Earlier this month one of our esteemed Circle members headed off in an ambulance with a bunch of friends on a dark and dangerous journey into the unknown. Kinda.

What follows is the first bit of news we’ve had from Rory and contrary to popular belief, he seems to be doing just fine…

“7 Nights, 2300 miles, 3 parties, 4 lay byes and a whole lot of fun!

After months of planning, I am finally off on the Mongol Rally. Last Saturday we took off from Goodwood, West Sussex on the epic 10,000 mile drive to Ulan Bataar, Mongolia. We have covered 2,300 miles since and have been making good progress. So far we have kept mainly to motorways with the odd detour to points of interest and/or parties!

The second day we visited Colditz, the former home of a WW2 prisoner of war camp. One of our team members Grandfather was a prisoner at the camp, this really amplified the experience of the day and there were lots of photos of him in the museum. Our favourite spot so far has to be the Roman Baths in Budpapest, after 5 days of not showering it was heavenly to bathe in the idyllic setting.

We are currently in a truck stop in the middle of Romania. Romania is extremely different to any of the countries we have seen so far, extreme poverty with people begging by the side of the road. We plan to head to Bulgaria tomorrow and over the Black Sea. Our Iranian visa does not start for 8 days so we can afford to chill out for a while and take in some of the sites. We are currently on our own but hope to meet up with another couple of teams in Istanbul.

Rory MacFadyen”

Check out

The Mongol Rally 2010

For more information on Rory’s marvelous journey.

The Wireless Festival was the choice of venue for Circle’s Summer Picnic in 2010. After a hectic week for all teams with EA’s Key Accounts conference on Wednesday and the launch of Pioneer’s Van at GTI the weekend before it was a great opportunity for us all to come together and new recruit Mitchell (Field Operations Executive) to have his initiation on a Circle outing.

With the sun shining we all headed up to London for a picnic in Hyde Park and after sufficiently stuffing ourselves with sandwiches, sausage rolls and cider we descended into the festival! First stop was a visit to the EA Hub for a little Rockband action, Winston took to the drums supported by Rory and Damien on guitars and Mitchell on the mic (with the rest of Circle providing back up vocals) to Eye of the Tiger. After a sterling performance the whole team decided Plan B was our choice of band and we made our way to the tent to see his performance… and after some dancing on shoulders  and more drink consumption the set was finished. With some of the team returning back to the Hub to defend their high Rockband scores and the other half making their way to watch headline act P!nk a very good time was had by all… even if we were all dusting off the dirt from our feet for the rest of the weekend!

Last Tuesday, following our recent practice match, The Circle Agency football team headed down to the London Soccer Dome to take part in the 2010 Institute of Promotional Marketing 5-a-side competition.  This was our first year in the competition so the standard was unknown, however, with a full strength team, we felt that if we played well we stood a chance against most teams.

After a quick briefing session with all the teams, we were all set to play our first game. We started brightly playing some good possession football and looked the more likely to score. However a swift counter from the opposition saw us go 1-0 against the run of play. Our player of the tournament then equalised with a “worldy”, collecting the ball in our own box then dribbling the full length of the pitch beating 4 players before slotting the ball in the bottom corner. However it was not to be our day as some sloppy defending from Ben Crump led to us conceding near the end of the match.

It was further confounded in the rest of our group games that it was not to be our day as the opposition scored wonder goal after wonder goal against us. However, we were still creating chances but opposition goalkeepers kept us at bay pulling off frequent great saves Rob Green would of been proud of!  In the last group game one of our key players, Fozzie, suffered an extremely painful if not slightly embarrassing injury and would have to sit out the rest of the tournament.

At the end of the group stage, we had a fairly poor record of two defeats and a draw. However we had been playing good football and did not feel the results reflected that. We went into the quarter finals of the plate competition with high hopes that we would turn it around. However, yet again the opposition opened the scoring with the goal of the tournament, a volley from 20 yards into the top corner. The game came to a close with us 4-2 behind, the opposition the best we had played the whole tournament.

