Ear to the Ground The most exciting events and live communications agency in the UK. http://eartotheground.org/rss/ Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:41:08 +0000 Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:41:08 +0000 © 2009 - 2012 Ear to the Ground en-gb We Need You (...if you are brilliant)

We’re on the lookout for some shiny new talents to join our ever growing Ear to the Ground family.  Currently we’ve got six amazing opportunities for clued up live experts with a passion for all things experiential. We need a…

 

Head of Digital

Senior Account Director

Creative Planner

X2 Account Execs
Jnr Production Manager

 

First off, we’re looking for a genius who can weave social media into the fabric of our live brand activations.  A digital supremo, you’ll use your social media know-how to plan the engagement and amplification of our live moments, developing concepts with our creative team, as well as selecting and managing our digital partners. A strong grasp of all digital trends is a must!

 

Next up, we need a hands-on Account Director who is looking to make their mark in the world of live communications.  A human dynamo with 5 years integrated advertising, events or digital creative experience, you will have grown up in agency, have tonnes of cultural nous, be able to nurture new business opportunities, as well as have an inherent knack for delighting and inspiring our clients along the way.

 

We also need a clever thinker with a passion for brands and a head for solving tough marketing problems to take up the role of Creative Planner. You’ll be knee deep in pitches and develop each campaign’s strategic digital backbone, driving our live activation ideas.  You will be at the root of making our clients’ brands stand out from the crowd and your incisive mind will see you mining data to give invaluable insights into the market, brand perceptions and consumer mindsets.

 

We’re also on the hunt for two dynamic account executives come live producers, who can manage day-to-day projects and accounts. You will need to ‘get’ brands and how best to bring them to life in the real world for real people. Ideally you will have a love of music and or fashion. sport or culture

 

For all of the above roles we are looking for creative marketers who instinctively get brands, have real cultural nous and are strong people managers.  We’re looking for people with inquisitive minds, a desire to find original solutions and the ability to speak fluently about cross platform and cross channel marketing communications.


We are also looking for a great all rounder to join us as a Junior Production Manager to work on our summer festival season and beyond. You willl be willing to get stuck in and turn your hand to whatever task comes your way.  You will be equally happy writing spreadsheets as organising local crew and dealing with everything from lighting companies to toilet contractors. Duties will be varied and the hours will be long and unsociable, but this is a great opportunity for someone to learn the ropes working on some of the most exciting events and festivals in the UK this year.

If you think you have what it takes then we’d love to hear from you.  Email us with your CV and a cover letter of no more than one side of A4 to  jobs@eartotheground.org

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 132 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 Christmas at Tiffany's A touch of elegance was in the air at Ear to the Ground last week, when we took a bucket load of Christmas cheer to Selfridges on behalf of luxury jewellery retailer, Tiffany & Co.  To counteract predictions of challenging retail conditions on the High Street, and to create cut through in the busy department store, Ear to the Ground worked with Tiffany?s to create a unique in-store retail activation.

The company’s Selfridges concession tasked us with driving footfall and increasing dwell time during the crucial Christmas shopping period, which unfortunately directly coincided with a period of disruptive in-store redevelopment and a relocation of the concession.

With a clear mission to stop shoppers in their tracks, last Saturday we hit Selfridges with a simple but attention grabbing Christmas at Tiffany’s experience that was as classic and elegant as the infamous brand itself.  The event saw a fabulous gospel choir, dressed in Hepburn style Tiffany scarves entertain and attract shoppers, branded cookies distributed and the tills ringing faster than any other day that year.

Tiffany & Co saw a significant increase in sales year on year and an uplift in visitor numbers to the concession.  Laura Mullin, Tiffany Concession Manager commented: “The choir were a fantastic representation.  I was their biggest fan!  Selfridges’ management equally loved it, they were very happy with the way the day went.”

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 133 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 MD Steve Smith Makes Number 26 In UK Top 100 Event Professionals Our very own MD, Steve Smith was last week named as the 26th most influential person in the UK events industry.  The Event 100 Club, announced by industry magazine Event, was created by a poll of industry professionals and a panel of experts. The final list included promoters, agency bosses and leading brand execs, including representatives from Red Bull, London’s 2012 Olympic ceremonies, Google and 02. The top spot went to legendary promoter and entrepreneur Harvey Goldsmith who can count Live Aid and Shared Earth in his CV.

For the last eight years Ear to the Ground has delivered some of the UK’s most striking and memorable live events, and as managing director, Steve has led the agency’s creative direction. The company has created four million plus consumer experiences and produced some of the country?s most talked about events around, including Liverpool Capital of Culture and the launch of Umbro’s England Away Kit with Kasabian.

The selection of the event club 100 was based on each individual’s contribution to the industry; revenue generated; accolades won; events organised or supplied; and impact on the direction of the industry.  This list was then made available for the industry with 4,000 votes ranking the candidates.
 
Says Steve: “I get to do a job I love doing with an amazing team.  Making this list is just a bonus. Hopefully it gives the clients I work with more confidence to be ambitious and use live to create stronger relationships with their consumers. What’s interesting is that the world is shifting on a new digital axis and agency like ours is becoming more and more important. We create the moments that get consumers talking about our clients.”

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 130 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Talking Fan Engagement in Football with FC Business Football is a ‘live’ business. It’s all about the big event, the intense moment, the drama and passion of a shared experience.  For the last three years, Ear to the Ground has been helping football clubs and their commercial partners to pioneer the use of live experiences beyond ninety minutes. The results include driving loyalty, increasing match attendance, media coverage, the celebration of success, revenue opportunities and cementing of lucrative relationships with their commercial partners.

In this month’s FC Business magazine, Ear to the Ground managing director, Steve Smith talks about how as the world in turning on a new digital axis, football clubs and their commercial partners have the opportunity to create better fan engagement.  His rationale being that the match going fan is not only at the core of a much wider international fan base but also offers up a greater ‘spend per head’ making them disproportionately important to both the club and its commercial partners.  In the piece Steve argues that if clubs can create reasons for fans to attend games more often, arrive earlier, stay later and have better live experiences, then there are big revenue implications for all involved.

Want to know more?  Then read managing director Steve Smith’s interview with FC Business Magazine here: http://www.fcbusiness.co.uk/eversion/issue57/fcb57/index.html

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 129 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000 In at the Deep End with Red Bull Mini Velodrome For the last few week’s we have been working with Red Bull and gearing up to install the World’s Smallest Velodrome within one of the pools in the historic Victoria Bath’s.  The event, which took place on Saturday saw fixed gear cyclists compete against each other in the world’s smallest velodrome.  Designed to be a unique challenge for the fixed gear riders competing in the race, the Red Bull Mini Drome has been kept to the same dimensions as a conventional cycling racing track, but on a much smaller scale.

Hundreds of spectators watched 32 riders battle it out head to head in the elimination rounds, with stunt ace Chris Akrigg and GB Paralympic Cycling coach Chris Fuber sharing duties as MC.

The Red Bull Mini Drome maintained race worthy dimensions in the smallest possible size to enable a single pursuit and challenged both body and mind as riders were required to navigate themselves around a unique and technically challenging course reaching speeds of up to 30 km/ph. The final saw Lancashire’s Ricky Crompton fight it out with Toms Alsbergs of Latvia, who won narrowly in a time of 34.769 seconds

The purpose built track was engineered in Germany by Velotrack, the team who built the velodromes for the Atlanta Olympics and the Delhi Commonwealth Games and you can view video from the event here: http://www.redbull.co.uk/cs/Satellite/en_UK/Video/Red-Bull-Mini-Drome-Video-Manchester-2011-021243113060604
]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 128 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100 We Talk Live Advertising with Marketing Magazine This week you could read our MD Steve Smith talking about ‘Live Advertising’ commissioned by Marketing Week in their ‘Experiential Essays’ series.

He talks about the overwhelming power of live experience and how it’s all about being there. For the past decade Ear to the Ground have been creating events to connect those intense exciting moments with dynamic brands.  It wasn’t until about three years ago that he realised we weren’t just creating experiential events’ we were making ‘live ads’.

In the essay he talks about intensifying the experience for every target consumer in festival fields, city centres and football stadiums using sense marketing. The main thread of his argument is how ‘live’ has changed because consumers can use their own personal digital broadcast or ‘Channel Me’ to personalise and spread the marketing message. The aim is to provide real time, neatly packaged chunks of brand content that they can show in between information or ‘programming’, about their lives.

Want to know more?  Then read managing director Steve Smith’s interview with Marketing Magazine here:  http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/1098904/Live-advertising-Channel/

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 126 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100 MCFC Homecoming FA Cup Victory Parade Shortlisted for Award Summer 2011 was Ear to the Ground’s busiest to date, however there was one event that stood out from the rest as a collective team highlight.  It was the night that Manchester saw 100,000 fans turn out to watch ‘the blues’ raise the FA Cup for the first time in thirty five years. It was the finale to a season in which Manchester City Football Club completely committed to engaging its fans beyond 90 minutes. Ear to the Ground produced a spectacular show, which ended in a celebrity laden, pyrotechnic driven, ecstatic finale in front of a packed Eithad stadium.

Now we’re over the moon because that work has been recognised by the North West Football Awards, with the ‘homecoming’ event shortlisted for the award for Best Use of a Stadium on a Non Match Day.  A first rate judging panel, comprising PFA CEO, and footballing legend, Gordon Taylor; Football Foundation Paul Chief Exec, Paul Thorogood and representatives from Sky Sports News, FC Business, JD Sports, University of Liverpool, Deloittes and FIFA.com, has hand-picked a shortlist of just two entries in the category, with our work, and that of Burnley Football Club, fighting it out for the top prize.  The winner of which will be announced at a ceremony held at Lancashire Cricket Club on Monday 14th November http://www.northwestfootballawards.co.uk/

Lest hope we get a result!

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 125 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Live UK Best Small Festival Winner After spending most of the summer in fields working with promoters, local authorities and brands keen to activate in the festival space, we’re delighted to have picked up an industry award for our work producing the perfectly formed Kendal Calling.

The 2011 Live Music Business Awards, last week named it as the Best Festival for under 15,000 people.  Ten thousand lovely people descended on the beautiful Lowther Park in the heart of the Lake District to see artists including Blondie, The Cribs, Chase & Status, House of Pain and Mr Scruff, perform on one of the seven stages on site. The event also saw brands including, Sailor Jerrys, Lucozade, Jagermeister, Pizza Express, Wagamamas and Vitamin Water making friends with the masses via exciting live experiences. 

We were in great company at the ceremony, with other winners on the night including London’s The O2 for Best Venue Teamwork - Arena, Take That’s Progress tour for Spectacle of the Year - Best Production and Adele’s manager Jonathan Dickins who was awarded Artiste Manager of the Year. 

It’s the first award of the season and we are hoping some of our other productionsincluding the alpine shindig Snowbombing, Parklife and the innovative Jodrell bank Live that took place in the shadow of the mighty Lovell Telescope. We are also hoping to pick up a few gongs for the work we have done with the lovely people from Magners and Southern Comfort at places like V, Lattitude and The Big Chill.   

