Opulent bed brand Hästens, in partnership with TRUTH.coffee, is adding a touch of excitement to morning traffic. If your route to work takes you via the intersection at Somerset and Ebenezer Road in Green Point (opposite the Victoria Junction Hotel), then you've no doubt seen the Hästens/TRUTH promotion currently running. What started out as a Twitter conversation between Chatroom and David Donde has since turned into a treat for connoisseurs of all things opulent.

Passersby are treated to the perfect pick-me-up and prompted to step into the stylish Hästens showroom where they get to experience the wonder of the beds. After that, all it takes to stand a chance a to win a weekend away at the luxurious Lanzerac Hotel and Spa in the heart of the Cape Winelands, is to simply complete an in-store entry form sharing how the bed made them feel. To those familiar with these beds, you will know, this is the easy part.

Adding to the excitement is Hästens' first ever showroom model sale, giving even those with a more modest budget, the opportunity to take home a piece of Hästens luxury by choosing from a selection of master crafted beds, so they too can experience best sleep.

The competition ends on 29 Feb and the sale on 15 Feb.

For more information visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/H%C3%A4stens-South-Africa/276771749032483

It’s not every day I find a client in as exciting a list as Therese Owen’s annual Best & Worst. So, imagine my surprise when I found our client, Winchester Mansions, listed amongst the journo’s best of the year for “most imaginative launch”. Even more surprising was that the launch mentioned took place in late November. Talk about saving the best for last.

But the story didn’t exactly start there.

It was almost three years ago (long before my time at the agency) that Chatroom began its journey with the hotel. Although amongst Cape Town’s iconic seafront hotels, Winchester Mansions had struggled to shake off a long standing reputation that it catered mainly for an older, international crowd, its Cape Dutch architecture often leaving guests and media alike, feeling that the space was imperial – a far cry from the classic elegance it is now known for.

Chatroom, together with Winchester Mansions Managing Director, Nils Heckscher, took a chance that would move the hotel firmly into the 21^st century; feeling and (certainly) looking better than ever before. A series of brand development workshops resulted in a Brand Identity revamp throughout all applications. And a two-year long redesign project headed by architects LSDA, and guided by the MD’s vision, transformed Winchester Mansions into a setting that perfectly combines classic elegance with a more contemporary feel.

Bringing the hotel to life

Fully understanding the power of integration, we sought to go beyond the usual press release announcing the changes to the establishment. We wanted to take guests on a journey through the revamped spaces that would leave them excited to see more. We enlisted the talent of Global Shack, a small industrial theatre group run by Junaid Booysen of Kat and The Kings fame, and together we created tours of the hotel the media would not soon forget.

Each newly refreshed space was turned into a scene from an iconic film, musical, opera or era. From Pretty Woman and Grease to a brief trip to the 1960s to hang out with a few guys who resembled the Rat Pack, each scene was more surprising (and comedic) than the last. Experts in the art of improv, the drama ensemble changed-up certain scenes to include the various members of the media, which made for some funny twists. The tours wouldn’t have been complete though, without a charming tour guide who knew all there was to know about the hotel. It was only fitting then when the role was given to Nils Heckscher, who dazzled with hotel history stories, renovation anecdotes and upcoming plans for the hotel. To top it all off, guests were treated to some of Executive Chef, Jochen Riedel’s favourites from the hotel’s summer menu.

Attendance by journos with a good sense of humour from publications like Marie Claire, House & Garden and One Small Seed ensured that the launch was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. “It was by far the most entertaining and hospitable event we've attended” said Urban Edge’s Nick Kruger, while Ellen Raubenheimer at Get It called it “unusual and lots of fun”.  The success of the launch was much more than we could have imagined, so thanks Therese Owen.

After months of hard work and strategising, winners of the 2011 JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge have been announced. After a year of investing a virtual million rand, being amongst the winners in this exciting financial literacy competition is no small feat. It’s only fitting that these top teams be honoured for their consistently stellar performance at the awards ceremony to be held at the JSE on 28 October.

Prizes amounting to R60 000 per portfolio will be awarded to the winners. For the winning university students, a prize of an all expenses paid overseas trip, plus R25 000 will also be awarded.

Winning teams:
Soweto schools had their eye on the prize this year and showed great investment skills. With three schools from the area occupying the top positions in the Income Portfolio, Soweto seems set to produce some of South Africa’s finest investors. Taking first place is Kwadedangendlale High School’s “The Bears” team with an impressive income of R66 628.27. Not too far behind them is “Aurora 6” from Aurora Girls’ High School, who managed an income of R60 171.36; and in third place is Emdeni High School’s “Emdeni E” team who achieved an income of R59 711.67.

Finally, rounding up the Income Portfolio winners are two equally impressive teams – “JR Investors” from Jimmie Roos School with R54 637.82, and “Professional EL” from JF Mati High School with R52 755.08.

No strangers to the winners’ podium, Eden College Lyndhurst’s “BADJ is Back Again” take first place in the Equity Portfolio with a capital growth of 75.6%. Coming in second place is a team that won the monthly rounds as recently as August. “Genius Investors” of Maritzburg College achieved a capital growth of 64.8% in the runners up position.