We stuck around for a few beers with the various other teams after the game and it became apparent that those who did well all play 5-a-side regularly as a team. It was the first time the majority of us had played together and after a few more games, we feel we may be able to put up more of a challenge in next year’s competition.  Failing that we are hoping for an IPM Cricket or Golf tournament in which we would be dead certs to lift the trophy!

The Circle Agency helped client EA Sports acheive a second Guiness World Record yesterday in Trafalgar Square.

LONDON, ENGLAND - 11 June 2010 - Gamers and football fans from around the World joined forces today to set a Guinness World Record for the most players to compete in a football video game. 82 players took turns on the controller as England and the USA drew 2-2 in a game of EA SPORTS 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa in front of hundreds of football fans who had gathered in Trafalgar Square to watch the opening ceremony and first match between the host nation and Mexico.

100’s of videogamers who had visited the sqauare and had the chance to practice the game in the EA Sports marquee, lined up in anticipation to represent either England or USA in the world record attempt.  The action played out on stage and screened on the 15M LED to hundreds of spectators in the square.  The fast paced game was hard to call and really had everyone’s juices going, createing a real sense of anticipation for the ’official’ game to be played the following day in Rustenburg, South Africa.

Despite England starting strongly it was the US who broke the deadlock with Californian, Bryson Boatwright, slotting home from close range. England dug deep and got their reward in first half stoppage time with an equaliser from Sol Matiba. The US pressed again and nearly scored as the referee called a halt to proceedings and the players went to the dressing room all square.

Five minutes into the second half the move of the match saw Laura Cole restore the USA’s lead with a 35 yard pile-driver that left Robert Green stranded. Similar to the first half, England continued to pepper the USA’s keeper but he denied them with a string of fine saves.

As England fans began to think this wasn’t going to be their day Akshay Chopda dribbled through the US defence and clinched the all important equaliser sending the home crowd into raptures. The final few minutes were tense but neither team was able to break through and a 2-2 all draw sent everyone home happy.

With the World Cup trophy under wraps until Sunday July 11th, it was left to Guinness adjudicator, Gaz Deaves, to present both teams with the World Record Certificate.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is out now on PS3, PSP, Xbox360 & Wii. For more info go to easports.co.uk

On Thursday 28th May Circle held their very first “huddle”-  an opportunity for the whole team to come together and communicate the plans for the year, make exciting decisions… and consume lots of very gratefully received pick n mix!

We kicked off with introductions from some new faces, including our Canadian work placement student Kira, Junior Account Executive Lauren, Head of Digital, Damien and returning back fresh from graduation Senior Account Executive Rory. The afternoon continued with exciting announcements and plans that the whole team are now committed and motivated to put into place.  Overall, a very positive outlook for the year ahead.

With the last item on the agenda being the Circle Social Calendar, it seemed fitting that we followed the huddle with a meal, drinks and of course a little team bonding activity…

It was time again to compete for  the Circle Challenge Cup in the 1st ever Circle Pub Quiz.  With previous champion Challenge Cup team leader- Claire not competing (in favour of being Quiz master), the trophy really was up for grabs! After 6-rounds of nail-biting questions, several puzzled faces and shouts of “oh oh”, our Quiz Master awarded the Cup to the winning team… Norfolk and Chance. Considering the captain of this team, our new recruit Lauren, had only officially been a Circle member for 1 day she has certainly gotten off to a roaring start!

Next we moved on to a local bar to find a live swing band in full flow - Winston took us all by surprise, when he showed off his slick (and very polished) dance moves while the rest of us spun around the dance floor attempting to look half as good as him (and failing miserably!).

With all the exciting plans carved out, make sure you stay tuned for upcoming announcements and news from all of us at Circle HQ.

Last Tuesday, the Circle Agency football team dusted off their boots and sprung (or limped) into action in a little practice match to prepare for the upcoming IPM 5-a-side tournament. Pitted against a team of students from the University of Reading, the game started off with a set piece that would have impressed Man Utd, as our very own Rory MacFadyen chipped their keeper to put us 1-0 up…if only the match had ended then.