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 124 Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Magners Crusher Bar at Latitude We’ve just got word that over 500,000 pints were sold across Magners’ first ever live activations this summer.  A great result for the brand?s first ever step into a festival field. With a core challenge of engaging non cider drinkers with the brand’s new Golden Draft Cider, the Ear to the Ground crew took Magners on a tour of the Wireless, Hard Rock Calling and Latitude festivals. We created a part of the magical village of Clonmel, where there’s Method in the Magners, which became home to 300 capacity Crusher Bar.  The centrepiece was an immersive piece of brand theatre that engaged 35,000 festival goers when a huge hydraulic installation triggered a sample giveaway and prize moments.  Connecting seamlessly with the wider media campaign, the activation kick-started conversations with new and old Magners fans and advocates across its social media channel and formed the backbone of the brand’s early summer launch communications across Twitter and Facebook.  Over 130,000 festival goers had an ‘opportunity to experience’ and 15,000 Golden Draft samples were given to new consumers. Once again a great collaboration with our friends at Frukt.


Now grab yourself a pint and check out a video of the action here…  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfHROlH40OM
]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 121 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100 MCFC Scores with UEFA Chiefs at First Champions League Game What do you do when UEFA comes to see your club for the first time?  Well, Manchester City turned to Ear to the Ground to produce an exhibition at the Eithad Stadium to welcome UEFA chiefs and 350 of their guests to Champions League football at the club.

The display marked Manchester City’s first ever appearance in the competition when Italian club Napoli came to town. It centred around an exhibition showcasing the club and its home turf, including several iconic pieces that demonstrated the history and culture of Manchester.

Working to strict UEFA guidelines, which state that host clubs must ‘capture the local culture’, Ear to the Ground managed production of the exhibition working with the club, Marketing Manchester, DJ Dave Haslam and Umbro to secure items such as the original shirts from FA Cups back in ‘56 and ‘69, the last brick of the Hacienda, various original vinyls and the ultimate Manc uniform - an ‘I Love Manchester’ t-shirt.   

Our design and build of the exhibition perfectly captured the essence of Manchester, its people, the music and the football was a total winner with UEFA chiefs.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 123 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0100 BBC Takes Hit Shows to Live Audience
In recent weeks we’ve been helping the BBC to settle into their new home at Mediacity. We have been bringing their TV properties to life using the power of live events at the site. There seems to have been a big shift culturally, with broadcasters now looking to showcase their properties to live audiences and further exploit their brands. 

This summer, we have planned, advised on and produced the series of live shows featuring BBC station talent including Alesha Dixon and Rastamouse. The biggest crowd puller of all was the legendary tween superstar Mr Tumble and his live show, followed by ‘Shaun the Sheep’s Championsheeps’. Luckily our production team were fully trained in handling an exuberant underage audience and the potential care issues involved. The BBC are so happy, they have already confirmed more activity for the autumn.
]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 114 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Puma and Bud66 Kick Off with the Warehouse Project Last weekend, saw us kick off a 13 week stretch producing the UK’s year’s largest pop-up music venue. As well as turning a dusty old car park into the most hyped club in the country and producing live shows for some of the world’s coolest bands and DJs, we are also managing all partner brand activity at the venue including innovative concepts from Bud66 and Puma. 

For Bud66, the official lager of the Warehouse Project, we are creating a dedicated branded VIP and brand interaction area to support their sponsorship.  And, for Puma, we are bringing their current ‘After Hours Athlete’ campaign to life by championing ‘the late night athlete’ with nocturnal Ping Pong and Foosball within two branded zones within the club. If you haven’t been, just go.
]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 113 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0100 New York Cosmos press conference with Pele & Eric We are lucky enough to work with rock gods, sports stars and political heavyweights on a regular basis. Last Wednesday was one of the rare moments when we were in the presence of true greatness. Pele and Eric Cantona were the main guests as we helped Umbro produce the New York Cosmos UK press conference in advance of their match against Manchester United on Friday.

 

The Umbro brand space was transformed with Ear to the Ground specifying and implementing a state of the art, digital broadcast, stage set construction and media platforms to ensure the conference was seen and heard by viewers worldwide.

 

We ensured complete audio coverage was distributed to the BBC, ITV, Sky and world media while our staging team designed and constructed both the set and media viewing gallery to provide a stable and perfectly framed shot for the TV cameras. Additionally we provided security for the event and protection for the sports stars, press and media. Our normally composed MD, Steve Smith was at the back of the room in awe. Being in the same space as Pele AND Eric was a bit too much for him.    

 

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 111 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Umbro Manchester City shirt launch with Liam Gallagher Last Friday was a full moon. As darkness descended Ear to the Ground projected a giant image of Liam Gallagher in the new home Manchester City shirt onto the side of the stadium. Whilst an incredible coup this was only a preamble to a much bigger campaign that had been creatively developed and delivered by Ear to the Ground.


The far bigger result was that Liam and his band Beady Eye had been into the studio and recorded a version of club anthem ‘Blue Moon’ alongside their new single; ‘The Beat goes On’. Ear to the Ground has been working with the band and management to create a piece of original music and creatively direct a live performance video where Liam wears the shirt for the first time. The whole concept tied up beautifully as the shirt uniquely has a sound wave of the song Blue Moon sang by the fans in a graphic across its chest.


Over the next few weeks the promotional engines of Beady Eye, Manchester City and Umbro are fully geared up to get this unique content to fans globally. Key publications and broadcasters will be featuring the track and video pushing the concept further than a club or even a traditional football audience.


Steve Smith MD of Ear to the Ground:

‘Umbro had a shirt to launch, Beady Eye had a single to push and Liam had a love of City. Our job was to create a story that pulled all these things together. The graphic on the shirt was the starting point and everything led from there.’     


The creation of an original track by one of the world’s most iconic rock & roll stars represents a new level of partnership for a football club and football culture brands. It builds logically on the work that we produced around the launch of the England away shirt featuring Kasabian in Paris, which led to unprecedented levels of coverage. This campaign is expected to be the most talked about shirt launch in the history of the Premiership. To see the video click here…


http://www.umbro.com/#/changing-room/liam-gallagher-reveals-manchester-city-2011-home-shirt/?locale=en_GB

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 107 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Magners go live with first ever festival activation We have just packed up the final truck and left a field in Suffolk which has for the last few days been a little corner of Ireland.

Working with our friends at Frukt we designed and delivered the ‘Crusher Bar’ for Magners Golden Draft that engaged 35,000 festival goers at the lovely Latitude festival. Music was the access point with an immersive piece of brand theatre that dramatically demonstrated how the apples are crushed to make the sweeter beverage.

The Ear to the Ground team was amazing and kept smiling throughout the often challenging weather conditions. This year was the first ever step into a field for the Magners brand team but they seemed delighted with how well the whole show was received. Thanks to promoters Festival Republic for their support. We look forward to working with them again in the very near future (in two weeks actually at the Big Chill with Southern Comfort).                

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 109 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Intergalactic music festival needs communication partner Last Saturday we produced the inaugural Live from Jodrell Bank festival where music met science. Transmission 001 featured the mighty Flaming Lips and took place in the shadow of the towering Lovell Telescope in Cheshire.

The giant dish became an epic interstellar projection screen and the backdrop to a unique performance by the cult band. Included in the supporting bill were British Sea Power and Alice Gold. Perhaps because of the current popular fascination with science the event completely sold out in 11 days back in March.

This was a test Transmission that ensures six 5000+ capacity events will take place in 2012. The dish has been probing deep space for over 50 years in search of alien life with a constant signal to deep space. We are now on the lookout for a partner who has communications at the heart of their brand.

A video of this amazing event can be found at the following link…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gezkm_QNqWI

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 108 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Join us for a new and better life...

We are looking for two new shining individuals who exudes brightness and will help us develop relationships with our favourite clients (and some we’ve not yet  met).  We would like to find a Senior Account Director based in Manchester to make sure we are helping out our customers who want to use music, sport and retail to connect with their audiences. Agency experience and high level account management is a must. 


Also we need a New Business Manager who can build on some of our recent success to help us win new clients out of the London office. If you want a new and better life email the following for a job description. jobs@eartotheground.org

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 106 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Star studded end to May with Heineken and the Champions League

The month of May ended for us in star studded fashion as we produced UEFA Champions league after show party for Heineken. The event concept reflected the premium values of the brands recent ‘Entrance’ ad campaign. 


The entertainment was a heady mix of musical superstar collaborations with a stylish football twist.  We brought the ad to life featuring Manchester and Barcelona Dj’s, a live operatic ‘mash up’ and a headline performance from Mark Ronson.  


Guests included Prince Harry, Ronnie Wood, Freddie Flintoff, Mischa Barton and Teddy Sheringham. Lead agency Pitch generated a huge amount of PR coverage from the event and really helped Heineken achieve their objectives.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 105 Sat, 28 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Manchester City lift the FA Cup with Ear to the Ground

Last night Manchester saw 100,000 fans turn out to see ‘the blues’ raise the FA Cup for the first time in thirty five years. 

Ear to the Ground produced the show which ended in a celebrity laden, pyrotechnic driven, ecstatic finale in front of a packed stadium. 

Lasts nights show was co-ordianted by Ear to the Ground and was a brilliant end to a great season. Off the field fanzones, experiential programmes, store launches, unique media moments and partner brand experiences have set new standards in how clubs can use live communications to drive fan passion.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 103 Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Umbro Tailored at Dale Street Umbro Tailored is a new music initiative we came up with for Umbro that aligns the brand with some of the UK’s most cutting edge artists. Ear to the Ground selects talent and secures a rights package around all music and interviews with the artists benefitting from a promotional push that delivers them to an audience via Umbro global licensees.

The project has worked so well we have taken a step further in 2011 with the addition of a live music show format. We turn the Umbro space in Manchester into a live studio with a specially invited industry and influencer audience. Each month a new band is filmed performing a track that we broadcast across the internet. Our first featured artist was east London rapper Mikill Pane who is already finding mainstream fame through his collaborations with singer songwriter Ed Sheeran.

As well as bringing new music to the heart of the Umbro brand the project has already yielded some unexpected benefits in terms of band model shoots and international licensing deals for featured artists.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 110 Sat, 21 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 A pint of Magners Golden Draught in a field near you

We are designing and delivering Magners first ever festival experience taking the brand to Hard Rock Calling, Wireless and Latitude. 

We are working with our lovely friends at FRUKT to reunite the agency dream team that made such a big noise with Gaymers Cider at last summer’s festivals. 

The activation aims to reflect the stronger, dryer and crisper taste of the new Magners Golden Draught in a way that excites consumers. But don’t listen to us… We’ll buy you a pint if we see you and you can tell us what you think. 

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 102 Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 It's FA Cup Day but we scored last night

It’s FA Cup final day and the temperature is rising with the team at Manchester City as they prepare for the biggest day in the clubs recent history. 

Last night we kicked off the weekend with a premium reception hosted by the clubs owners at their Park Lane offices. The space was completely converted for legends, partners and VIP’s. 

Ear to the Ground was responsible for ensuring the ambition and quality of the Manchester City brand resonated throughout the event and ensured guests were treated in the appropriate manner. 

Now it’s just down to 11 men on the pitch. Let’s hope they beat Stoke later and banish their 35 year hoodoo. No pressure lads…

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 101 Sat, 14 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Umbro Win with us

We were so proud that Umbro scooped the ‘Best use of PR in a Sport Campaign’ award at the prestigious Sports Industry Awards. It was for the now iconic England Away Kit launch featuring Kasabian in Paris. 


Ear to the Ground were responsible for securing the band and producing the live show that generated so much coverage. We were really pleased for the other agencies Anomaly (ATL) and Exposure (PR) who we worked with on the project. 


It was the ultimate example of how a live event can be put at the centre of an entire campaign and really drive results at retail. 

