To help raise awareness of the importance of relationships within the work place (something that we all know too well is of paramount importance, especially in Media), recruitment firm Tip Top have launched a national ‘hug your boss’ day which will take place on Friday 22nd August. The idea behind the day is ask yourself if you would feel comfortable hugging your boss…if the answer is no then you perhaps need to re-address your relationship and try a bit harder.

Tip Top are hosting a microsite (www.nationalhugyourbossday.co.uk) to promote the day and are encouraging people to upload their affection filled photos to share with the nation. I hope that we can get some Maxus hugs up there – group hug Mercedes team?

The Reputation Institute have published the results of their  ‘Global Reputation Pulse Study’ with some interesting results. The study uses a sample of 5,000 British consumers and calculates how reputable they believe a company to be against 4 key areas; trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling.  All pretty obvious stuff if you ask me, however highly subjective which leads me to question what, if anything we can take from this.

The top 10 companies ranked by reputation are;

1. Marks and Spencer
2. Smith and Nephew (Specialise in medical equipment and technologies)
3.Cadbury
4. Morrisons
5.Rolls Royce
6.Tate & Lyle
7.Sainsbury’s
8.Intercontinental Hotels
9.Thomas Cook
10.Inmarsat

Anyone surprised by Smith and Nephew?

Interestingly, WPP came out at number 25.

Here at Maxus we have opened our arms once more and welcomed our lovely new work experience boy, Dan into our office. Dan’s arrival made me think back to when I did work experience which actually I guess wasn’t that long ago in comparison to some of the true Maxus Veterans.

 I was lucky enough to secure a place at Headlines Hair Salon on Essex – the epitome of cool. Whilst all my friends spent their days dusting filing cabinets and sticking stamps to envelopes I was watching brunettes transforming into blondes bombshells, curly locks being straightened and most exciting of all is that I got to hear all of the juicy gossip – it really is true that people tell their hairdressers everything!

This led me to think…did I  take anything away from my work experience? did it provide me with an increased understanding of the working world and what I might wish to achieve with my career when I grew up?

If you are lucky enough to know what industry you might wish to go into at the tender age of 15 then it is the perfect opportunity to test the water. But if like me, you were a little naive and didn’t have a clue what you wanted to be, then work experience can be a great starting point to help you to understand which aspects of  working life you do or don’t like which in turn should help to get those creative juices flowing. In my time at Headlines I discovered that whilst I didn’t want to become a hairdresser, I really enjoyed working in a creative and energetic environment but couldn’t stand  the smell of bleach and somehow I ended up here at Maxus which coincidently doesn’t smell like bleach at all and is really quite a fun and energetic place to work.

It will be interesting to see what Dan takes away from his time at Maxus….

Chilli Challenge – The Update!

About a month ago the light side posted a blog on the start of the “chilli challenge.” At this stage we had just lovingly planted the 4 chilli seeds given to us by Country Living and were challenging the Dark Side to a head to head chilli-off.

Fast forward 4 weeks and the light side can proudly announce that our chillis have moved from little pot to big pot. 3 of the 4 of them have turned into chilli plant seedlings. One was a tragic casualty and failed to ever sprout – we found the poor little thing curled up under the soil when we threw the pot away. RIP little buddy, RIP.

Attached pictures of the chilli sprouts in the big pot.

Milly Newman – Maxus, Media Manager

As the light side of the office returned from lunch today we were greeted with a large parcel… curiously, Louise opened it whilst the rest of us watched on in suspense. Inside we found what will become the next competitive sport in the Maxus agency – the Country Living Ultimate Chilli Challenge (aptly named CLUCC)!

 Country Living have kindly supplied us with soil, plant pots, 4 chilli seeds and instructions on how to grow the perfect Chilli plant and the idea behind it is that the agency to grow the largest plant/plant with most chillis will win not only the title of Country Living’s ‘official best Chilli grower’ (I made that bit up) but there is also a shiny trophy up for grabs.

