The brand has already taken the US by storm with it range of fitness trackers which sync to personal web pages that monitor, manage and motivate those looking to get fitter and healthier. The brand was recently listed as one of the top 30 iconic design leaders in the US by Fast Company magazine, adding to a list that includes Apple, Nike and Starbucks.

Gareth Jones, VP and European General Manager for Fitbit, said:

“Fitbit’s range is designed for today’s social generation, from twentysomethings to mums to empty nesters, we provide 24/7 support, motivation and in depth information that really works. Kaizo’s role will be to establish us as the brand of choice across these segments.”

“Our strategy will focus a great deal on word of mouth and recommendations that drive sales, an area we feel Kaizo really excels in. We were also impressed by their combined track record in the consumer electronics and the fitness and wellbeing markets.”

Fitbit’s personal online pages include a range of social feature to help motivate on the go and with friends including a mobile app, social messaging, and achievement badges fully synced with all social media platforms.

Rhodri Harries, MD of Kaizo, said;

“This is a new way for people to help monitor and maintain fitness and wellbeing, one which is very much in tune with today’s consumer. This is a brand that has the capacity to change attitudes to fitness– how we exercise, eat, and also rest.  Expect to see it, experience it and share it soon!”

Fitbit will be available in January from major etailers and retailers. The appointment follows a comprehensive UK pitch process.

The account will be led by Harries and Account Director Kate Howe, ex Head of Communications at the Fitness Industry Association. Kaizo’s experience includes Flip Video, Panasonic, Grid -10 and House of Marley on the consumer technology space and Flora/ Becel and Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, in the health and wellbeing sector.

The lecture is held annually in memory of Tom Olsen, a former Sunday Telegraph journalist, with the aim of focusing on the themes of freedom and responsibility.

This year it features Bob Satchwell, Director of The Society of Editors.  The title of the lecture will be “Hacked off with the Media – an unholy alliance of Press, Police and Politicians?”

The event takes place tonight at 6.30 at St Bride’s Church off Fleet Street.

According to research carried out by the Food and Drink Federation [http://www.fdf.org.uk/news.aspx?article=5504], shoppers continue to be confused by the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ – both of which are set to stay. The former states when a perishable food is no longer fit for consumption; the latter gives information about the quality of non-perishable food products [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14926429].

Reducing unnecessary food wastage is a goal we should all share and DEFRA’s guidance is a bold step in this direction, by removing stock rotation information that is of little use to consumers.  However, it appears there is still a big job to be done to make food labels crystal clear and meaningful to the end customer. It’s a challenge we communicators should rise to and not simply leave to the regulators.

Whilst we remain the same business in the same premises with the same teams, our new independence highlights key attributes we feel bring a fresh perspective to communications’ challenges targeting consumers and businesses.

We’re impartial, whether advising on media choice or brand direction; self-sufficient, so no sub teams and silos to add complexity and cost; free thinkers, so great ideas flow and are encouraged; and now importantly self-governing so we’re able to offer a flexible approach to your PR and earned media budgets.

We thank all our clients, including Truvia®, Flora/ Becel, Cisco, CA Technologies, Unilever, mxData, Johnson and Johnson, Serco, and Elsevier, for their continued support and look forward to a successful future together.

Whilst we remain the same business in the same premises with the same teams, our new independence highlights key attributes we feel bring a fresh perspective to communications’ challenges targeting consumers and businesses.

We’re impartial, whether advising on media choice or brand direction; self-sufficient, so no sub teams and silos to add complexity and cost; free thinkers, so great ideas flow and are encouraged; and now importantly self-governing so we’re able to offer a flexible approach to your PR and earned media budgets.

We thank all our clients, including Truvia®, Flora/ Becel, Cisco, CA Technologies, Unilever,mxData, Johnson and Johnson, Serco, and Elsevier, for their continued support and look forward to a successful future together.

The Sharing Hearts Minds and Moments campaign won over the judges with its integrated approach and undoubted focus on business success in terms of sales.

Certificates were also picked up for shortlisted campaigns in the Best Social Media, Best Broadcast and Best Media Relations categories.

For more details on these campaigns email rhodri.harries@kaizo.net.

Setting out late last week to oversee the pre-recording of the competition (currently airing this week and already having a very positive impact!), I was thinking that perhaps my dreams of becoming a world famous actor and telling every Tom, Dick and Harry that “I now work in television” might finally come true.

What a day, from the director’s cries of ‘ACTION!’, presenter Jeff Brazier frantically rehearsing his lines and my role ensuring that the right products were in the right hands at the right time, although not my hands as I was very firmly ‘behind camera’.

So, as far as my acting career goes, suffice to say it doesn’t! But hey, remembering other peoples’ lines was never my forté anyway. I’ll definitely leave it to the professionals. Perhaps I’ll take up singing instead. Now, where’s that X-Factor contact?

]]> http://www.kaizo.net/2009/11/26/my-%e2%80%98this-morning%e2%80%99-big-break/feed/ 0 http://www.kaizo.net/2009/10/21/kaizo-wins-pr-week-award-for-best-consumer-campaign/ http://www.kaizo.net/2009/10/21/kaizo-wins-pr-week-award-for-best-consumer-campaign/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:56:35 +0000 Steph MacLeod http://www.kaizo.net/?p=1061

And so another PR Week Awards ceremony has come to pass, with the great and the good of the UK’s PR industry nursing either happy hangovers or bitter disappointment from what was certainly an ‘eventful’ evening.

The Met Police’s enforced removal of the climate change protestors who chained themselves to Virgin Atlantic’s table, added a certain je ne sais quoi; as did the dedication certain PRs showed to personally demonstrating the dangers of binge drinking and losing their newly-won awards!

But enough of all that, the real news is that we won (yes, we won!) ‘Best Consumer Campaign’ for our Flip Video campaign ‘Now Playing You – the Launch of the Mino’. Beating a very strong shortlist of brands including Cadburys, Sainsburys and Aldi, the judges commented that “The Flip Mino has torn a gaping hole in the market, which is testament to Kaizo’s sensational work’. Nice….

What more can we say, apart from bring on the PRCA Awards on the 3rd November, where we’re up for another two awards ‘Best Technology’ and ‘Best Media Relations’!

It’s always an informal affair, very much focusing on what we’re there for; getting the product in the hands of the media. With three Kaizo clients in attendence this year, the room was buzzing with banter on everything from how Flip Video got onto X Factor through to the latest on Buffalo and Gemalto.

But don’t take our word for it. We went armed with our trusty Flip and asked some other (some might argue more important) people what they thought. We thought we’d share…because we’re like that!