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 100 Thu, 12 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground Sell Out Well actually… our festivals sell out. We are responsible for all production and event management at Parklife, Kendal Calling (Lake District) and Transmission at Jodrell Bank.

That’s about 90,000 festival day tickets sold in record time with our partners at Kendal and the Warehouse Project.

The line-ups are huge and the commercial partners include everyone from Superdry to Carlsberg, Redbull to Wagamama. Its going to be a good summer…

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 99 Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 We make a Heineken ad come to life Brands are often looking for imaginative ways to get more from their sponsorships. We helped Heineken and Manchester City connect by using corporate hospitality boxes to recreate Heinekens ‘Walk in Fridge’ global ad.

We customized a box which was used as a set to shoot a bespoke City viral. The footage has already achieved cult status with fans and the live environment has allowed the club to show current and potential sponsors, media and high level stakeholders how experiential can really work in sport.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 97 Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100 And we're off to Wem-ber-ly, twice! Next month we will be delivering live activation around the two biggest finals at the world’s most iconic stadium. We will create a unique club experience for guests and VIP’s that demonstartes the world class aspirations of the club before the FA Cup Final on the 14th.

We will be back at Wemberley on 28th May to deliver a secret show after the Champions League Final for one of the top tier sponsors. It’s a heady mix of musical superstar collaborations with a stylish football twist. All will be revealed…

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 96 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0100 We produce the first ever Premiership fanzone Ear to the Ground have been working with Manchester City to pioneer the concept of ‘fan zones’ at club level. It’s been done at major global sporting events but the ‘City Square’ is a first for the Premiership.
 
Fans want more than 90 minutes and Ear to the Ground believe that this is the future of match day experience and the ritual of supporting your team.  With our partners TV production company Endemol, we have been trailing the ‘Live at City’ concept over the recent home games.

The format is live TV show featuring key players, celebrity fans and club legends offering insight, knowledge and back room gossip from the club. This live content has helped Manchester City increase fan advocacy, dwell time before the 90 minutes and sales of merchandise, food and drink.

We think that in ten years every club will have one.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 95 Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0100 125 Years with Coca Cola You may have seen the street campaign. Last week we helped Coca Cola birthday celebrations ‘go live’ for their key UK staff as part of a global celebration. The theme reflected the ad campaign with a ‘bubblegum Americana’ vibe transforming a cute 21st Century Theatre in West London into a retro diner.

We ran retro ads on a big screen and even produced a live musical homage to some of the great Coca-Cola commercials of the 50’s. Ear to the Ground shaped the programme and co-ordinated the entire event with the team at Coca Cola.
 
According to our client we played ‘a crucial role in the delivery of this milestone event which received unprecedented positive feedback from those invited, no mean feat considering a lot of senior leaders attend premium events across the globe’

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 104 Sat, 09 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0100 Groundbreaking goes live at MIPIM today It’s official. We are Groundbreaking. Our new service was officially launched today at the international property shindig otherwise known as MIPIM. A series of meets, greets and tweets have been co-ordinated to promote the fact that events and live communications agency Ear to the Ground have gone live with our bespoke service for the property and regeneration world. We will be celebrating the birth of Groundbreaking with the return of our now legendary ‘Hang the DJ’ party where some of the biggest players in the industry play their 3 favourite records to a packed dance floor. Until then its serious business - so if you are looking to bring spaces to life through events and live activity we need to talk…

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 94 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 RFL Launch Despite the upsetting results of the England 2018 World Cup bid this week we are pleased to announce we kick-started a major international sporting event on its way to these shores. On Tuesday we launched the 2013 Rugby League World Cup on behalf of the RFL with a high impact media moment and VIP reception.  The event was the first ever to take place in the hugely anticipated MediaCityUK - which will shortly become the home of BBC Sport.
 
Our team devised and produced the entire event, customising the site architecture into a giant set of back lit neon urban rugby posts.  The launch was signalled by  England’s Sam Thompkins  & Wales’ Lloyd White, kicking rugby balls through the posts and triggering an intense pyro finale. The  images were captured and spread across all national media titles with international news crews ensuring sports channels around the globe ran the story.
 
100 VIP guests attended a post kick reception, including the first Minister for Wales, Carwyn Jones and British Athletics Olympian and former World Champion, Iwan Thomas. The pyro-extravaganza supplied by our team was staged to highlight the announcement of host nations and qualified teams. Prime Minister, David Cameron sent a personalised video message stressing that the government is ‘right behind the RFL’ and emphasising the sporting potential the next decade offers.
 
The event was of huge significance both in content and consequence with RFL and MediaCityUK sharing the media limelight. Most importantly the UK can look forward to hosting another world class event in the ‘Decade of Sport.’

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 93 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Scooping more UK Festival nominations than any other agency We have just swept the board at this year’s star-studded Festival Awards at the O2 Arena. Five of the music festivals we produce were nominated for awards with one of our productions picking up a top gong.

After 10 years of managing all event production for Austrian snowboarding and music extravaganza - Snowbombing, it picked up the best ‘Overseas Festival’ award. Its’ exhilarating snowstorm of brilliant bands and world class DJs rightly wowed the judges. We will once again be in charge of its entire production in 2011, enhancing its international appeal and making it bigger and better than ever before. Well done to all the Outgoing Travel crew that have made this event what it is. We love you.

Other successes for the agency included nominations for ‘Best Brand Experience’ for the unique festival tour we designed, built and staffed for Gaymer’s cider. Our Manchester based festival, Parklife, was up against tough competition for the ‘Best Newcomer’. Also the legendary Warehouse Project; car-park by day, world-class dance venue by night, was nominated for the highly regarded ‘Metropolitan’ award. We were also pleased to announce on the night a partnership with Kendal Calling, who won ‘Best Small Festival’ for their innovative, independent weekend - based in the Lake District.

This year’s festival awards were the most hotly contested ever with over half a million votes. The large amount of nominations secured by the successful projects we produce with our clients and partners demonstrate the power Ear to the Ground has built up in the highly lucrative festival industry.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 92 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 The Countdown to BOBCOM Last night we were responsible for the launch of a pioneering new online resource for creatives called BOBCOM. It gives the opportunity for independents to bypass the industry and connect directly with their audience. In celebration we created BOBFIRE night - a pyro driven live spectacle in the uber-hip Hoxton Square, featuring live bands, a giant burning bonfire and a fire-lit finale.

Guest were then led inside to the Hoxton Bar and Grill for an incredible line-up of new live talent, including Diagram of Heart and the Mystery Jets.

Ear to the Ground choreographed a live activation of the main ad campaign featuring bubble-headed kids and other characters from the surreal TV and web campaign.

Guests included Chelsea striker Didider Drogba, Chef Anthony Worrel Thompson and Gavin and Stacey star Matt Home. All 600 VIP and media guests had a surreal and memorable experience. This spectacular launch event paves the way for an imminent Channel 4 live music show. 

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 90 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Breathing Life into the Hive Last night we helped innovative developer Argent make a big impression with the launch of the ‘Hive’.  The aim was to make the commercial scheme the centrepiece of a launch campaign that would raise profile with potential tenants in the creative industries.
Ear to the Ground brought the buildings’ ‘Live and Breathe’ concept to life, ensuring one room pulsed with incredible live talent, including The Travelling Band, Mr Scruff and a choreographed LED lighting  installation. We then breathed life into the second office space with the use of mist, soothing audio and a set providing VIP guests with a unique and unforgettable evening.
 
Angela Fielding Marketing Manager Argent;
“We really value the way Ear to the Ground understand live experience and have brought together and managed the creative agencies and musical organisations we sponsor to produce a great holistic live strategy that will excite and entertain our audience”
 
Over 500 VIPs from then creative industries attended with extensive media coverage and generated in both property trade press and mainstream media. The Hive is now officially alive…

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 91 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Up Against Premiership Opposition We have just been shortlisted within the North West Football awards for ‘Most innovative non match day use of a football ground’ for our work on ‘Live at City’. The activity celebrated the ten year partnership between Umbro and Manchester City and the launch of the new shirt.
 
Our joint application with Umbro is up against separate entries from Manchester City and Manchester United. The opposition is tough, but it is great to be in the premiership.
 
We have spent the last two years creating exciting experiences to mobilise fan passion around football. We are the only agency shortlisted across all awards and it is great to be recognised by the industry. Fingers crossed that we’ll come out with a win.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 89 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100 We step up the set up at this years Warehouse Project Maximo Park’s exhilarating performance last Thursday kickstarted Europe’s biggest pop up club experience a.k.a The Warehouse Project.
 
Housed in the dark and cavernous setting beneath Manchester’s train station, the Ear to the Ground team turned Manchester’s ‘car-park by day’ into a world-class dance venue by night. We will be giving in excess of 60,000 clubbers the chance to see 250+ acts over 35 nights.
 
Now celebrating its 6th anniversary the stage, last weekend, was thoroughly warmed up ready for an eclectic mix of quality DJ’s and artists, all eager to get involved with this clubbing phenomenon. Artists playing this year include; Kelis, Doves, Calvin Harris, Doom, Field Music, Delphic, M.I.A, Ian Brown and Magnetic Man.
 
Ear to the Ground will be activating the Bench partnership which will be taking over the main entrance and chill out room with a quirky makeover of the cocktail bar including 3D video and branded LED lighting.  We will also be helping partners Koppaberg, Budweiser and Red Bull get into the spirit of things.
 
Some of the new additions we have brought to the club this year include a completely new and improved lighting and video design with a massive LED video wall forming a backdrop to the main stage. The PA system has been beefed up and tweaked with added down fills and bigger delays. We’ve given room two a makeover with a new elevated DJ booth, larger lighting rig and let’s hear a drum roll for the biggest and best addition of all - extra ladies toilets, hoorah! All part of the outstanding  experience. 

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 88 Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Have a music break, Have a Kit Kat We have just finished producing a series of shows to support a huge campaign with Nestle to associate the Kit Kat brand with musical breaks. Ear to the Ground was responsible for sourcing all venues, managing the show and making sure the live content was up to scratch for live broadcast.
 
We created four shows around the country with artists performing in unusual spaces at lunchtimes.  The bands featured included Haduken, Scouting for Girls, The Mystery Jets and The Hoosiers. Information was released at the last moment via fan sites maximising buzz and harnessing true fan passion. We produced a show on Carnaby Street, a gig on Brighton beach and even a hushed performance in a Manchester caf.
 
The unusual style of the event was backed up with a MySpace homepage takeover and live stream. This saw the live audience jump from around 1000 to  29,000 online. Overall the activity generated over 1.1million page impressions across the four shows. The bands loved playing in such an intimate spaces and getting close to their audiences.  Nestle felt it was crucial to host their own shows to show their commitment to music and support their wider campaign which has seen a huge rise in visibility in the last few weeks.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 86 Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Singing in the Rain at BBC Proms This weekend thousands of classical music fans faced the rain to attend BBC Proms in the Park, delivered once again by us here at Ear to the Ground.

The Northern leg was held in Salford with a live broadcast and link up to the end of season showstopper at the Albert Hall. With the opening line, “I was put on this earth to entertain you!” Saturday night TV star John Barrowman’s glitzy, show-stopping performance took the (non-existent) roof off. He was joined by mezzo soprano Juliette Pochin, Salford’s very own opera singer Jon Christos and accompanied by the BBC’s ever-impressive Philharmonic Orchestra.

