Appco Group Product Owners meeting held

The Appco Group Product Owners meeting was held recently at the Four Seasons Hotel, Canary Wharf, London.

The event, which proved to be a great success, was attended by Marketing Company Owners and addressed issues of many kinds. There were discussions on business challenges and divisional issues.

The Appco Group Product Owners meeting started off with an encouraging introduction from the Chairman Chris Niarchos, who was very much in favour of having open discussions. He made his introductory speech more of a discussion by stopping at intervals and letting others talk. The rest of the event, led by the Company's dynamic Managing Director Mike Blane, had discussions pertaining to New Initiatives, Media Issues, the success of the Nationally Recognised Qualifications Scheme and a Business Development Update.

"The quality initiatives and sales training initiatives established three months ago had a huge effect on the business. Sales, conversion rates and averages all went up by 25% across all divisions. We established a benchmark and the meeting allowed us to elaborate upon it so that it can be followed by the same astounding results in 2011. It was an astonishingly successful day and everyone should be congratulated for a job well done!”- this is what Chris Niarchos, Appco Group Chairman has to say at the Product Owners meeting.

Appco Group US has a good captain in Chris Rudge

Appco Group US, which has had a smooth take-off, has a good captain in Chris Rudge, the dynamic Country Head.

Chris, who comes from a background of hospitality business management, has always had a natural enthusiasm for sales. That helped much in his progression from Field Representative to Managing Director of his own Company in 2004. From there it was a quick climb, to the topmost rungs of the corporate ladder.

With Chris Rudge in the driver's seat, Appco Group  is now all set to explore new areas in direct marketing. Chris, who is also an Organisational Head, has as his key strength the ability to build relationships and develop people. That has resulted in him being chosen one of the founding Country Heads of the Appco Group’s new venture into the US.

Appco Group Rest and Relaxation week

The Appco Group Rest and Relaxation week was held recently, in October, in Hamilton Island, Australia. More than 300 delegates, including Senior Executives, VPs, Product Owners, Organizational Heads, Assistant Owners, Team Managers, Administrators, and Support Staff took part in the event.

For the Appco fraternity, it was a very informative week of learning from key organizational heads and they also got the chance to meet delegates and team members from Australia and New Zealand. Topics discussed include divisional structure, improvement of training techniques, recruitment and retention, travel schedules, the 2011 meeting and event calendar and of course key strategies to take Australia and New Zealand forward.

Appco Group Chairman and Founder Chris Niarchos and Vice President Shane Ward led the event while Country Head of Greece Howie Seymour, Vice President Asia and Country Head of Malaysia James Greaves and Vice President Tony Fernandez were the special guests. Other than productive workshops, speeches, discussing the success stories of owners and field representatives and discussing strategies in the face of changing environment and consumer habits and needs, there was also the opportunity to mingle freely at an outdoor cocktail function. There was also a group gala dinner that added to the grandeur of the event.

The Rest and Relaxation week provided all at Appco Group an opportunity for learning and networking and also to relax and unwind over the weekend.

Appco Group makes its presence felt at the Third Sector Excellence Awards

Appco Group made its presence felt in a big way at the annual Third Sector Excellence Awards held recently in the Lancaster Hotel, London. The event, which recognises those who have made outstanding contributions to areas such as Fundraising, Marketing and Communications, Governance and Foundations, witnessed Appco Group Supports sponsoring and presenting the Charity Partnership’ award.

Appco Campaign Managers Jen Gould and Michelle Thomas presented the award, recognising the work done by the award winners in the charities sector.

"Sponsoring the award for Charity Partnership seemed like the natural choice for Appco Group Support as the partnerships we have with our charities are absolutely integral to the success of our face to face campaigns. We had a ball, and it was a great privilege to be able to recognise the hard work of these charities".- says Jen Gould, Appco Group Support Campaign Manager.

Appco Group supports 30th International Fundraising Congress

Appco Group makes news by supporting the 30th International Fundraising Congress (IFC).

The IFC, established in 1981, has gained reputation as the world's leading conference on fundraising. The event, which has gained reputation for its learning and networking opportunities, regularly attracts around 900 participants from over 55 countries. Appco Group got noted by being one of the sponsors to the 30th IFC, held recently in the Netherlands. The support was not just in terms on finance; the company represented its international charity partners at the event to discuss the ways charities can benefit from direct marketing.

The 30th IFC had different sessions which included a Masterclass programme and a Core programme. The four-day Masterclass programme had talks on fundraising strategy, team leadership and digital communication and also had in-depth learning sessions . The three day Core programme comprised of shorter workshops and sessions engineered to motivate attendants with their energetic pace and wealth of insights. The sessions included a survival guide for fundraising leaders, talks on finance and working with donors.

Appco Group USA in particular and Appco Group in general has been making considerable contribution towards fund-raising and hence the support that the company has rendered to the 30th IFC deserves special mention.

Appco Group with new iPhone application

Good news for everyone associated with Appco Group US.

The Appco Group has introduced a novel system to enable users share views, news and ideas from wherever they are in the world. This can be done through the Appco Group's iPhone application, aptly named Appco App, which can be downloaded from www.apple.com/itunes.

This would do a lot to the company which believes in growing by sharing views and ideas. News concerning the direct marketing sector too would be communicated all across the world, with photos, videos etc. The application works on all current versions of the iPhone with the iOS 4.0 itunes software update downloaded.

“The Appco App currently works only on the iPhone but an iPad version is on its way in the coming months”- says Andy Hobbs, Web Development Manager, Appco Group.

30 West 21st Street great location for Appco Group U.S

30 West 21st Street, where Appco Group US is based at present, is an ideal location for a company with such an excellent kind of credentials.

“30 West 21st Street is a great location for a fast-growing, entrepreneurial organization with global presence like Appco Group U.S,” said Kevin Comer, Senior Managing Director of Beck Street Capital, the company that has acquired 30 West 21st Street, the 12-story luxury commercial building located between 5th and 6th Avenues. 30 West 21st Street has all kinds of luxury amenities including one of New York City’s only private, landscaped gardens, concierge service, a modern, renovated lobby etc. The most notable thing is the location- at the crossroads of Flatiron, Chelsea, Gramercy and Union Square.

Says Kerry Johnstone, Chief Operating Officer of Appco Group U.S., “30 West 21st Street is a wonderful space for our first U.S. office and headquarters; and we are looking forward to building roots in the U.S. and this is the perfect platform for our expansion.”