Fourninety team members Iona Yarrow and Rebecca Edwards are busy this month training and raising sponsorship for the Shine Night Marathon which is taking place overnight in Manchester on Saturday the 17th of April. The walk will see Iona and Rebecca set off on a half marathon trek across the heart of the city, taking in Old Trafford football ground, Manchester University, the Beetham Tower and Granada TV studios on the way.

Rebecca is walking to raise money for bowel cancer research, the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK. Click here to sponsor Rebecca.

Iona is counting the 13 miles as part of her 365 miles in 365 days endurance challenge, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Care and Dexter’s Wish. Click here for Iona’s blog and sponsorship page.

This week saw Operations Controller Richard Jackson give David Dickinson a run for his money at Fourninety’s charity auction of surplus photography props. All Richard needed was a dash of fake tan as he took over the mantle of chief auctioneer in aid of the Haiti Earthquake Appeal!

Fourninety team members bagged some real bargains as crockery, kitchen and bathroom accessories, rugs, kids toys and electrical items went under the hammer for a brilliant cause.

The auction has so far raised an impressive £557.25 for the appeal, which will hopefully go some way in helping to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and medical care to those affected by the devastating earthquake.

Fourninety are sending congratulatory vibes to two of our Media Square sister agencies this week. Cadbury have appointed communications agency CMW to develop and execute the Trebor digital strategy across its portfolio of gums and mints. This new appointment is a sign of CMW’s burgeoning relationship with Cadbury, having launched a new digital playground for Whispa at the end of Janurary. Janine Blakeway, Trebor Brand Manager, said:

“We are thrilled to be working with CMW on our Mint People digital campaign taking Trebor to the next level.”

Well done CMW!

Meanwhile, design consultancy Holmes and Marchant have launched the packaging and identity for Monster Puffs, a new cereal bar from Honey Monster Foods. John Price, Marketing Manager at Honey Monster Food said:

“Honey Monster is an iconic and well-loved character…Holmes and Marchant’s work is fun and mischievous and will really appeal to Mums, Kids and Kids at heart.”

Senior Account Manager Claire Holden spends her days at Fourninety project managing the Argos jewellery range, but in the evenings she transforms into a home-cooking domestic goddess who would make Nigella jealous with her culinary talents!

After chatting about what she cooks for tea (or dinner as they say dawwwwn sauff) on a daily basis with her team members here at 490, Claire’s started a blog which is regularly updated with her favourite family recipes and photos to match. It’s a really lovely read and full of great ideas for freshly-cooked and easy meals. One tip though: don’t read it when you’re at work and hungry- the food looks so good that you might be tempted to eat your chair leg!

Check out Claire’s blog here.

As sustainability commitments form an increasing importance in retail strategy, packaging agencies have entered the dawn of greater influence. Using the latest research, Fourninety have produced a white paper which explores the importance of creating sustainable packaging solutions for the consumer, manufacturer and retailer alike. It also discusses how meeting consumer demand depends on deeply integrated client-agency relationships.

As a retail communications agency with a proven track record of working closely with our clients to understand their retail strategies, we pride ourselves on our ability to explore new innovations and solutions. As such, we believe that we are strongly positioned to initiate this debate.

Your opinions on the white paper and its relevance to your business would be most welcome. Please email your feedback to whitepaper@fourninety.com

Click here to download the white paper.

We were proud to see our hard work paying off this month when the new Argos Spring/Summer 2010 catalogue hit the shelves.

Fourninety have worked in close partnership with Argos’ parent company, the Home Retail Group, for over 12 years. We generate over 3,800 pages for Argos through catalogue and flyer design every year, as well as being their main photography supplier.

The Spring/Summer catalogue sees Argos unveil the first phase of an exciting new re-brand which aims to develop a more consistent brand identity across various channels.  However, the catalogue continues to focus on value with over 2,000 lower prices included within its pages.

Fourninety have recently been working in close partnership with technology specialists Your Surface on the launch of Multi-Touch technology to the UK retail market. The interactive system, which can be built bespoke to a retailer’s requirements, enables customers to simultaneously touch and interact with hundreds of points on a single surface. It provides access to a range of features including the ability to share multi-media content with family and friends. The innovative technology also has the capacity to bring website, videos, images and e-commerce systems in-store, providing retailers with real-time behaviour analytics and creating a multi-channel environment.

