Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
Packing for a trade show, especially one as crammed with lunches, dinners, press conferences and dinners as TFWA World Exhibition, can be a nightmare. Especially so if like me you’ve just landed two days earlier from the latest long-haul trip in a two-month stint when you’ve been barely home.
I have three suitcases laid on my floor (two large, one smaller – my long-haul and short-haul options) in various stages of being packed or unpacked. My travel schedule of recent weeks has meant I have had to deal with a different kind of climate change – mild Spring in Auckland, temperate autumn in London, cold in Maotai, and blazingly hot in Hong Kong and Singapore. I have become a man for all seasons, to quote the title of the famous Robert Bolt play.
That phrase, according to the admirable phrases.org, alludes to a quotation from Robert Whittington, a contemporary of Sir Thomas More (whom the play is about), whom in 1520 said, “More is a man of an angel’s wit and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvellous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons.”
Now, my way of packing, it has to be said, is different from some industry colleagues. I recall my dear friend and former colleague Mandy Sime (now happily married and living in Spain with two gorgeous children) telling me it took her longer to pack than she spent at the trade show. I never understood that given my average packing time was around 45 minutes. But then again Mandy tended to look rather more glamorous than me at meetings.
So I’m happy to say that this year’s packing is a whole lot easier than ever before. Why? Because I am setting for just three colours – pink, black and tiger print.
Let me explain. The pink? That’s because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and also sees the marvellous Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign played out. To honour this great cause, The Moodie Davitt Report is turning pink for the month – in our publications, in our correspondence and in our garb. While doing that, we have adopted the following hashtag:
#thinkpinkTR
Our team will all be wearing (at least) one pink item throughout Cannes and Trinity – with me and my co-owner Martin Moodie and Dermot Davitt donning pink socks donated by Happy Socks (including pink versions of the Thumbs Up and Pink Panther lines) and giving away pairs to retailers we interview.
We are encouraging all travel retail executives at Cannes and The Trinity Forum (30-31 October in Doha) to wear a pink item or ribbon and for the travel retail community around the world to adopt pink in some way during the month. Please especially make your pink presence felt at the Opening Cocktail.
For the most stylish pink outfit in Cannes, we will donate US$1,500 to the breast cancer charity of the wearer’s choice. We will pledge a similar cash/charity prize to the best #thinkpinkTR initiative around the travel retail world in October.
And we will also donate a double-page spread of advertising in our post-Cannes Moodie Davitt eZine to the brand with the best #thinkpinkTR touch on their Cannes stand.
So much for the pink. What about the black? Well that’s simple. It’s Rugby World Cup time in Japan and my beloved All Blacks are aiming for an unprecedented triple consecutive triumph (#AllBlacks3peat).
They’ve made a great start, beating arch-rivals South Africa in a titanic first-round match 23-13 and they look very good for at least the semi-finals. But plenty of mighty foes stand in their way.
I’m packing my new All Blacks cufflinks (bought at Lagardère Travel Retail’s brilliant Official All Blacks Store at Auckland Airport), All Blacks jumpers (x 2) and All Blacks cap. You’ll find me in between interviews down at Ma Nolan’s along with other industry rugby lovers watching various games during the week, starting with the crunch Australia v Wales match tomorrow morn, where I expect the Aussies to upset the form book.
And then there is the tiger print. As you will surely have noticed by now, we’ve been following the Wild Tiger Roar Trip every mile of the way on their epic journey from Kerala to Cannes to raise awareness of tiger conservation.
Those incredible co-pilots Gautom Menon and Paul George Vedanayagam will reach Cannes late this afternoon and we are laying on a very special French ‘Roarviera’ welcome for them (Ma Nolan’s from 7pm – a pay bar, lots of Wild Tiger Rum cocktails, a voluntary donation to tiger conservation and limited places). All guests are asked to wear something tiger-themed.
So there you have it. My pink, black and tiger-themed outfits are all laid out on the sofa ready for my traditional 45-minute pack. See you in Cannes, I’ll be the one wearing a black cap, a pink ribbon and very loud tiger print shoes. I’m a man, you see, for all seasons, but only three colours.