To make things a bit more interesting and because we don’t like to do things by half, here at Maxus we are not only competing with other agencies out there; we are competing against each other too. The light side and the dark side of the office are in battle to out-grow each other and will be giving a step by step blow of how we are getting on with our lovely pictures below…..let the fun begin!

Perhaps we can think of some prizes for the winning side?

Come on the light side!!

All quiet on the dark side? Defeat already?
  

I’m not sure about anyone else out there but I think the best snow related story I have heard over the past week is most definitely about the penguins at London Zoo.
Although in the wild they normally thrive in sub zero Antarctic conditions, for these three little Rockhopper penguins who normally live a life of luxury (captivity?) in the zoo’s enclosure- this week they got to inspect something that they have never seen before -SNOW! Rockhopper penguins are known for their inquisitive and feisty nature and I for one am glad that they are such nosey creatures because it provided us all with the cutest picture of the year so far. Who’s with me?

Last weekend I ventured out in Bury St Edmunds (Nr. Cambridge) with a few friends. We went to a bar to be told that only tables of 4 or less were allowed – there were 7 of us. After a bit of a fuss and a lot of  tutting we sat spread over 2 tables pushed together to make one big table but because technically we were sat in a group of 4 and 3 it was ok. This got me thinking about other totally pointless and ridiculous rules out there and the reasoning behind them.

Has anyone else ever came across a rule that makes no sense whatsoever?

One of the most annoying ‘pointless rules’  I have come across comes from the beloved Subway, normally I’m full of praise for the yummy sandwiches but when I was at university our local Subway turned their toaster off at 6pm, it would really infuriate me because it is a totally pointless rule – why can I have my sub toasted at 5.59pm and not at 6.01pm?  The only conclusion that I could think of was that maybe the authorised toaster operator finished his shift at 6pm?….

Ok, so it’s the 1st of September and whenever it comes to the 1st of the month I’m always reminded of that old superstitious ritual that I got embedded into my brain during my time at University by my paranoid housemate…and that is the ritual of saying ‘white rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit’ out loud in the morning before you get out of bed.

Even though I don’t really believe something bad will happen if I forget to chant white rabbit x3, I still make sure I do it and if I remember half way through the day that I haven’t done it (like today), I do have a little panic just in case it’s real.

My only real superstition is magpies – If I see a lone magpie I have to look away immediately and cancel my bad luck by making a ring with my thumb and finger then breaking it with another finger. Madness? Probably. 

It got me thinking – what other superstitious rituals do we all follow despite knowing they are utter nonsense?!

Ok so I’m sure I’m not the only one impatiently awaiting the much anticipated Sex and the City film…

It began with a few whispers and hopeful predictions that a film was to be made and now the time has come for what I believe will be one of the biggest Box Office hits of the year.

Whilst us BJK&E girls are being treated to a true SATC experience of cinema and cocktails I’m not sure that my excitement can wait that long and I’m already planning Thursday night’s trip to the cinema.

Although I am a big SATC fan and I am hugely excited about the launch of the film, I worry that I may be disappointed following the hype…does Big die? does Steve cheat on Miranda? There speculations are endless and I for one worry that the film may not live up to them.
Regardless of what may loom ahead , I shall sit with my  BJK&E girls dressed in our cocktail dresses to watch the most anticipated film of the year!

Its that time of year again when people don their flipflops/or wellies and head of for a weekend filled with friends, beer and live bands… but yet again that won’t be me!

The logistics and organisation needed to plan a much anticipated trip to a festival have yet again defeated me. Not only do you have to choose a festival that will suit everyone’s tastes which is a challenge in itself, getting a group of 6 girls to all agree and commit to a date any further than a week away is near enough impossible. If you are lucky enough to have a good response from said friends there then comes the issue of money! No-one can ever afford to pay for a ticket until May when everything is sold out.

So, here I am yet again suffering from my summer festival blues trying not to listen to all the line-up announcements or look at how much Ebay are selling tickets  for.

Maybe next year I will manage to get organised in time to buy a ticket before they sell out….