Entente cordiale?

If this week's papers are to be believed, the chairman of the Pas de Calais regional council takes a pragmatic view of place. When London won the 2012 Games, Dominique Dupilet was quick to spot the opportunity. According to the Times, he raised the Union Jack above the Council offices within minutes of the announcement.

Now he's promoting the region - a stone's throw from Stratford (or perhaps more importantly, a short direct train ride from Stratford International) - as a great place to train and to stay during 2012. And with some success: Chad, Senegal and Uzbekistan are said to be planning to hold their training camps in the area. And presumably the idea of staying there may well appeal to some less-adventurous spectators from Francophone countries, attracted by (according to "tourist officials") cheaper hotels, better food, and fewer English people!

It's not purely a publicity stunt. The regional council is investing nearly £90 million in improving the tourism and sports infrastructure in preparation for 2012. So Dupilet may have put the backs up of his fellow countrymen and women by his tongue-in-cheek 'rebranding' of Calais as part of Britain (historically a sore point), but he's certainly grabbed the initiative ... as well as the headlines.

Delicious marketing

Here's a simple and fun way of presenting a range of options and products, courtesy of Lincolnshire Events Centre. Because we advise conference destinations, as well as running workshop events ourselves, we're on quite a few venues' marketing databases. This super-sized pic of a variety of luxury chox (click on the pic to see it full size) jumped out of the screen at me when I opened LEC's email today, standing out from the competition and getting their message across about range and quality in an amusing and creative way.

Making the most of the snow

VisitScotland are continuing their lovely campaign 'Winter White' this year. Offering memorable white experiences, white excites, white sights and white luxury, this is a fantastic example of a very different kind of thematic campaign. Supported by e-comms driving visits to a dedicated and beautifully presented web site, special deals, wildlife watching and city breaks are on offer.

So if you fancy seeing white whooper swans, salmon leaping in white water or the seriously cute snow bunting, check out what Scotland is up to.

Degrees of separation

I like spotting examples of good marketing partners. Take the January e-news from the National Gallery - it includes a plug for Six Degrees of Separation, the award-winning play at the Old Vic.

Why? Well, of course we know it's really because these are two top-class cultural brands with shared values and target markets. But a topical or thematic link can help to sweeten the cross-sell (as well as making marketers smile). So, according to the National, it's there because the play "features a Cezanne painting". Nice one!

Local lad makes good

For me, Sting's Winter Songbook concert in the magnificent setting of Durham Cathedral - complete with Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian Pipes, of course - was just perfect TV-viewing for a wintry evening.

For Durham (which is bidding to be City of Culture 2013), Newcastle and the North East, it was surely a superb publicity coup. It was shown in the US at Thanksgiving, in the UK this week, and will air in more than a dozen other countries across the globe. No wonder Melanie Sensicle, CEO of Visit County Durham, describes it as giving "a tantalising glimpse of what we have to offer to a global audience of quite breathtaking proportions."