As a retail communications agency with a thirty year history of multi-channel marketing, Fourninety believes that the system marks the next generation of innovation surrounding customer in-store interaction. John Lawrence, Business Development Director at Fourninety says:

‘the possibilities of multi-touch are endless. It provides a completely new retail channel which has the ability to push brands further whilst continuing to offer users a familiar catalogue browsing experience. Multi-touch empowers retailers to maximise the value and scope of their in-store content. It’s a truly exciting piece of innovation and has the capability to make a huge impact in the retail market.’

Fourninety and Your Surface will officially be launching Multi-touch technology at the Event Production show at London’s Olympia on the 3rd-4th February 2010.

Your Surface will also be at the Amadeus stand at the Business Travel and Meetings Show at Earls Court on the 9th-10th February and exhibiting to the European market at the ISE trade show, Netherlands on the 2nd-4th Feburary.

Click here to learn more about Multi-touch.

Creativematch have recently published this story. Click here to read more.

The Milton Keynes studio has been busy this week filming catwalk and shooting still images for a leading UK designer. The high-end images showcase the latest trends and allow customers to view garments from different angles, zoom in on a product and highlight details and textures.

In a market that is increasingly reliant on retailers finding the most effective ways to present their products and their brand digitally, Fourninety’s 15,000ft multi-use studio can simultaneously provide the perfect catwalk installation and space for still photography. We can offer a complimentary digital channel that will ensure that brands stay ahead in a multi-channel market. The catwalks allow retailers to communicate the most information possible, providing customers with an experience that is the next best thing to trying on clothes.

Fourninety’s impressive studio space has been purpose built to deliver high-volume creatively complex photography. This, combined with working closely with a plethora of internationally acclaimed photographers, art directors and stylists, allows us to offer a shoot that has the capacity to break boundaries and push brands further.

An example video of the digital catwalk experience will be available soon!

With January 2010 almost at a close (how did that happen?!!), the month has been especially successful for one member of our team. Finance Assistant Kate Longthorn has recently found out that she has passed three notoriously difficult strategic level CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountancy) exams. The exams, which Kate sat in December, were the penultimate modules in the completion of a CIMA qualification. After completing her final assessment Kate will become a recognised Chartered Management Accountant- congratulations Kate!

Another member of the Fourninety team has also started 2010 with a challenging goal. Account Executive Iona Yarrow has set herself an impressive New Year’s challenge, committing to walking, swimming or jogging a mammoth 365 miles in 365 days.  This resolution will test her endurance and hopefully raise a lot of money for charity in the process!   Iona is a keen photographer and will be updating an online journal to share the miles with us. Click here to take a look.

Will Iona be part of the 12% who achieve their New Year’s resolution? Follow her progress and donate to her chosen charities (Macmillan and Dexter’s Wish) here.

Fourninety’s Senior Account Manager Lian Sherer and Art Director Louise Bader-Morrison have recently returned from Cape Town after a two week photographic shoot for home improvement retailer Homebase. The Fourninety team creatively managed the production of a successful shoot for the retailer’s Outdoor Living Brochure for the second year in a row. This year, the shoot took place over seven different locations, ranging from beachside to modern town and country houses. The locations chosen emanated an English feel: South Africa has historically been chosen for Homebase photographic shoots as the gardens and architecture is believed to be a closer match to their English counterparts than other European locations.

Utilising Fourninety’s specialist photographic knowledge, Louise and Lian managed a large local photographic, logistics and production team. Senior Account Manager Lian said: ‘the shoot ran very smoothly and the team at Homebase were very pleased with the images we captured. The men in the office are very jealous- we were shooting whilst the World Cup Draw was taking place. Cape Town was buzzing and the entire city came to a standstill! However, I keep trying to persuade them that they didn’t miss out; we were too busy working to see much of the atmosphere other than on the telly, just like everyone in England!’

The Homebase Outdoor Living 2010 brochure goes to print in late March and will be in stores in early April.