Over 6 million viewers tuned in to watch BBC One’s broadcasting of the Proms, including the live coverage from Buile Hill Park in Salford. The event served its purpose as a huge promotional tool for the city, sparking a great deal of interest and excitement towards the BBC’s impending move to Media City.

John Kirby, BBC production/director comments;
”(BBC Proms in the Park) was a fantastic concert! What particularly impressed me was the courtesy and professional attitude of all the Ear to the Ground team. I would like to convey thanks to all those who made Saturday’s concert such a success. I hope that you were all happy with it? you should be!”

As the rain subsided the evening was rounded off with a breath-taking pyrotechnic display, cementing another triumphant year. We look forward to producing our fourth orchestral extravaganza next year in celebration of the BBC’s arrival in the North.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 87 Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Connecting MCFC with US Audiences Last week we devised and implemented two cultural events in New York City designed to connect with new and existing American fans of Manchester City Football Club. We took over an iconic midtown Manhattan diner branding it as the official MCFC meeting point and offering MCFC fans a discount while the team was in town. The event served as a hub for media meet and greets and fans introducing them to the football team’s brand values in a laid back environment.
 
Using a shared love of music as the flashpoint, we created seminal live event featuring icons of both Manchester and New York’s music scenes hosted at the ultra-hip High Bar rooftop bar in Hell’s Kitchen. The Hacienda’s Mike Pickering and electro / hip hop legend Afrika Bambaataa performed DJ sets as part of a ‘DJ battle’ for the honour their respective cities. They played ‘back to back’ for well over the allotted time dropping tracks including Le Freak by Chic and Voodoo Ray by a Guy Called Gerald.
 
The event was attended by over 600 opinion formers, media influencers and VIPs achieving widespread global PR coverage in traditional media ranging from The New York Times and Time Out New York. In addition the event also created a buzz and significant coverage in hipper lifestyle & music magazines, online and blogs reaching far beyond a traditional sporting audience one of the key goals of the strategy.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 85 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100 'Lost in the Orchard' with Gaymers Cider We’ve been working all summer with Gaymers Cider designing and delivering a piece of surreal brand driven escapism for hot summer festivals. We designed and delivered a concept dreamt up by lead agency FRUKT  called ‘Lost in the Orchard’ and we brought it to life with a giant mechanical cider press, magical trees and a rustic wooden stage showcasing all types of musical oddities. A Gaymers bar featured at each event and dispensed chilled cider to the super relaxed guests.
 
To top it all off we threw a stage into the mix and pleasured the audience’s ears with an eclectic mix of unusual and unique DJ’s, live music, Rockeoke and even a Cider Choir! The activity were a huge step up for the brand and paid immediate dividends with a 25% uplift in onsite sales at Glastonbury the Big Chill and latitude with over 75,000 people visiting the Orchard in the first three events. In terms of media we used our music contacts to get an Arctic Monkey down there (Alex turned up with his girlfriend Alexa Chung) helping generate a flurry of tabloid coverage.
 
We are half way through the tour with three more festivals to hit. If you see us at any of the remaining festivals pop over and say hello. We might even buy you a pint of Gaymers if you’re really nice.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 84 Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground set a new BENCH-mark We were called in a few weeks ago to inject some excitement into the annual sales conference for fashion label Bench. The aim was to motivate the international sales team and help showcase next seasons range in a way that would smash previous events. The additional aim was to help build a more compelling brand story that could be retold to agents, retailers and consumers around the world.
 
Last night the whole conference reached its climatic finale event in breathtaking style. The ingredients included a monastery, cutting edge 3D technology and a globally recognised music producer wowing the assembled audience.   
 
Guests were picked up from Bench HQ with no idea of their final destination. Ten minutes later they were pulling into the epic backdrop of Gorton Monastery’s with its courtyard being customized live by the UK’s leading street artist to communicate the brand’s “The Art of the Street” concept.
 
As part of our creative event production support we produced some incredible lighting effects to really add drama as guests moved into the main space.

The core part of the show was the electrically charged catwalk which was the focal point for the new apparel. We designed and choreographed a fast paced show that incorporated contemporary dance, a spectacular light show and 3D visuals taking the audience to another level.  
 
Just when the audience thought the tempo would slow, three giant screens dropped to reveal a saintly Calvin Harris presiding over turntables at the altar. The music exploded and the audience danced alongside models into the night with the 3D madness as a backdrop. It was great fun bringing some of our rock and roll experience to add a new dimension of excitement to this ambitious fashion brand.

“I think everyone is probably in shock; they thought they were coming to a very formal conference and ended up with one hell of an experience. I don’t know how the company is going to follow this as it has been; it’s been such good fun” Kay Twine, Managing Director BENCH UK

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 83 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100 We deliver but England can't Yesterday there was added tension in the air as we co-ordinated one of the Umbro events to celebrate the World Cup. A series of games have been shown in the Umbro brand space and it was time to watch the ‘mighty’ England take on Germany.  The audience tucked into huge platters of German cheese and meat and prepared for what could make or break England’s 2010 World Cup journey. Five goals later (four at the wrong end) and the audience of cool kids and hipsters were distraught. Another four years of failure awaits…
 
Up until yesterday the series had been a triumph with screenings of key matches combined with live performances from Manchester’s newest and most exciting DJ’s and bands  (Dutch Uncles, Orphan Boy and Merkage Cartel). The space has been packed with a room of nervous and hopeful England fans made up of designers, filmmakers, DJ’s and local legends including Mani and Bez.
 
Ear to the Ground produced the shows as part of an ongoing programme to help Umbro engage the creative community, build brand advocacy and to reconnect with their Manchester roots. We have managed the events and logistics of these fantastic screenings as well as booking content, catering and managing the bars. Over 1200 people have enjoyed the events.  It’s a real shame that England couldn’t deliver their client aims and objectives as well as Ear to the Ground; the nation was their client and once again they failed to meet the brief.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 81 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Parklife Festival launches with a sell out debut Wow; what a day. Following on from Friday’s Ian Brown success, Saturday saw the much anticipated arrival of Parklife festival to Platt Field’s. Ear to the Ground produced the event in partnership with The Warehouse Project. The 20,000 capacity event is in its first year and sold out weeks ago. A largely student audience enjoyed this new date in the Manchester diary kicking off summer with a bang! An incredible line-up of local, national and international artists including; Friendly Fires, Four Tet, Calvin Harris, Simian Mobile Disco and Andy C was set over six stages across the site. There were plenty of pieces of madness, including a silent disco in a 20ft high tree house, graffiti walls and hundreds of weird and wonderful sculptures. For those keen to follow the three lions, the England match was shown live to 15,000 energetic England fans; the blazing sunshine only added to the incredible atmosphere.

Commercial partners included Carlsberg, Red Bull and Brothers Cider all keen to connect with this young enthusiastic audience. Perhaps the most inventive activation was from fashion brand Bench who used the backstage area to seed product and make friends. Most interestingly we helped them boost 200 footballs into the main arena as the England game kicked off. Top idea.

This was the second show in two days and Ear to the Ground managed all aspects, including all lighting, sound, live production, accreditation, hospitality and health and safety. It really was an incredible atmosphere and a hugely appreciated addition to the North’s event calendar.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 80 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Ian Brown parties in the park with us Last night Ear to the Ground produced Manchester music legend Ian Brown’s phenomenal homecoming as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of Platt Field’s Park. It was the first part of a double header co-ordinated weekender with The Warehouse Project.

He stormed on stage to a hyped up crowd of 15,000 home fans in what was Manchester’s biggest night of music so far this year, and a true celebration of the city’s exceptional musical heritage. Ian Brown played a range of his solo tunes climaxing with the anthemic ‘F.E.A.R.’ followed with the Stone Roses classic ‘Fools Gold’ and left the crowd whipped into a frenzy of Mancunian pride. He was joined by a diverse range of top artists over 3 stages including Bad Lieutenant featuring New Order front man and guitarist Bernard Sumner, infamous Hacienda DJ Mike Pickering, The Whip and a DJ set from New Order’s Peter Hook.

Ear to the Ground managed all aspects of the show from logistics to licensing. We also co-ordinated onsite activity for a number of brands including Carlsberg and Red Bull keen to be associated with such an credible live show in the heart of the UK’s second city. The next chapter takes place from 1pm today with the 20,000 capacity Parklife festival. The event sold out weeks ago and the city in buzzing with anticipation.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 79 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Bringing places to life We have just won our first major client for our new ‘live strategy service’. It was launched at this year’s MIPIM property and regeneration conference in Cannes and showed developers how they can use ‘live’ to bring their spaces to life. We will be working with Peel Media to help them define and exploit their live offer with their landmark development, MediaCityUK.
 
MediaCityUK is an exciting, new 31 acre development worth 700 million pounds that will regenerate Salford Quays. It will be the media hub for the north of England, will contain the largest TV studios in Western Europe and will host  thousands of BBC employees who are relocating.
 
We are currently delivering a venue audit, using our expertise in creating live experiences, which will identify potential revenue opportunities and avoid costly mistakes. We will work in partnership with Peel on the implementation of a strategy designed to ensure that MediaCityUK becomes an exceptional national visitor destination. It’s very exciting to be working on this high profile development with partners including the BBC and Salford University.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 76 Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Back from SNOWBOMBING We’ve just got back from the glorious slopes of Mayrhofen, Austria having successfully delivered yet another Snowbombing festival to thousands of extreme sport and music fans from all over Europe.

With headline sponsor Volvo on board, the six day festival has once again upped its game creating a unique alpine environment that played host to 150 DJs, 20 bands and over 5000 people who snowboarded by day and partied hard by night.

The event is now recognised as one of Europe’s leading music festivals and achieves mass coverage across all media platforms from Channel 4 to The Times. Snowbombing 2010’s headline artists included Fatboy Slim, The Editors, Doves, The Enemy, Dela Soul and 2ManyDJs. They played in the street, in clubs, in bars, in forests and even up mountains in bespoke venues designed and managed by Ear to the Ground’s experienced team. We are responsible for all aspects of the show build and stage management as well as liaising with local authorities and managing all health and safety aspects of the festival. The atmosphere was electric.

At Ear to the Ground we’re no strangers to creating memorable experiences in unique surroundings for our clients. Even so each year we produce a bigger and better Snowbombing attracting bigger audiences and new and exciting commercial partners all keen to feel the benefit of exposure that comes with being a part of Europe’s most exciting music and sports event. Our event management and production direction has given headline sponsors like Volvo and X Box the confidence to invest in the platform as a major pillar of their pan European campaigns. Can’t wait to get back up a mountain in 2011.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 74 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100 'Hang the DJ' In Cannes Last night we hosted our annual ‘Ear to the Ground Hang the DJ party’ in Cannes. It was the hottest ticket in town at the European property and regeneration conference MIPIM. The event provided a great opportunity to launch our new ‘Live Strategy Service’ to the industry. We invited some of our best friends to play their three favourite records of all time. Some ‘Superstar DJ’ performances came from property players including Urban Splash, Argent and BDP.
 
The play list was broad featuring some super rare gems right through to soft rock heaven. Our best friends in the world of property played their favourite tunes and dropped everything from ‘Candi Station’ through to ‘Come on Eileen’ with a bit of Bon Jovi thrown in  to really take the roof off.  It was all great fun and a much needed antidote to the more traditional hospitality and entertainment throughout Cannes this week. We will be back.
 
Once again we proved we are experts in creating live experiences that stand out for our clients. We would like to thank everyone for supporting us at the event and making it a truly memorable night.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 72 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000 A night of English passion in Paris for Umbro What an experience… Last night we produced the live launch for the new Umbro England away shirt with a pioneering live moment that fused music, sport, passion and Brit Award winners Kasabian.

