100 Years for Formica featured in The Guardian

2013 marks the 100th Anniversary of the iconic Formica brand, best known for laminates. The product was developed in USA in 1913 as a replacement for the mineral product 'Mica' and thus was called 'Formica' and did you know that laminate is made from paper? Many people don't.

The Think Tank has worked with Formica in the UK and across EMEA for the past 10 years providing a range of marketing services including PR and as a part of the 100 years celebrations we have been working to raise the profile of the brand and its history through the media and yesterday saw a great article published on the website of The Guardian Newspaper.

Formica is an iconic product that is used all around us in our everyday lives and, judging by the fantastic comments posted on the Guardian website, many people have very fond memories of the brand. One of the pictures featured takes us right back to when The Think Tank was based in Soho and used to frequent the Piccadilly Cafe - we remember it well.

The article, titled 'Shiny, happy households: Formica turns 100', is written by Oliver Wainwright and looks at the history of the brand, and how it has developed and been used over the years.

To find out more about the history of this iconic brand click here and read the full article or alternatively click here to see 'Formica: our century-old laminate love affair – in pictures', also published on the Guardian website.

You can also click below to view the article in PDF form.

Shiny, happy households_...pdf




Shiny, happy households_...pdf (957 kb)

Barbour ABI featured in Evening Standard

The Think Tank has been working with Barbour ABI to raise awareness of the great construction and housing sector data that they deliver every month.

As part of this activity we were able to secure them a mention in the Evening Standard Homes and Property supplement as part of an article discussing the 'don't move, improve' trend.

The article featured Ed Miliband and his wife, as they extend their house in Primrose Hill, and quotes Barbour ABI's statisticss that detail the volume of planning applications received across London boroughs.

In the article Adam Valentine, Group Content Director at Barbour ABI, said he expected the upward trend to continue – in 2010 some 55,000 London homeowners applied for permission to extend their homes. “I think that the areas where we are seeing a large volume of home improvements are those where prices are still rising. These are the areas where people will seek to increase the size of their homes,” he said.

Read the full article here.

Miliband's Primrose Hill mansion gets even bigger _ News _ Property news _ Homes & Property.pdf (300 kb)

'Spotting the rot' - Permasense featured in the Economist

As part of a global PR strategy The Think Tank has been promoting a new wireless corrosion monitoring system for the oil and gas sector developed by technology company, Permasense. This new system is being welcomed worldwide, improving safety in oil refineries through continual monitoring of pipe corrosion in inhospitable environments.

As a part of this activity we have broadened our reach to great effect, culminating in an article published in the Economist this week.

The article comments, 'Oil men, then, should welcome an invention by Peter Cawley and his colleagues in the non-destructive testing research group at Imperial College, London. They have devised, and just finished testing at some of BP’s refineries, an automatic way of keeping an eye on the integrity of pipelines—and have helped set up a company called Permasense, to commercialise it.'

To read the full article please click here

Building cities on the ocean

In a recent article the Economist looked at Seasteading or building floating cities.

The discussion features modern libertarians, such as Peter Thiel, one of the founders of PayPal,  who have the dream of setting sail to found colonies of like-minded souls and to do so they have decided that they must build new cities on the high seas, known as seasteads.

The Economist says, 'It is not a completely crazy idea: large maritime structures that resemble seasteads already exist, after all. Giant cruise liners host thousands of guests on lengthy voyages in luxurious surroundings. Offshore oil platforms provide floating accommodation for hundreds of workers amid harsh weather and high waves. Then there is the Principality of Sealand, a concrete sea fort constructed off Britain’s coast during the second world war. It is now occupied by a family who have fought various lawsuits to try to get it recognised as a sovereign state.'

To read the full article please click here

The Think Tank contributes to RIBA North West Magazine

The Think Tank's Liam Bateman has contributed an article to RIBA North West's magazine 'A', which has recently been distributed to local practices.

The article discusses why Architectural Practices should use the services of a marketing or PR agency and the impact such a sevice can have.

View the full article by clicking on the link to the pdf.
PracticeSupport.pdf (1191 kb)