I’ve been working with Stephen Torpey, the bright, progressive Director of Brentford F.C.’s Academy and his Leadership Team for the past 18 months or so.
Last month – his key medical guy – ex Rugby man and overall good guy – Gruff Parsons, asked me for a favour.
He loved the Be Kind poster that British Transport were plastering all over their bus shelters and had tried to find one to give to his young daughter for her bedroom. (And being a Rugby man, had decided he would not steal one. Erm – not too sure that this last sentence would stand up to much scrutiny if he’d have seen it late on a Saturday night after a Wales win in Cardiff!! – aah, but that rarely happens nowadays anyway.)
The favour – given my previous career in Advertising. Could I find a way to track a copy down?
He had exhausted every British Transport avenue and was at a dead end (did you notice what I just did here – transport / avenue / dead end ?).
I said yes, I’d try – thinking it would be easy. It wasn’t. I’d have had more success if it had been a Warhol. How could I let my mate’s daughter down?
To the rescue. Enter the star of this blog. Joanna Swiecka – Guest Experience Genius at Raffles OWO. Here’s the text she sent me last week:
One month later and I have small update on our “Be Kind” Poster:
- 1 visit to London Transport Museum followed by two emails to them
- 1 email to the Archive team
- 1 email to travel for life department
- 5 messages over LinkedIn to employees at random
- questions on the forum boards
- 1 message to (the artist behind the campaign who actually can’t reprint the artwork as rights are sold to TFL)
- 5 emails to TFL info (with 12 days wait in between some)
- Over 5 calls to customer service (all lasting over 45 mins … due to wait for pick up)
- Countless visits to random bus and tube stations around London to ask for the spare poster (kudos to Golders Green team who have been wonderful – central London plus Kensington teams not so much)
1 month later … and I finally managed to get the high resolution file and right to reprint for personal use.
- I have measured the actual poster on the bus stop to get the exact same size (it’s called Double Royal in case you are interested)
- I have ordered it on the same type of paper that is used by TFL and now waiting for the delivery on 12.08.
We are nearly there so if you would like to ask your friend for his address I am happy to have it shipped to his home just after receiving it.
A Magical experience, courtesy of Joanna and Raffles – bringing Be Kind (and Nothing is Impossible) to life.