The band?s lead singer Tom Meighan was the first ever non-footballer to reveal a new England shirt in a stunning moment orchestrated by Ear to the Ground. It was debuted live in Paris in front of 2500 French fans demonstrating the incredible passion of England’s footballing spirit to one of their greatest rivals.

Our team worked really hard to secure the band, produce the live element of the show and manage the relationships between the band’s management and label, publisher, live agent and French promoters. The agency’s extensive relationships within the music industry helped broker a groundbreaking deal between the brand and the band. The campaign launch is generally being perceived as one of the most innovative shirt launches of all time.

Working closely with the lead creative agency Anomaly we brought the idea to life in a live environment. The video and image content will become the centrepiece to a global campaign when everything goes live next month.  Immediate benefits included a double page feature in today’s Sun, extensive on and offline PR coverage and a huge increase in traffic at umbro.com. More importantly it consolidated Umbro’s position as the world’s football culture brand.

It was great to see ‘live’ move centre stage in providing the energy and momentum to build a whole campaign. All fans know that supporting a team has never been just about the game. It?s as much about passion and excitement which is why rock ‘n’ roll and football are forever linked. This is why the Umbro England away campaign has been such a success - it taps into the culture around football as much as the game itself. And that appeals more to a fan than your normal pro-footballer launches.

Music, Football & Live; Three things we love. What a joy to work on.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 71 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Congratulations to Liverpool Primary Care Trust - They Did It!!! Ear to the Ground would like to congratulate Liverpool Primary Care Trust as being recognised as the UK’s best PCT. We are extremely proud to have worked on their flagship Challenge campaign which has picked up a raft of awards and been promoted as an exemplar of a groundbreaking social media campaign to promote healthier living in the region. The campaign achieved their target of losing 1million pounds of weight in Merseyside.  
 
Ear to the Ground was lucky enough to be commissioned to design and deliver the experiential centre piece of the campaign. We customised a 40 ft milk tanker and converted it into a immersive experience that formed the focal point for the largest public social marketing campaign ever delivered on a local level. It has spent the last twelve months touring the city providing dietary and healthy living advice to some of its hardest to reach citizens. In addition to face to face engagement with local communities the tanker achieved over two million pounds worth of PR coverage further promoting Liverpool Challenge’s key health messages to a wider audience. It was also successfully endorsed by local celebrities including British gymnast hero Beth Tweddle MBE (pictured) and Liverpool FC star Jamie Carragher.
 
This has been our most successful piece of public sector activity in 2009. In 2010 we will be working with Salford City and Manchester City Council on citizen engagement using live events.   
 
Steve Smith comments:

‘Liverpool’s Challenge proved that a strategic social media campaign with a clear live focal point can have a real, tangible effect of people’s lives. Liverpool PCT understood from the start that a traditional PR and marketing campaign would not have the same impact. They chose to work with us because the central creative concept was so strong. The results have been astonishing and the feedback from the public great. Liverpool will be a healthier city thanks to Liverpool’s Challenge.’

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 70 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Brands Bands and Playlists Last night we orchestrated a pitch perfect brand experience to celebrate the European launch of MySpace Music and the promotion of their exciting new play list service. The band were the mighty Kasabian and the moment was experienced by just a few hundred fans, media and key music industry. Play lists from famous artists including Jay Z, Lost Prophets and Beyonce were created for the launch campaign and premiered at the venue.
 
MySpace wanted to build awareness of the new service and really intensify their live music strategy with an exclusive show featuring one of the UK’s biggest bands. We completely transformed London’s legendary Heaven nightclub creating an atmosphere of grandiose opulence for a invited lucky audience.
 
Without doubt the hottest ticket in town, Kasabian took to the tiny stage as singer Tom Meighan declared, “This makes a bit of a change from the arenas, I like it!” before tearing through ten tracks including ‘Fire’ and ‘Empire’. They were joined by Delphic, Kissy Sell Out, Ian Watkins of Lost Prophets and hotly tipped emerging act Crystal Fighters.
 
The launch generated PR coverage all over the world with a massive buzz online. Highlights included Chris Moyles spending the following morning telling Radio 1 listeners how great the show was. Ear to the Ground managed everything from creative execution, set design, venue finding and liaison, guest list management and artist liaison. This was our highest profile show with MySpace after a year of successful live music events to help build the brand in the live arena.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 69 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000 Ear to the Ground builds the UK's Biggest 'pop up' night club Last month saw the launch of the Warehouse Project, The UK’s largest and most successful temporary clubbing and live music phenomenon. For the fifth year in succession all lighting, sound and live production have been supplied, built and managed by live events and communications agency Ear to the Ground contributing to the project’s world class reputation.

The Warehouse Project is an annual award-winning* club experience giving in excess of 55,800 clubbers and live music fans the opportunity to see 270+ acts and DJs live over a three-month period. Artists playing this year include Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong, Aphex Twin, Groove Armada, La Roux, Little Boots and Jack Penate. The last event of this season will take place on New Year’s Day.

Located in the industrial arches deep beneath Manchester’s Piccadilly train station The Warehouse Project is a unique and challenging proposition for Ear to the Ground in that the whole ‘club’ must be built and dismantled every single week so that the space can be used for parking from Monday - Friday.

This year’s season of events will see Ear to the Ground increasing their creative involvement in the project including the introduction of Green Hippo visual technology. Green Hippo are at the very frontier of visual technology and Ear to the Ground’s relationship with them will increase the over all experience of the event. They also continue the ongoing relationship with visuals and sound with i-Pix and Audile.

Jon Drape, Ear to the Ground’s Live Director comments:

“The Warehouse Project is very much about Ear to the Ground going back to its roots but on a grander scale with a whole raft of new challenges. We are working with many of our colleagues who also cut their production teeth at Manchester’s legendary Hacienda nightclub. However unlike the Hacienda we have to take every single piece of production out of the venue by Monday 7am to make way for commuters parking under the train station on their way to work.”

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 67 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 Ear to the Ground delivers another "classic". Ear to the Ground has just returned from Buile Hill Park, Salford having successfully delivered the 2009 BBC Proms in the Park.

Snatching a late burst of summer sun from the clutches of autumn, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra took centre stage in front of 7,500 people to be joined by singer Chris de Burgh, world-class mezzo soprano Juliette Pochin and Salford’s very own opera star Jon Christos. The festival was a key element of the BBC’s prestigious Last Night of the Proms TV coverage taking place all over the UK and was broadcast internationally via the BBC ‘red button’ as well as directly to a ‘full house’ at the Royal Albert Hall.

The weekend’s event is the second time that Ear to the Ground has successfully delivered a Proms in the Park for client Salford City Council. It is estimated that via the BBC the Proms will have been seen by millions of people around the world on every continent via cinema screens, TV and radio.

Jon Drape, Production Director of Ear to the Ground comments:

What an amazing event! We are so pleased that it has been a success for the second year in a row. With the BBC broadcasting globally - as well as to an audience of diehard Proms fans at the Albert Hall - the pressure was on to deliver a seamless production that would showcase BBC Proms in the Park to a global audience. All parties feel we have done just that.

Salford is becoming a major player with events such as Proms in the Park and the nearly completed MediaCityUK. It is important therefore that events showcase the quality cultural offers of the city on a global scale. Ear to the Ground is proud to help Salford deliver!

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 1 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100 We get to work on England's World Cup bid with Manchester Ear to the Ground has just delivered the successful live launch to support the England World Cup bid and make Manchester a host city in 2018.

Commissioned by Manchester City Council and Marketing Manchester, the event was the focal point of a multi-platform campaign designed to reinforce the city’s status as the most influential football city in the world.

Taking place in a bespoke venue purpose built by Ear to the Ground, the event itself involved both Manchester City and United’s youth teams with endorsements from stars Ryan Giggs and Emmanuel Adebayor. Ear to the Ground created a cutting-edge presentation specifically for members of the FA that featured both Sir Alex Ferguson and Mark Hughes, two of the global game’s most powerful ambassadors.

The project cements Ear to the Ground’s strong links with the international world of football and comes hot on the heels of  successful live activity for both Umbro and Manchester City. The agency has always loved football and the event was real landmark in focusing the team on helping Manchester and England secure the greatest sporting competition on the planet. Fingers crossed.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 68 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground take Pride. For the seventh year in a row award-winning events and live communications agency Ear to the Ground (with help from Nine Lives) has completed a successful tour of duty facilitating and running Manchester?s annual Pride parade and Big Weekend.

Pride’s Big Weekend is the second largest ticketed event in the UK drawing in excess of 40,000 lesbian, gay and transgender people (and their friends) to Manchester for a weekend of music and revelry in a carefully controlled safe environment.

It is estimated that Ear to the Ground’s successfully delivered parade was experienced by in excess of 100,000 people as it weaved through Manchester city centre on a route carefully planned by production director Jon Drape and his team.

Pride’s Big Weekend is one of the Manchester’s biggest event-led annual attractions and involves the erection of in excess of three kilometres of security fencing around the city’s famous gay village, turning a whole district of the city centre into one big ticketed party zone.

The agency made sure the party ran without so much as a hitch as acts as diverse as Little Boots, Bananarama, The Human League and Peter Andre wowed the crowd over two stages and three days. The successful delivery of Pride 2009 now means that Ear to the Ground will not need to pitch to win Pride for the next two years.

Production director Jon Drape comments:

Pride is a project that is very dear to our heart at Ear to the Ground. Over the last seven years we have helped the festival evolve into the leading Pride event in the country, improving each year in the level of musical talents attracted.

Of course Ear to the Ground is no stranger to working with some of the world’s biggest music stars but to do so on home turf is always that bit more special.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 2 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Come dine with Ear to the Ground Ear to the Ground decided to tackle the changing interpretation of ‘Events’ and ‘Experiential Marketing’ with an exclusive network event dinner for their network of clients, organizations and key mates.

The one night event was created to highlight that the current market conditions have resulted in mixed messaging across the traditional event industry.  The powerful marketing discipline attracts a broad range of skills from sampling to international event producers. However, this plethora of businesses, experience and experiential titles and lack of clear measurement often causes confusion.

The event and live communications night was hosted in Manchester city centre and a formal dinner was provided by Conran & Partners Zinc.  Guests used the evening to discuss the current challenges facing the industry and how live communications can provide share-holder value.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 5 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Films and Footfall - the story of Spinningfields Ear to the Ground has been commissioned to develop a comprehensive event program designed to incorporate film screenings, live sports broadcast, lifestyle activity, family entertainment and pop up bars. The aim was to drive footfall to Spinningfields; the North’s new premium financial and professional services destination development. This pioneering live destinational marketing campaign has attracted more than 200,000 new visitors to the site this summer. The highlight has been the Thursday night open air free film ‘Screenfields’ events.

Highlights included ‘Man On Wire’ Grease and a big screen outing of ‘Withnail & I’ with its brilliant script and unrivalled selection of, ahem, colorful language.

Ear to the Grounds dedicated Allied London production team are permanently based at the location to bring the project alive throughout the summer of 2009.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 4 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Field Day Festival As we go to press the Ear to the Ground team has just returned from their 2nd year of producing the three festivals in one at Victoria Park London where 60,000 people came down to experience our smooth event management skills.

Over the 3 days we were responsible for liaising with promoters as well as delivering sponsorship activation for brands including MySpace, Gaymers, Playstation, TopMan and Converse as headline brand sponsors on the Sunday.