Any dreams of us making Capello’s starting 11 in South Africa this summer quickly faded as our opponents replied by firing in a string of superb goals to leave us trailing. We managed to get a few back with some half decent play, but the match was lost - ultimately ending in 5 goals from us and enough from them for us all to lose count!

Today we’re beaten and aching all over, but with a week or so until the tournament and a quick change of tactics we’ll be back on form and ready to play in the biggest football tournament in the world (of promotional marketing).  Check back to see how we do!

This summer I will be taking part in the 2010 Mongol Rally along with three other intrepid adventurists. The Mongol Rally is a 10,000 mile dash from Goodwood, West Sussex to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is one of the last true adventures on earth taking in such tourist hotspots as Iran, Turkmenistan Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and of course the fabled Gobi Desert in Mongolia.

When we fist decided to embark on the rally we had grand ideas of the best mode of transport. We could take a tank, fly a plane made by the Wright Brothers or even commandeer a yak and ride it to glory! After long discussions we decided to go with the sensible option and take……. An ambulance! Our trusty steed has already clocked up a slightly alarming 315,000 miles and needs a little TLC before it is ready to take on the harsh terrain we will encounter.

Once we arrive in Mongolia, the ambulance will be donated to a Mongolian hospital and provide essential health care to the more rural areas of Mongolia. We are also hoping to raise in excess of £2,000 for charity split between the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation and Everyman Male Cancer Charity.

The Circle Agency has very kindly agreed to be a corporate sponsor of the “Mongoli-huh Rally Team” (I didn’t choose the name!) and their support will help us get the ambulance into tip top condition for the rally.

Having completed an internship with Circle in July 2009, I returned to University to complete my degree in Marketing, Advertising and Communication. Upon graduation last month, I was offered a permanent position within the Circle Client Services team. Having been granted a leave of absence to fulfill this (slightly crazy) dream, I will be working on the EA team until I leave in late July and will hopefully return (barring any hostage situations in Iran!) in October 2010.

I will be writing regular blog updates in the build up to the rally and hopefully a couple when we are on the road, although I am not sure how I will find internet access in the middle of a desert!

The next few months will be extremely busy for us as we build up to the launch on the 24^th July. As well as reading the blog, you can keep up to date on the adventure by visiting www.mongoli-huh.co.uk.

Rory MacFadyen, Senior Account Executive

The Route

After returning to Circle having completed my degree last year, the last thing I expected to do was return back to academic work. However when I was offered the chance to undertake the ISP Certificate in Experiential Marketing, it seemed like an excellent opportunity to develop my skills as an account handler and deepen my knowledge of the industry, especially as it came highly recommended from a fellow colleague who successfully passed the course last year.

After writing my dissertation on Experiential Marketing and heavily researching the theory behind it, I’m finding that this course allows me to not only further explore the professional’s opinions but also put my preliminary learnings into practice with the response to brief and campaign evaluations we are asked to undertake to pass the course.

As part of the course you are invited to take part in a Workshop Day, which I attended on Tuesday 20th April at the ISP headquarters in London. In attendance were fellow industry peers and tutors of the course, who are all experts in this field. This was an invaluable experience and sparked an interesting debate into the definition of experiential, the forms it takes and its benefits.

Presentations were made on each of the modules we are required to complete throughout the 6 months of the course, by industry figure heads which allowed for an engaging and interactive day. Overall this was a fascinating and enlightening experience which provided an opportunity to grasp a better understanding of the course, and ultimately what is expected of us as account handlers. I am looking forward to what the rest of the course has to offer and using the knowledge I gain in my work with Circle.

Rachel Bell, Senior Account Executive

The resident Circle Agency bowling team “went to work” on Tuesday night taking part in the ISP Bowling Tournament held at All Stars Lanes in Brick Lane. The night started off with a little pep talk from the MD firing up our competitive streak ready to tackle 8 other agencies, at 19:30 we took to the floor and accomplished the highest score out of the other competitors meaning we cruised our way in to the finals. In between getting the top score and the final, we maxed out on canapés and beer which arguably affected our performance in the final…..coming third!
All in all we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the sense of team spirit was plain to see. Now we have set the bar for the Circle football team…bring it on!
Watch this space for an update…

Team Circle