![]() ![]() We know exactly who our audience is and what it’s thinking. These gatherings also mean that we don’t have to rely on classic market research. Our neighbourhood regulars are on hand but what I like best is meeting all the new people who have travelled from afar to mingle with the team, drop story tips and suggestions and spread good cheer. Ha! Our market has turned into a rather damp affair outdoors but it’s all cosy and busy inside with wurst being served, beers being poured and lots of purchasing going on. “I don’t want to be a downer,” said the policy wonk, “but if European countries don’t toughen up, they will see the educated and wealthiest fleeing to Canada because crime and social problems will spiral out of control in places like France and Germany.”Ī few weeks ago we decided to host our Herbstmarkt (autumn market) on 1 October, convinced that the hot summer would mean that the high temperatures would linger and it would be perfect weather for lederhosen and dirndls on Dufourstrasse in Zürich. The political adviser chips in, agreeing that the swing to the right in Italy and Sweden reveals that people are fed up with policies that have allowed for the creation of parallel societies and welfare systems that make few demands to push integration. He also says that Europe’s biggest concern is not Ukraine but the destabilising force of unchecked immigration. He says that if sanctions hold and the arms supply continues, the country will have regained all lost territory and be poised to take back Crimea by year’s end. Over starters the general gives me his take on Ukraine. We’ve all been invited by this company to speak across a range of topics. I’m at a dinner (we’re still in Berlin) for a Nordic financial services company and I’m seated between a retired US army general and a Berlin-based political adviser. ![]() It likely needs a few more months to get into its groove but the German capital might finally get the bijou address that it’s been missing. While the hotel is in a soft-opening phase (not all rooms or facilities are fully open) first impressions are promising with solid materials and finishes, excellent lighting, good water pressure and perky staff. It’s been a long time coming but Berlin’s Château Royal has finally thrown open its doors – though not all of them. ![]() Smart businesses should take a good look around and see who their audience is, what the market looks like and adjust their message to reality rather than distorting the picture. We have arrived at a place where all sense of proportion has been lost when it comes to who needs the most attention in our society and where efforts need to be focused. Nevertheless CEOs, board members and ministers talk up digital societies, equality and not leaving anyone behind. It’s curious and upsetting, isn’t it?Ĭompanies and governments continue to push digitisation across the spectrum but data shows that many elderly people don’t have smartphones, let alone the motor skills to use them. Really?! As they went about berating (correction: humiliating) a woman who was well north of 80 I was tempted to intervene and ask whether their tone needed adjusting and they might show a bit of respect for someone who was clearly not a regular traveller and was a fine example of someone who is being left behind by a society that chooses not to be inclusive of anyone over 70. The security queues were somewhat under control, save for some butch ladies in green braids, tattoos and uniforms who were taking considerable pleasure in forcing female passengers to edit their make-up kits and enter into debates about whether pressed powder was a liquid rather than a solid. It was a very early start at Stockholm Arlanda Airport on Monday morning. Here are a few snippets, scenes and things overheard along the way. First stop Berlin, then Hamburg and back to Zürich – and by the time you’re finishing your croissant and coffee I should be in Marseille.
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