Starting off was a standalone event for clubbers with a Friday night’s DJ set from the legendary Tiesto who rocked an audience of 25,000 with his progressive tech sound. His performance was complemented by a cutting edge AV show featuring Europe’s most progressive pyrotechnics and amazing visuals. The atmosphere was electric

On Saturday the event became more eclectic as over a hundred bands and DJs jostled for position at parties hosted by underground promoters Bugged Out! and Eat Your Own Ears. Highlights included Scottish noiseniks Mogwai jaw-dropping live show alongside a typically passionate DJ set from Erol Alkan.

On the final day of Field Day, Ear to the Ground employed its specialist insight into youth markets by producing the UK’s only underage festival for 14-18 year olds. A dry site (no alcohol), the event posed unique challenges not to mention a ‘duty of care’ - but went off without a hitch with Tinchy Styder and Little Boots rocking the fanatical teen crowd.

Extracted from the London Paper online review

THOUSANDS of teenagers gathered in Vicky Park yesterday to celebrate this year’s Underage Festival. Luckily for those dressed in more or less nothing, the weather held up as acts including Little Boots, Santigold and Metronomy came together for the all-teen event.

UK grime act JME jumped off stage to interact with the crowd while chart topper Tinchy Stryder had the crowd surfing just to get closer to his electrifying performance.

The main attractions, other than the music, were the tents run by Converse, Bollocks To Poverty and Spinebreakers. Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) were also there showing support, with LMHR or Underage t-shirts being this year’s festival uniform. The rest of the crowd appeared to be kitted out by Topshop, in Master Shortie inspired skinny jeans.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 3 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground feel the sunshine with the worlds richest club Following the success of the launch of the latest football apparel range from Umbro, Ear to the Ground has been asked to create, produce and manage the screening of the teams first pre-match season in South Africa next Sunday.

The screening experience in front of the impressive 47,000 capacity City Stadium in the heart of the North West will be the first time the Club has created an international showcase after the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Limited £200 million takeover of Manchester City in 2008.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 6 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Blue Moon over Manchester Last night the ‘Blue Moon’ shone that little bit brighter. Umbro engaged Ear to the Ground to create a live communications campaign for the launch of Manchester City’s new home football kit. The finale was a huge fan event that took place at the City of Manchester stadium featuring Doves.

Over 5000 fans that had purchased the new Umbro tailored shirt in advance were invited to a private celebration in front of the stadium. The event was the finale of a live communications strategy that incorporated connecting with key city fans, a global media launch and ambient activity throughout the city. A massive communications campaign reached over 1 million people via online and PR channels.

A Man City fans’ dream, Doves crowned their set with a rousing chorus of the terrace favourite ‘Blue Moon’ before launching into a succession of hits to swell the city’s heart. Aspiring Manchester pop combo Kid British and Twisted Wheel played their part in banishing the rain with an inspired set that celebrated all that is good about the city.

Fans were also treated to an exclusive limited edition collector’s mini album compiled and cleared by Ear to the Ground, featuring songs from each band branded in the new Manchester City blue moon image created by Umbro.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 7 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0100 We're forever blowing bubbles It was more than just toasting PZ Cussons at their 125th Birthday. Ear to the Ground was engaged to create, manage and deliver the birthday celebrations for PZ Cussons, the UK FTSE 250 Company.

The aptly named PZ Cussons ‘Soap Box’ experience was created by Ear the Ground to showcase the organization and households brands such as Imperial Leather, Carex, Original Source, Charles Worthington and The Sanctuary.

Over 10 days, visitors to the experience were introduced to a multitude of sensory experiences in our very own 400 metre structure.

The experience fused the thrills of a big top interactive experience with the organisations very own ‘Innovation Centre’ and educated and entertained thousands of shoppers, day trippers and friends of the organisation.

The innovative schedule of experiences saw over 200,000 people touch the live communication campaign through a different daily program of sensory entertainment.

The campaign brought to life the Company heritage, enormous investment in the community over 125 years and gave something back to everyone who took the tour, enjoyed the PZ Cussons bar or decided to challenge their purchasing habits.

The work on the campaign has resulted in the ‘Soap Box’ experience being ear marked a forthcoming tour to PZ Cussons biggest market in Nigeria.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 8 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0100 More awards for Ear to the Ground Ear to the Ground’s production director Jon Drape was this week given the prestigious 40 under 40 Award by business bible, Crain’s in recognition of his work in the field of creative event and production management.

The coveted award was given at an auspicious party held at Manchester’s Midland Hotel celebrating forty of the city’s most exemplary business people in their specialist fields.

Crain’s Manchester Business is one of the most authoritative business titles in the UK and has sister titles in New York, Chicago and Detroit.

Jon Drape comments,

I am really pleased that title such as Crain’s recognises the work that Ear to the Ground has done since we first started in 2003. We have been a key player in the evolution of the event and communications through the country adding value to many of the UK’s leading brands.

Previous winners of the 40 Under 40 award include Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey though Jon assures he won’t be moving into either television or politics quite yet.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 9 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0100 City music aristocracy turns out in force for Umbro A star-studded cast of Manchester’s finest musicians stepped out last night to preview the new Manchester City shirt produced by Umbro. We opened our little black book to handle all RSVPS, secured venues and made sure the event ran smoothly from an operational perspective.

Celebrity City fans including Noel Gallagher, Badly Drawn Boy, and prominent members of the Manchester music scene who were given an get an exclusive preview of the new Umbro designed City shirt before heading over to the intimate Northern Quarter Restaurant & Bar in Manchester city centre. Even die-hard Manchester United fan Andrew ‘Mani’ Mountford (The Stone Roses, Primal Scream) was on hand to join the party much to everyone’s surprise.

The event was put together by Ear to the Ground to introduce some of the city’s most influential characters to the new shirt. Manchester City is renowned for the loyal following of many of the city’s most famous musicians.

Steve Smith, creative director of Ear to the Ground comments:

Ear to the Ground is an events that was borne out of live music and Manchester. It was great working with Umbro and MCFC in reconnecting with those roots.

And Noel Gallaghers’ response to the shirt’

Tell you what, even if we don’t win anything next season we’ll be the best looking team in the league. No question. They are the bollocks.

Nice one Noel

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 11 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0100 A Premiership launch for City and Umbro After a rather late night with some of Manchester’s best know music stars Ear to the Ground was up at the crack of dawn to deliver the global media launch for the new Umbro designed Manchester City shirt.

The event was held at cutting edge music venue the deaf institute and featured hyped new act Kid British. Front man Adio is a City fanatic and was the first person to wear an item from the new range as the band performed three tracks from their new LP; “if it wasn’t this it would have been football”.

Umbro and Manchester City appointed Ear to the Ground because they wanted to completely re-invent the concept of a shirt launch. Umbro and the club are keen to reconnect with the cultural heritage of the city and the engine room of the creative industries. As a result the event was more live music show than staid press conference.

A live performance peaked with a drop banner and the unveiling of the new City kits to the assembled media. Ear to the Ground was responsible for concept development, venue and artist booking, production and event management and branding.

The event forms a central pillar of the wider communications programme that incorporates a shirt seeding campaign, the setting up of a Foundation to support the creative industries and a major music event that will be announced on July 1st.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 10 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground clean up! Ear to the Ground has secured one of its most significant projects to date - the exclusive contract to provide a series of bespoke experiential events to celebrate the 125th anniversary of leading consumer brand PZ Cussons.

FTSE 250 registered PZ Cussons is the name behind many of the world’s best loved personal care brands including Imperial Leather, Charles Worthington, Original Source and more recently the Sanctuary brand and Spa. The company is an official sponsor of this year’s Manchester International Festival and their series of anniversary events - taking place within an Ear to the Ground designed exhibition space to be built in city centre Manchester - runs alongside with the festival’s own auspicious programme.

Ear to the Ground fought off strong competition to win the account which involves a fun-packed twelve day programme of events taking place within a unique temporary structure designed and built by the company. Over the course of the programme the space will provide the 360 degree experience for a host of innovative events devised to reach out to both consumer and corporate audiences. Ear to the Ground is responsible for the concept and delivery of the entire experience.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 12 Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Be part of the biggest user generated event in the world Using the power of the web, Ear to the Ground are producing the most groundbreaking event in Manchester. The Cutting Room Experiment is the publics chance to have their idea for a one off, professionally organised, mass participation event for hundreds of people to be put into reality. Think about flash mobs. Think about mass participation. Think about a collection of people in a space, at one time, all doing something together. That’s what the Cutting Room Experiment is all about. Visit the website by May 29th to submit your idea. The event will take place on Saturday 20th June.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 32 Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Our secret MySpace date with Lily Number one-selling pop icon Lily Allen breezed into London last night for a hugely anticipated secret live show hosted by social networking site MySpace. An ambitious London Underground-themed fancy dress party for 300 die hard fans, the decor, venue production, artist liaison and transport were all carefully conceived and executed by Ear to the Ground, one of their most unique productions to date.

The venue, a beautiful and historic church in West London called the Tabernacle, was transformed by Ear to the Ground into a London Underground station for just one evening and lucky fans were transported to the secret show by red London buses laid on by Ear to the Ground.

The fans, who each won their tickets through MySpace, were requested to dress in the style of London Underground stations whilst Lily herself arrived regally as Queen Victoria.

A roaring success on all levels, both music and news media across the globe were wowed by both Lily’s set and the theme and production ideas realised by the Ear to the Ground team. Next day coverage in The Independent, Sky News, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Metro, Marie-Claire and the NME amongst others assured that MySpace’s brand was positioned centre-stage alongside the star.

As well as being a fun night out for a hardcore group of Lily’s fans this was a serious showcase for one of the UK’s hottest talents, comments Ear to the Ground Managing Director, Steve Smith. From our perspective the carefully planned production and decor was always going to be key to the event’s over all success. It was a unique and challenging project but Ms Allen was delightful.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 31 Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100 The Kids are Alright We have just finished producing the MySpace School Invasion live gig series. Last week Ear to the Ground cemented its relationship with the global social networking brand through a series of dynamic events at schools throughout the UK. The idea was simple enough - to give students between the ages of 13 and 18 the opportunity to engage and vote for their school to become the venue for an exclusive live concert by MySpace pop sensation Elliot Minor.

This age group requires an added level of care and consideration in terms of supervision and management. Our experience in working with this highly demanding demographic through Underage Festival and previous MySpace shows meant we were the perfect partner to make the tour run smoothly.

One of the new wave of MySpace musical success stories, Elliot Minor’s exclusive live shows gave the brand the opportunity to reach out to new core audiences in their own schools in a truly experiential way. The result - A series of five back to back packed-out live shows to thousands of fanatical students who came to see one of the UK’s hottest young acts whilst experiencing the ‘MySpace Effect’ in their own assembly hall.

Ear to the Ground’s proven track record for devising and facilitating cutting-edge experiential events put them in good stead to deliver for in such unusual surroundings. From venue and stage design right through to police and resident liaison, the team worked tirelessly to produce a series of showcase events that left both client and crowd knowing they were in safe hands.

“Working with MySpace is always a great experience for the team,” comments Ear to the Ground Managing Director Steve Smith. “Their concepts really are at the cutting-edge of communications which appeal to us as a business. Online social marketing is where it’s at right now and in terms of this audience the sheer excitement of seeing your first gig is never forgotten. It’s great to make that happen”.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 13 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground - On the Piste again 2009 was without doubt the year Snowbombing went global and as ever Ear to the Ground was on hand making sure that that Europe’s leading sport and music festival ran as smoothly as Shane White on a beginners slope.

