200 mary street

We’ve moved to a New York state of mind

200 mary street

RG Communications and Villain Designs have started a new chapter in their history, moving to a stunning new workspace in the heart of the Brisbane CBD.

The office space, dubbed The Loft, is part of a contemporary refurbishment of the third level of the Cromwell Property Group-owned building at 200 Mary Street.

RG Communications Managing Director Ben Ready said the company had experienced significant growth in the past year and needed a new office to accommodate further growth.

“We wanted something that was unique and out of the box but still close to the action in the CBD,” he said. “Cromwell and their team have done a great job to create a space that is both comfortable and inspiring.. it is a perfect fit for us.”

The fitout was designed by Sydney-based The Bold Collective and constructed by fitout and refurbishment specialists ISIS.

TheLoft_ReceptionAndMeetingRooms_2000pxW

TheLoft_FeatureImage

The Bold Collective Design Director Monika Branagan said Cromwell had approached the firm looking for a ‘Brooklyn’ inspired fit out.

“The tenancy overlooks an alley and the back of some of Brisbane’s older buildings, giving it a real urban feel,” she said. “We wanted to bring that into the tenancy and create a really creative space that reflected the surrounds.”

“The brief was to create something that was unorthodox and edgy so we sourced a variety of materials and finishes to recreate a New York loft style feel that had an industrial edge, with warmth and personality.”

Design features include brick wallpapers, illuminated signage, timber look dark flooring, industrial lighting, tartan upholstery, vintage look flooring, recycled timbers red highlights and a Herringbone strut ceiling.

RGC has signed a three-year lease over the 130sqm space negotiated by David Prosser of Caden Office Leasing.

TheLoft_KitchenArea_2000pxW

theloft desks

herrigbone ceiling

BLOCK_200MaryRGC

lights

 

theloftdining

How Moon Boots and Buzz Launched General Electric on Snapchat

tumblr_inline_n8rs3h1zff1qzgziyEver an innovator, General Electric (GE), one of the world’s largest conglomerates, has made a splash on social media platform Snapchat by releasing a version of the famous moon boots worn by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969.

The just completed campaign celebrated GE’s contributions to the NASA Moon Mission 45 years ago. GE supplied advanced materials used in moon boots and the helmet visors worn by astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins.

The company made only 100 pairs of the 2015 boots and priced them at $196.90 (in homage to the year 1969). They were made available through online retailer JackThreads.com and sold out quickly.

GE decided to unveil and heavily promote the boots on Snapchat as it made it debut on the platform. Sam Olstein global director-innovation at GE said that the nature of Snapchat, fitting into the world of erasable media – media that goes away after a period of time, lent itself to storytelling and driving engagement and action. The Snapchat campaign featured photos, videos and stories about The Missions moon boots as they were named.

They even had Buzz Aldrin take over the Snapchat account for a day and talk about his trip to the moon and back. GE also used other social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter to drive Snapchat activity.

tumblr_inline_n8vk83IfyB1qzgziy
Buzz Aldrin wearing The Missions moon boots

Olstein’s goal is to introduce the venerable GE brand onto new platforms and to new audiences. The company has been shedding its image purely as a maker of industrial products, light bulbs and refrigerators as it embraces the Internet age.

“We need to change the way the younger generation identifies with us as a company,” Olstein said.

“We’re transforming the company to be more of a software brand.

“This is the future of GE: the digitisation of industry. We’re taking all of our incredible complex machinery and mashing it up with software and sensors and evolving into more of a high tech industrial company.”

Olstein’s mission also includes – as he describes – using commerce as content.

“We see the role of product in a completely different way – around really using commerce as story telling,” he said.

Sam Olstein, Director of Global Innovation at GE, spoke at Interactive Minds Digital Summit 2015 in Brisbane.

Images – GE and NASA