Both these teams have continued to show financial insight and a flair for making the right investment decisions. They are joined by Hoërskool DF Malan, who’s two teams “Beat Us” and “Die Kommuniste” occupy positions three and five, with growths of 55.48% and 36.56% respectively. Coming in fourth place is yet another team from Maritzburg College. “Super Heroes in Training” added another notch on their schools belt, with a growth of 45.3%.

The ability to strategise is a key skill in the high risk Speculator Portfolio, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for the five teams who won in the final standings. Parktown Boys High School is represented by two teams. The “Enterprise V 1.2” team takes first position with a capital growth of 62.15%, and they are joined by school mates “Inglorious Brokers” who take fifth position with a capital growth of 11.88%. In second position is Bishops Diocesan College’s “Bishops 123” who grew their capital by 18.59%. And rounding up the top five Speculator Portfolio winners are “Orient Fantastic Four” from Orient Islamic School in third place and “PBHS TMC” from Pretoria Boys High School in fourth. The teams managed growths of 18.39% and 13.68% respectively.

For the high schools in first place, each of the four team members will receive R4000; second place team members receive R2500 each, third place R2000 each and in fourth as well as fifth place, receive R1000 each. In addition to the learners being rewarded, successful schools and their mentors also take winnings home.

“The JSE Education department takes great pleasure in announcing the JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge winners for 2011. We value the participation and dedication of the learners throughout South Africa and hope that the skills gained from the Investment.

Challenge can be implemented into their daily lives and beyond,” says Senior General Manager of JSE, Noah Greenhill.

In the university and college category, the University of Witwatersrand has come in first place, winning an all expenses paid overseas trip plus R25 000. The University of Pretoria takes second place, winning R20 000. They are followed by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in third place receiving R15 000.  All the universities and colleges participated in the speculator portfolio only.

Andrew Warren, Executive at Liberty Retail SA Marketing says, “We congratulate the 2011 JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge winners on their outstanding performance. We hope that the success achieved by these learners motivates other learners to participate in next years Investment Challenge.”

The JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge is an annual competition running in its 38^th year and is open to all South African high school learners as well as students from universities and independent colleges. The winners have gained exposure and experience on financial and life skills such as budgeting, economic research and team work. This in turn assists the learners in deciding on their future career paths.

To enter the 2012 JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge contact the JSE’s Challenge Coordinators on 011 – 520 7116/ 7344/ 7168. You can also have a look at the JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/JSELiberty-Investment-Challenge/352982065154) which contains loads of information, complete with

instructions to register on Mxit, as well as the chance to interact with other registered participants sharing tips and ideas.  You can also follow them on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JSELiberty_Game.

/ends

For media information please contact:

Chatroom

Gugu Sithole

P: +27 21 422 2806

E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

“If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening, all over this land…” It could become the theme song of Bloy Resource Evaluation. The mineral resource evaluation consultancy, formerly known as BMRE, has introduced the new brand design for the company as well as for their interrelated Grade Control software at the International Mining Geology Conference in New Zealand – with, well, not quite a hammer but a hammer-sized pick…

In April, Peter Bloy, MD and founder of BMRE, had met with Chatroom to discuss a possible revamp of his company brand and a brand name and logo solution for his software package, a separate product. Bloy’s company services some of the world’s largest mining operations and therefore needed an identity that reflected the company’s expertise and professionalism. Additionally, the interrelated Grade Control software as a stand-alone product needed its own brand identity.

After defining the strategic framework for the Brand Development with the client, the Chatroom team was able to get creative. The first step in the branding exercise was name generation: BMRE was turned into “Bloy Resource Evaluation” and the software suite was named “Blockbuster”.

“We got Bloy to do it!”

Bloy’s reputation in the industry is so strong, that his clients and peers would refer to using BMRE’s services as “We got Bloy to do it!”. He is not just the founder of the company but the mastermind behind its services and product knowledge, growing his team according to his standards. We therefore suggested to follow the perception that was already out there.

To reference both Bloy’s team personality and focus of work, Chatroom suggested the Pay-off line “down to earth”.

The name “Blockbuster” is a play on block modeling, the three-dimensional method of estimating volume, tonnage and average grade of minerals in the earth. As part of the visual identity, again block modeling was used as a reference, with blocks represented in the colours used to indicate the presence of minerals in the ground.

A bashing success

With all brand development and production completed in time for the conference, the missing item was a clever and meaningful give-away. This is when Chatroom suggested the branded geology pick, following the company’s philosophy of bringing geology back into computing.

“Chatroom’s branding of Bloy Resource Evaluation and Blockbuster has been a resounding success. The interest and appreciation our brand received at the Mining Geology Conference was phenomenal” says MD Peter Bloy. “The Bloy G-pick attracted loads of attention and the old-school geologists loved it when I said ‘This is where it all starts; not with a computer but with geologists in the pit bashing rocks’. “

Chatroom is looking forward to Bloy, Blockbuster and the hammer becoming a smashing hit, “all over this land” and beyond.