Over the last decade Snowbombing has evolved from a cool but niche event for underground music fans to a global brand. It now annually attracts thousands of party people to the Austrian Alps for a week of skiing, snowboarding, live music, clubbing and general partying.

Logistically too it has evolved. From a couple of club nights after a day on the piste, Snowbombing has quickly become a recognized destination festival attracting many of the world’s biggest brands (X-Box 360, Microsoft, Smirnoff) and some of the world’s most popular and cutting edge live bands and DJs all eager to be showcased creatively and professionally.

Acts as diverse as Dizzee Rascal, Ladyhawke, Biffy Clyro, Reverend & the Makers and the legendary Grandmaster Flash jostled to take the crown of the Event of the festival all realised by Ear to the Ground’s crack production team. Meanwhile some of the UK’s most respected club nights (Bugged Out!, Back to Basics, Black Rabbit) raved deep into the night in venues adapted by the team often from the barest of venues.

Anyone that’s even been to a festival knows that alongside the entertainment it’s the location that makes an event special. Snowbombing is no exception. Snowbound exteriors and adapted venues have provided interesting challenges that mark Ear to the Ground’s production work out as both innovative and resourceful. Some of this comes out of creativity, some out of necessity.

A club in a remote 200 year old barn. A huge live purpose-built open-air venue in the middle of a forest. A tiny Alpine night club with a killer sound system. A full-blown stage set on the side of a glacial mountain. These are just some of the locations that Ear to the Ground has had to create and work with to make sure that this year’s event went off without so much as a hitch.

And the press agreed. Blanket coverage of Snowbombing from the tabloids and style mags right through to the national broadsheets reported that Snowbombing has now become one of Europe’s most exciting outdoor events immaculately and professionally conceived and run.

Fresh challenges no doubt lie ahead as Snowbombing enters its second decade at the cutting edge of music and sports culture.

We’re looking forward to meeting those challenges head on.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 33 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100 Franz Ferdinand debut their new album with Ear to the Ground On Saturday night we managed all production and logistics for a secret launch of the new Franz Ferdinand album. The event was a non publicised addition to the Warehouse Project series and an unsuspecting audience saw the Glasgow band punch their way through a trademark set of jagged guitar riffs and killer hooks. Classics like ‘Take Me Out’ sat next to new tracks played live for the first time ever. Overall the next album promises more stadium smashes with the band taking more of an electronic route. Ear to the Ground was responsible for managing all technical requirements on the night including sound, lights, staging and artist liaison. The band loved playing to such a small audience and their agent, manager and the record label were really pleased with how the show went.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 29 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Field Day Festival Showcases New Talent We are currently in the middle of de-rigging the 20,000 capacity “Field Day” music festival. Ear to the Ground were introduced this year to manage all aspects of the event. Our systems delivered huge improvements with queues for ticket collections, entry, bar, food completely resolved. The only area which still needs improvements is the toilet provision with queues too big for a boutique festival of this nature.

Despite the constant rain the festival goers witnessed some incredible music performances throughout the day. The ancillary “Village Mentality” themed entertainment of sack racing and carrot eating competitions certainly went down well with this fashionable East London audience. Highlight performances were delivered by the bombastic Simian Mobile Disco and Foals. The secret of Field Day’s success is its commitment to new music with unusual leftfield performances happening all over the site throughout the day, creating magical and cosy new music moments to keep the audience warm.

All in all the festival was a huge success with the only areas to improve for 2009 being the toilets and a healthy dose of sunshine.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 48 Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Smells Like Teen Spirit Yesterday Ear to the Ground successfully produced the UK’s only festival for Under 18’s.  7,000 teenagers attended the second ‘Underage Festival’ in London’s Victoria Park to watch a huge line up of cutting edge bands across five stages. Ear to the Ground were responsible for managing all aspects of the festival including production, bars and catering, artist liaison, guest list / entry management and health and safety provision.  The unique nature of the event meant that increased levels of crowd management and audience welfare were introduced.  The event was a huge success with headline acts Dizzee Rascal and Gallows sending the crowd into a frenzy. In all our years of festival co-ordination Ear to the Ground has never witnessed such an excited and enthusiastic audience for new music.  The whole team is back on site today to deliver the ‘adult version’ in the form of the critically acclaimed Field Day Festival.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 47 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 24 Hour Conversation in memory of our friend Tony Wilson The entire Ear to the Ground office took the day off yesterday after co-ordinating an epic 24 hour conversation in memory to one of this country’s greatest independent thinkers. The rolling 24 hour programme of ‘binge thinking’ was the idea of legendary designer Peter Saville in memory of his friend and mentor Factory Records boss, Tony Wilson. The roll of honour was a hit list of cultural influencers including Steve Coogan, Peter Hook, Irvin Welsh, Paul Morley, Tom Bloxham, Anton Corbijn and Shaun Ryder. Over 200 young guests listened, questioned and shouted their way through the 24 hour cycle which careered from topics as diverse as cultural elitism to quantum physics. Ear to the Ground Live Director Jon Drape and Managing Director Steve Smith were friends of the great man and gave their time FOC to deliver the smooth delivery of the event. This was one of the company’s most important events as without Tony and his Hacienda partner Rob Gretton it is highly unlikely the Ear to the Ground would even exist.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 45 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Art+Music+Becks = Fusions Last night we helped brand agency Material launch this years Becks Fusions event. The premium beer brand has long been a supporter of conceptual art with their Becks Futures programme. This latest development brings together groundbreaking talent in the areas of art and music and will reach its crescendo in front of 10,000 people on the first Saturday in September. Legendary Bristol band Massive Attack will collaborate with United Universal Artists for a unique collision of sound and visuals for a free show. Last night was a covert taster featuring a live performance from electronic The Whip alongside some of the UK’s most interesting new art in a bespoke pavilion structure. Ear to the Ground was responsible for all event production and guest list generation whilst Material developed the creative with Becks and looked after all media. We are looking forward to doing it all again on a much bigger scale in a couple of months.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 44 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 We plan the future of the office with Microsoft Last night we delivered an event at the Science Museum in Kensington for software giants Microsoft. We worked with New Scientist Magazine and marketing agency Madmedia to create a high-end reception award ceremony attended by 400 competition winners and VIPs.  Readers of the magazine were asked to outline their vision of the how the office would develop over time.  The event was pre-ambled with a touring touch-screen cube developed and managed by Mad Media. The definite highlight of the event was an inspirational snapshop from ‘trendmaster’ and future-ologist Ray Hammond, who spelt out his seven key factors in global change in the coming years.  Ear to the Ground was responsible for all venue management, production and guest list management.  We particularly liked the idea that future offices would only be places to agree direction and actual work would be done at the beach. 

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 46 Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground and Ricky 'The Hitman' Hatton Ear to the Ground has been working for the last eight weeks as a production and promotion consultant for Ricky Hatton’s homecoming fight at the City of Manchester Stadium.

On Saturday 24th May the Hitman will meet Mexican light welterweight Juan Lazcano in his home town. Ricky and his team (Punch Promotions Limited) needed support on delivering Europe’s biggest ever boxing match. Ear to the Ground advised on all aspects of the show including venue liaison, production management, policing and concession management.

Our initial work laid the foundation for Punch to negotiate a joint promotion deal with music promoters SJM and City of Manchester Stadium. Ear to the Ground has also agreed a deal to help deliver the commercial exploitation of the fight with procurement and management of all commercial partnerships.

If you are not one of the 55,000 people who has already purchased a ticket for this sell out event the match will be screened live on a pay per view basis with SKY.  
 

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 41 Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Straight from the Horse's mouth at the RSVP show Ear to the Ground had a great time at the RSVP Show last week at the two day event industry jamboree. It was a good chance to see some old friends and meet some new ones. Our ‘Straight from the horses mouth’ stand went down a storm and even generated some local media coverage on Planet Confidential. On Thursday afternoon our Managing Director, Steve Smith was the star turn on the RSVP ‘Head to Head’ interview with Event Magazine editor Jeremy King. He talked about Ear to the Ground’s driving ambition to always create something new and the value of live interactive marketing over more passive mediums. RSVP was great fun, really well organised event and we will be back in 09 for more.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 43 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100 From Junglists to Horticulturalists This summer Ear to the Ground stepped out of the VIP room and headed into a field to help deliver client activity at two of the UK’s leading garden shows.  Car manufacturer Citroen asked us to build them an installation at both Hampton Court and Tatton Park as a centrepiece to their sponsorship activation. We were also responsible for launching Cheshire Year of Gardens with a reception and giant ‘Cheshire Flower Bed’ which became the centrepiece of their activity at Tatton. Despite the challenging weather the concept was a resounding success and is planned to tour the UK in 2008 to promote the region.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 37 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100 We rock Cannes with our MIPIM party Last Thursday we hosted our first ever event at the MIPIM property conference in Cannes. Taking over the stylish Sun7 Lounge just seconds from the Mediterranean, we invited some of our best friends to play their three favourite records of all time. Some ‘Superstar DJ’ performances came from property players including Urban Splash, West Properties, Argent, Ian Simpson Architects, and Cyril Sweett. After a few reconnaissance missions this was the first time Ear to the Ground have ever been involved in the cote d’azur shindig which attracts almost 30,000 European property professionals.

The complimentary absinthe flowed and the music carried on late into the night. Enclosed are some of the pictures to prove just how late. Ear to the Ground would like to thank everyone for supporting us.  With hundred of events happening throughout MIPIM its great news that Building Magazine and the Manchester Evening News have already labelled us the best party of the whole week.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 40 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100 More snow boards and beats up a mountain This morning our production team landed back in the UK after producing the incredible Snowbombing Festival in Mayrhofen. This seven day event combined the best of snow sport culture with the freshest new bands and Djs 2000 metres above sea level in the Austrian Alps. Ear to the Ground was responsible for the smooth running of over 100 events with headline performances from artists including the Pigeon Detectives, Calvin Harris, Dirty Pretty Things, Annie Mac, The Foals and Madness. Highlights of our production management role included a huge street party, a disco in an igloo and building a 3000 capacity stage in the forest for the finale event headlined by Suggs and co. We were responsible for all aspects of the show build and stage management as well as liaising with local authorities and managing all health and safety aspects of the festival. Organiser Gareth Cooper of SBH events stated. We are committed to making Snowbombing better every year and a real standout of the European Festival calendar. With Ear to the Ground we can continue to improve the quality of our offer and constantly improve. Creating an event at the top of a mountain with potentially terrible weather conditions is only made possible with the professionalism, hard work and health and safety considerations of the Ear to the Ground team.

Snowbombing is one of the most grueling events Ear to the Ground works on. However as always, we’ve made so many friends, enjoyed so many great moments we just can’t wait for an even bigger and better Snowbombing 09.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 42 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0100 European Capital of Culture is a huge success This weekend Ear to the Ground was the main event agency responsible for producing the official launch of the European Capital of Culture in Liverpool. Images were beamed across the globe of a groundbreaking multi media public event that took place over 2 nights and featured hundreds of performers, international orchestras, pyrotechnics a multitude of VIPs and one of the Beatles.

Friday involved a huge outdoor event viewed by 50,000 people in front of Lime Street Station with key celebrity ?Scousers? being transported onto roof using cranes and shipping containers, scissor lifts and arielists. In a grand finale a euphoric Ringo Starr emerged to perform his ode to the city alongside Dave Stewart with rooftops across the city filled with drummers and guitarists.

Saturday saw us stage manage and produce the official launch of the new 12,000 capacity Liverpool Echo Arena. We worked with legendary creative producer Nigel Jamieson to produce a mesmerizing 90 minute show that told the story of the city through the medium of live music and moving image. A purpose built screen was specially commissioned that also acted as a 100 foot high grid to showcase the players of the Liverpool Royal Philharmonic.

While everyone else has been relaxing over Christmas Ear to the Ground Director Jon Drape and the Ear to the Ground production team was working feverishly on producing our biggest ever show. It was a truly incredible way to end 07 and march into 08.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 39 Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Ear to the Ground build best temporary music venue ever More of our clients are looking to radically activate dead space. In September we finally headed out of the sunshine and into the darkness to create the most ambitious temporary music venue ever. Ear to the Ground has overseen the transformation of the empty Boddingtons Brewery into the epic 3500 capacity Warehouse Project in Manchester. We have co-ordinated all production including licensing, artist liaison, health and safety, install, sound, lights AV, toilets, decor, stewarding and security  for the Warehouse Project which has taken over the vacant Boddingtons Brewery in Manchester. In just 3 months over 100,000 people will go clubbing in this 3,500 capacity venue with artists including Roni Size, Giles Peterson, Too Many DJ’s and De La Soul. Legendary rap group Public Enemy launched the event with hype-man Flava Flav shouting ‘What Time Is it?’ in all the appropriate places.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 60 Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground goes floral Ear to the ground have just completed a consultancy contract working with Visit Chester and Cheshire to advise them on their event strategy in 08.  We came up with the lovely idea of building a living flower bed to create a brand experience for the region.  They liked it so much they asked us to use it as a centrepiece for their launch in July at the Royal Horticultural Show.  Citroen heard about it and asked us to build them an installation at the event and Hampton Court.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 55 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Beth Ditto with Ear to the Ground at the International Festival Ear to the Ground was one of the main delivery partners for the Manchester International Festival.  We produced the open-air Unknown Pleasures event at Salford Quays featuring the Gossip, The Horrors and New Young Pony Club.  As the headliner Beth Ditto had the 5000 capacity audience in the palm of her hand.  We also helped deliver the after show party for the controversial Il Tempo Del Postino with show-stopping art / theatre performance from Matthew Barney.  The glitterati of the conceptual art world descended on the party in the heart of the city.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 36 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Models in a Monastery Boss Modelling Agency celebrated their 20th Birthday with a giant party for clients and staff in the epic surroundings of Gorton Monastery. Ear to the Ground conceived and delivered all parts of the event, including choreography and styling for a catwalk show featuring 200 models.  DJs played from the altar adding to an incredible array of entertainment for the VIP audience.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 34 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Spinningfields is born Last night Manchester saw the birth of a new commercial district called Spinningfields.  Over 1000 of the city?s main players congregated under a unique structure in a brand new square to celebrate the moment.  Ear to the Ground co-coordinated a world first with a collision of adventure running, aerial theatre and pyrotechnics as a backdrop to a giant screen showing the world premier of action thriller ‘The Power of Three.  Catering was delivered between a number of new tenants including Yo Sushi and Wagamama.  The party started with 30 samba drumming builders and ended with a live performance from M-People’s Heather Small.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 66 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Mika does secret gig with us Last night we helped produce a secret gig with chart topping artist Mika.  He played all his hits including Grace Kelly and Big Girl to a select audience of die hard fans in fancy dress.  The event was run in association with Vodaphone TBA and Channel 4.  Competition winners were informed via text only an hour before the event.  The show will be broadcast in full on Channel 4 next month.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 65 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0100 We build brands 'with love' European casual-wear giant Esprit and marketing agency Cunning employed us to create a buzz around the northern store opening.  The brief was to do everything ‘With Love’.  This involved building a giant ‘live’ brochure in the heart of the city with local artists commissioned to create a live billboard in front of the store.  Passers-by were invited to create their own bespoke Esprit bag by a loving promotional team.  Footfall increased 75% by with sales going up by 24%.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 35 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground fight fire with fire The fire that destroyed our office has caused us over ?70,000 of damage. We have responded in the only way we know how, by hosting a free 5000 capacity open air party called ‘Burnt to the Ground’.  This weekend Stevenson Square hosted a rare performance of psychedelic 60’s hit ‘Fire’ by ‘The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’. Support came from the likes of Mr Scruff and Polytechnic. All monies raised are going to charity and independent creative businesses that suffered in the fire and weren’t sufficiently insured. Highlight tracks of the day included Firestarter (The Prodigy), Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash) and Fire in the Disco (Electric 6).

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 49 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Ear to the Ground on Fire In the early hours of Monday morning a massive fire swept through Manchester’s Northern Quarter. We turned on Sky News and watched our office block burning. We have just been allowed back into the building today and are waiting to move into a temporary space. We have no idea when or if we can get back in.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 51 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Hitting the highlights of Kings Cross Ear to the Ground teamed up with innovative developer First Base to celebrate the ‘topping out’ of the Nido student project in Kings Cross. We managed all production and decor and created a ‘future resident’ to bring the Nido concept to life for attending VIPs.  The after show reception at the Big Chill House was a great little gathering and a splendid time was had by all.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 53 Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0100 More board and beats action in Austria Ear to the Ground continued its successful relationship with the European snowboard and music festival Snowbombing.  We co-ordinated all production and programming across 9 venues in Mayrhofen and also hosted a giant street festival as a finale to the week long party.  Over 60 hotly tipped new artists got the mountains shaking including Peaches Geldof, The Enemy, The Long Blondes Scratch Pervertz and The Young Knives and Simian Mobile Disco.  The event increased in size this year and was the most successful ever.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 54 Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0100 European Capital of Culture Win Ear to the Ground is selected as the lead agency to launch the European Capital of Culture on June 12th 2008 in Liverpool.  This promises to be an epic event that will see the first show in the new 10,000 capacity dockside arena and a massive outdoor celebration for the people of the city.  Ear to the Ground will be working with Liverpool Culture Company and legendary show producer Nigel Jameson who can count The Commonwealth Games closing ceremony and Salt Lake City Winter Olympics launch on his CV.  More news as we get it.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 57 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Labour Party regeneration event with Urban Splash In between a defiant Tony making his final speech and Mr Prescott apologising for his mistakes we managed to take some MPs over to the 3 Towers regeneration project. Over a hundred excited homebuyers had been sleeping in a purpose built tent in the hope of procuring an apartment in this cornerstone residential scheme. Ear to the Ground helped develop the concept and co-ordinated all event production including crowd management, temporary structures, fencing, sound, lighting, rigging, AV, communications, toilets, plumbing, catering, site lighting and power as well as dealing with health and safety,  We love working with Urban Splash because their ideas are as leftfield and innovative as ours.  We can’t wait to launch Fort Dunlop in Birmingham later this month.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 61 Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Ear to the Ground sees in the new year in a big way We bid farewell to the incredibly successful Warehouse Project yesterday. The two final nights of committed hedonists added to the 100.000 people that have been through this ‘pop up’ music venue in the last 10 weeks.  The Boddingtons Brewery will be knocked down but we are  looking for a new space to activate in the summer. We wish everyone a happy new year and hope you all smash it in 07.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 58 Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Making you feel special In the last three months Ear to the Ground have been conceiving and delivering more and more high-end launch hospitality activity for various clients. This has included launching the debut UK showroom for fashion brand Marc O’Polo in Camden, to the showcase of the Westminster HQ of Hammerson Properties and most notably the launch of the CoolBrands publication at the German Gymnasium in Kings Cross. We source venues, develop concepts, manage programming & catering, bar set-ups and production for a whole range of events. This can be a simple reception with a twist or a more radical event like the showcase of the 100 coolest brands in the UK.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 62 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Urban Splash continues pioneering events strategy Innovative property company Urban Splash continue to shun conservative advertising and use pioneering events to create standout. In the last 3 months we have managed the ‘topping out’ of Matchbox Liverpool, launched the groundbreaking Stalybridge Longlands  development and launched Urban Splash Build with a 600 capacity banquet on the 6th Floor at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham. We are currently working on creating a unique ‘Urban Folk’ festival to mark the next phase of New Islington in Manchester.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 56 Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Warehouse Project 'pops up' again After the massive success of converting the Boddingtons brewery into a giant club venue over the winter Ear to the Ground has just finished producing another Warehouse Project. The May Bank holiday saw us convert an underground car park into a 3000 capacity music venue.  Ear to the Ground was responsible for all production, health and safety and artist liaison. DJs included Pete Tong, 2 Many DJs and Pendulum. Every night sold out in advance and we look forward to producing more bass heavy late night shenanigans later in the year.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 50 Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0100 A world first for ferret events at CoolBrands At Ear to the Ground we love nothing more than coming up with ideas that create great word of mouth for our clients. A perfect example was in September where Ear to the Ground launched the definitive CoolBrands publication for client independent brand arbiter, Superbrands.  Ear to the Ground’s winning pitch concept was a innovative metaphor for the relationship between brands and consumers. A thirty metre long wall made up of a hundred glass boxes was filled by the hundred coolest brands including Blackberry, O2, Topshop and Diesel.  The consumers were represented by real live ferrets (yes, that’s ferrets) who were able to navigate their way around the installation interacting with the brands. The ferrets had been preparing for the event for three months in North Wales with the animal trainer responsible for the squirrels in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the owl in Harry Potter.  Ear to the Ground developed and managed all parts of the event including booking cutting edge music artists (including the Bestival Festival) to venue sourcing, AV production, stewarding, security and management of the UK’s coolest brands.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 63 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0100 Record numbers at Ear to the Ground Summer Shows July & August festivals saw over 200,000 people attend outdoor events coordinated by Ear to the Ground. This included producing our very own Dpercussion with production delivery assistance for Manchester Mela, Caribbean Carnival, Gay & Lesbian Pride and the Sky Festival. Our production team spent a summer managing crowds, liaising with local authorities, looking after artists, consulting local residents, writing risk assessments and overseeing all aspects of event production, the sun shone throughout.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 64 Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0100 An Olympic Ear to the Ground For the second year running Ear to the Ground managed all music programming for the hugely successful UK Street Sprint Final.  This initiative was conceived by Linford Christie and Darren Campbell to get disadvantaged children from the street to the stadium via a cutting edge sports and music event.  Linford’s agency Nuff Respect and sponsors Reebok were over the moon with Ear to the Ground’s urban music selection which brought in artists from all over the UK.

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 59 Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0100 Dpercussion is Dead, Long Live Manchester Approximately 35,000 people packed into the tenth and last ever Dpercussion. Eleven open-air stages blasted everything from grime to electro, house to funk with a bit of samba thrown in. Over 650 performers took part with 150 bands and DJs.  Highlight live performances came from the likes of the Courteeners, Cherry Ghost, Polytechnic and Badly Drawn Boy, The Whip and Sunshine Underground to keep the kids bouncing. The clubbers enjoyed over 80 DJs including legendary carnival king Norman Jay, Andy Votel and Guilty Pleasures. Such was the demand for this year’s Dpercussion that we were forced to close the doors after reaching capacity at the unprecedented time of 6.30pm. We hope the unlucky people stuck outside understand that the decision was made in the best interests of everyone. Dpercussion is Dead, Long Live Manchester!

]]> http://eartotheground.org/ 38 Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0100