Yesterday we visited the most picturesque campus in the world, Regent’s University. Jason Mackenzie facilitated a discussion around media and I was most engaged in how we theorized advertising trends will unfold, specifically in regards to AR and VR. The conversation was more focused around media trends internationally than I expected, but reading British newspapers showed me that they don’t have as big a divide in their perception of things as we do.
I took time to appreciate local street art after our university tour. There was a beat boxer that really commanded my attention with his interpretation of the Super Mario Bros. theme song. Afterwards, I solo toured Soho for awhile. One of my favorite things while traveling is to walk around by myself and see things at my own fast pace. I did, eventually, meet up with people and continued to tour around the city until we eventually went to the London Eye. While I generally try to steer clear of tourist attractions, this was a must see. The view of the city was gorgeous, but there was not a skyline in the way I was expecting. We’re blessed in Pittsburgh with our defined skyline.
Near the London Eye their was a garden festival. Cha-ching. It was the exact kind of thing I wanted to see. There were food and drink pop up stores, young locals, and the temperature was perfect. This was my ideal night in London. Eventually we walked back to our hotel and I went to a pub by myself.
I ended up talking to a few locals at the pub, they were discussing American politics so I jumped right in. Turns out they all work in advertising for Omnicom, who not so long ago acquired Ketchum. I told them my relation to the agency and we connected on LinkedIn. I think the most important part of this trip will be sending LinkedIn messages each morning to the people I connect with.