them and then makes them available for business summit and conference hire. For more cost-effective and characterful than hotels, and providing a convivial atmosphere – ideal where networking and team building go alongside the more formal presentation and conference activity. Chateau’Form de Mello was a chateau on top of a fort and a really amazing place:

I managed to grab a few mins to try my hand at archery. Ahem:

While I’m pleased with getting one on the target, the two in the wood show my aim’s a bit ‘off’ and I’ve ignored the arrows on the floor and in the trees behind!

After my presentation and Q&A I headed back into Paris for meetings, pausing only just long enough to wander through the Jardins du Luxembourg and get caught in an almighty downpour: here’s a panorama from my shelter: