Turki Square is getting EXTRA HOT as Nando’s unveils its latest Casa in Saudi Arabia during Ramadan 2018 Nando’s keeps its promise to bring PERi-PERi to the people with another Riyadh location serving up its world-famous flame-grilled chicken!

Nando’s has responded to the biggest demand for its world- famous PERi-PERi chicken in the company history by opening a third restaurant in Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh.

The casa, located in the new Turki Square plaza, opened during the first week of Ramadan and is expected to be an instant hit for businesses, local residents and students from the nearby King Saud university.

The Turki Square launch follows the opening of Nando’s first branch in Riyadh at Rubeen Plaza, which went down as the the company’s most successful launch ever and sparked PERi- PERi fever across the capital.

To celebrate the new opening, Nando’s KSA launched the Iftar and Sohoor meal which has the flavour to feed your fire. Created especially for the Holy Month of Ramadan, it is a feast fit for the Kingdom with its combination of tasty Middle Eastern and Nando’s much loved flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken to give it a little twist!

The Nando’s Iftar will start diners off with dates, water and laban to break the fast, followed by soup and Hummus with pita bread; rounded off with a delicious, flame-grilled PERi-PERi 1/2 chicken or a Chicken Butterfly, served with a choice of two regular sides. All for just SAR 79 per person.

On the menu at Turki Square as well are the classic Afro-Portugese style flame-griled favourites such as wraps, burgers, salads and the Riyadh favourite: Espetada. Available in

Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot, and Extra-Hot for the extra daring, Nando’s unique PERi-PERi flavor, combined with the world’s best flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken, has been massively popular among Saudi nationals in particular.

Foodmark COO Richard Barclay said: “Riyadh has well and truly got a taste for PERi-PERi. In fact our Rubeen Plaza opening, Nando’s first casa was the most successful market entry in the 30 years of Nando’s brand history!

“There’s a real passion for dining in Saudi Arabia and with the ever-evolving culture for eating out; it’s a natural progression for us to accelerate the momentum of our expansion. We have seen huge successes with our Tahlia Street and Rubeen Plaza Branches, so we are full steam ahead with our plans for expansion in 2018 – not just in Riyadh, but throughout the Kingdom, so watch this space.”

Staying true to its heritage, the new Casa features Nando’s signature style décor and design, transporting diners into the vibrant world of Afro-Portuguese influence, making it a Casa “Fit for the Kingdom”. Each Nando’s Casa around the world has a bespoke design, with the Turki Square Casa being no exception – offering a multi-sensory experience, designed to make guests feel comfortable and energized.

Nando’s Turki Square is now open at Prince Turki Al Awwal Road (intersection with Makkah Al Mukarramah Branch Road), Riyadh.

 

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King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital renew collaboration to further improve quality of healthcare services for patients and staff

King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSHRC) and Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH) have renewed an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the fourth consecutive time as a result of the positive impact their cooperation has made on the Saudi Arabian healthcare industry since 2009. With the three-year MoU in place, KFSHRC and HMH will focus on implementing new frameworks to support the development of the professional healthcare community and to improve patients’ lives.

The MoU was signed by H.E. Dr. Majid Al Fayyadh, CEO, of the General Organization of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, (KFSH&RC), and Ms. Cathy Easter, CEO of Houston Methodist Global Health Care Services, and will see KFSH&RC and HMH evaluate the feasibility and opportunity for benchmarking across a number of key areas related to quality and patient safety such as clinical pathways (tools used to guide evidence-based healthcare), mortality rates, clinical indicators, and patient satisfaction.

The three-year MoU will explore the advancement of projects including providing staff with clinical and leadership training programs in Houston. It will also provide KFSHRC’s physicians with access to world-class experts at HMH who will offer second opinions for patient diagnoses as part of HMH’s Second Opinion program. 

H.E. Al Fayyadh said: “The executive administration of KFSH&RC regards the MoU HMH as an excellent opportunity to improve our services, particularly at a time when our organization is undergoing major transformations in the near future. We trust that our partner organization in this MoU aims to set a global standard of excellence in patient-centered care, education, training, and clinical collaboration, and we believe it to be fruitful for both of us to share our knowledge in order to attain our objectives.”

Noting the importance of the long-term partnership, Ms. Easter commented: “We are grateful to all those who have contributed to the long-term success between our organizations as we embark on a new chapter for the healthcare industry in the Kingdom. We look forward to our continued collaboration with KFSHRC and building on the ongoing results of our efforts in the local medical sector as we work towards improving the exchanges between our healthcare organizations, physicians, nurses, administrators, patients and more.”

Dr. Al Fayyadh and Ms. Easter discussed the future of their affiliation and several ways to further progress the local healthcare sector through this collaboration. Ideas for exchange programs for nursing staff in Houston were also mentioned, as the two parties elaborated on their vision to continue progressing patient care and health service delivery at KFSHRC.

Both KFSHRC and HMH have been recognized as leading experts in the healthcare industry for a number of years. The relationship between the two institutions began in the 1970s and was reignited in 2009 to explore new opportunities and enhance the Saudi healthcare industry. The MoU was renewed in 2009, 2012, 2015, and now, in 2018.

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New Zealand Embassy launches the ‘NZ Education Ambassador’ education initiative.

The New Zealand Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency James Munro, launched the ‘NZ Education Ambassador’ social media initiative at an event in the New Zealand Embassy in Riyadh today. The initiative builds on New Zealand’s reputation as a premium destination for Saudi scholarship students, particularly those selecting their destination country through the “Your Job Your Scholarship” program.

New Zealand has emerged as a premium study destination:

  • New Zealand’s education system was ranked 1st in the world for preparing students for the future in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2017
  • visa free entry for Saudi citizens for up to 3 months,
  • direct flights from Dubai to Auckland,
  • world-class rankings, with more than 20 subjects ranked in the top-50 universities worldwide, and
  • an international experience – students from more than 180 countries choose to study in New Zealand.

“The ‘NZ Education Ambassador’ initiative reinforces New Zealand’s commitment to providing safe, exciting and affordable education and travel experiences for young Saudi Arabian students” says Ambassador Munro.

Approximately 2,000 Saudi students are studying in New Zealand, with all of the New Zealand’s Universities being ranked in the top-3% worldwide.

John Laxon, Education New Zealand Regional Director and Education Attaché added “New Zealand is delighted to invest in the education relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we look forward to welcoming more Saudi students who select New Zealand through the 13th cohort of the Your Job Your Scholarship initiative.”

“We thank and congratulate the Minister of Education, His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Al-Issa, and the Ministry of Education for this world-leading scholarship Program,” added Mr Laxon.

Saudi students studying in New Zealand and Alumni can find out more about the initiative by following Education New Zealand’s Twitter https://twitter.com/studyinnzsa channel. The promotion runs through to 29 June 2018 

To find out more about studying in New Zealand people can visit www.studyinnewzealand.govt/ar.

 

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7 Moons set to change the event landscape in Riyadh this Season

  • 25,000 sqm space converted into a one of a kind pop up event, seven tents offering unique Islamic

Iftars and Suhoors.

  • The inaugural edition will run for 30 nights, transitioning in the end to capture the world cup
  • A unique journey takes guest through a culinary adventure and entertainment experience; combining

video mapping, projected animation, and shows for all ages. For Immediate Release

 In line with transforming Saudi Arabia, the most luxurious pop-up event will be hosted in the buzzing capital, Riyadh from the 16th of May – 16th of June 2018.

Aptly titled, 7 Moons, the pop-up will introduce 7 semispheres (domes) located just beside the King Abdullah Financial District. The event will span a massive 25,000 sqm, where entertainment, imagination, and gastronomic perfection comes together.

Specifically tailored for the Holy Month of Ramadan, the event will be a journey into 6 main Islamic eras, each represented in a dome. Each semi-sphere will feature projections that are

inspired from the era they represent. Moreover, each dome will serve its guests with the cuisine that relates to the period it is representing. The 7th Dome (main dome), located in the center will be the main attraction dome with high-tech 3D mapping a projections and will house a buffet of desserts and coffee shops.

  1. The Rise of Islam (1-41 AH): Saudi cuisine
  2. The Umayyad Period (41-132 AH): Mediterranean cuisine
  3. The Abbasid Period (132-899 AH): Iraqi cuisine
  4. The Andalusian Period (138-422 AH): North African & Moroccan cuisine

Guaranteed to be an event that caters to everyone, 7 Moons has prepared fun and interactive activities for all. Families and children will enjoy the pathways, karting tracks, and other creative installations.

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EFFORTLESS EVERYWHERE: THE ROLLS-ROYCE CULLINAN

“The super-luxury lifestyle is evolving and Rolls-Royce is in the lead. Luxury is no longer an urban concept. More and more it is about embracing and experiencing the wider world. Our customers expect to go everywhere in luxury, effortlessly and without compromise, conquering the most challenging terrain to enjoy life’s most enriching experiences, wherever they may be. For this reason, they have asked us to create a Rolls-Royce that offers uncompromised luxury wherever they dare to venture. Cullinan is that car. It is Effortless, Everywhere.

It is incomparable and dramatically evolves the parameters of super-luxury travel, translating Rolls-Royce’s ethos of ‘Effortlessness’ into physical capability, anywhere in the world. Cullinan will simply take the world in its stride.”

Trsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

“The launch of a new Rolls-Royce model is always a seminal moment in the luxury industry. Today we are setting a new standard by creating a new class of motoring and motor car for customers who are well-connected, highly mobile and have a global perspective. They want a new type of motor car that gives them unbounded access in ultimate luxury. Their sense of adventure and daring demands a “go-anywhere in ultimate luxury” motor car that will both take them to and meet them at the pinnacle of life. Cullinan is that motor-car.”

Peter Schwarzenbauer, Chairman of Rolls-Royce and Member of the Board of the BMW Group.

“From the very beginning the design team treated this brand new Rolls-Royce as a unique, high bodied car. With global customer expectations in mind, our aim was two-fold – realise a presence to match the magnificent capability of Cullinan, whilst setting sector defining standards for luxury and elegance. We know that many of our luxury patrons pursue sports or leisure hobbies that require precisely this type of go anywhere vehicle – Cullinan’s design gesture had to possess an immediate sense of effortless accomplishment.”

“The label SUV is now applied to anything with a two-box silhouette and the least suggestion of going off tarmac. We envisioned an authentic, three-box high-bodied all-terrain car with a convention-challenging design and absolute capability that would satisfy the adventurous urges of our clients.”

Giles Taylor, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

“This landscape is savage, but this journey has been seamless. What’s unique is the ability to absorb the road without thought and simply let yourself get lost. You don’t so much drive as you do float and it seems to get almost smoother the faster you go. The turning and the grip are unreal, almost hugging the road and seeming to glide above it. Sometimes making pictures is as much about getting there as it is about the image itself.”

Cory Richards, National Geographic photographer and star of The Final Challenge.

Cullinan at a glance

  • The most anticipated car of 2018 and, quite possibly, the most anticipated Rolls-Royce of all time.
  • Named after the largest diamond ever discovered which now resides in the British Crown Jewels.

  • An all-terrain high-bodied car that makes the idea of authentic, luxury off-road travel a reality for the first time. Luxury travel is now Effortless, Everywhere.

  • Contemporary and functional design ensures Cullinan gains iconic status in the face of increasingly bland SUV designs.

  • The first “three-box” car in the SUV-sector. Cullinan’s partition wall creates a distinct environment for passengers, separated from the luggage compartment.
  • The most practical of Rolls-Royces. Cullinan is the most versatile, family oriented, fun-to-drive super-luxury SUV available today.  
  • The second new Rolls-Royce to sit on the all-new aluminium ‘Architecture of Luxury’, Cullinan is the most technologically advanced, and only purpose-built, luxury SUV in the world.
  • Tested to destruction all over the planet, Cullinan is an incredibly capable off-roader that sees the development of the ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ for off-road enjoyment, without sacrificing any Rolls-Royce on-road behaviour.

  • Cullinan offers a suite of Bespoke features developed specifically for the many various lifestyles of its owners including the Viewing Suite and the Recreation Module.

  • The 6.75 litre twin-turbo V12 Rolls-Royce engine delivers 563bhp/420kW and 850Nm/627lb ft of torque to the all-new all-wheel drive, all-wheel steer system needed to overcome any challenge.

  • A century-long pedigree of adventurous quests and campaigns successfully carried out across all terrains thanks to the luxury offered by a stout vehicle that was swift, stealthy and dependable.  “A Rolls in the desert is above rubies” – T.E. Lawrence.

Introduction

When Rolls-Royce announced three years ago that it would launch Cullinan, it did so in the knowledge that its customers around the world had asked it to build “The Rolls-Royce of SUVs”, with luxury, performance and usability not seen before in the SUV market. Many of these customers were younger, very successful high-net-worth individuals who are heavily engaged in the experience economy, and wanted a Rolls-Royce that would take them to the ends of the Earth in ultimate luxury.

Automotive mobility has always been a fast moving and dynamic business, with new concepts – such as SUVs – appearing with great regularity. But those new concepts need to be perfected in order to be adopted by those customers who will accept no compromise – the patrons of true luxury. Hence the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

“History set our precedent, and today Rolls-Royce answers its call to action,” comments Müller-Ötvös. “Our answer to the visionaries, adventurers, explorers and those who believe in the supremacy of liberty is the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.”

What is Cullinan?

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is Rolls-Royce as it’s never seen before. When Sir Henry Royce said, “Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it”, he could have had Cullinan in mind.

“We knew we had to offer our clients what they couldn’t find in the SUV market,” continues Müller-Ötvös. “They do not accept limitations or compromises in their lives. They are the new pioneers, and for them it’s about their sense of adventure and daring in how they live their experiences. This approach to life demands a motor car that can go-anywhere in ultimate luxury and style – Rolls-Royce style. Hence Cullinan.”

It was clear that these new, younger and more adventurous customers wanted a Rolls-Royce that would take them completely off the beaten track and reward them with life’s most enriching experiences. What they didn’t want was a vehicle as ubiquitous as an SUV with compromises such as increased cabin noise due to the “two-box” formula; shared platforms that affect performance and comfort; the choice of being good either on-road or off-road; or a lower, more featureless SUV that blends in and becomes just another car.

“Cullinan is luxury in its purest form blended with perfect practicality and off-road capability,” comments Müller-Ötvös. “Effortless, Everywhere is not just the promise behind Cullinan. It’s the fact.”

Making luxury Effortless, Everywhere engendered an evolution in Rolls-Royce’s approach to creating an authentic Rolls-Royce SUV. The most obvious sign of this was the radical rear of Cullinan.

For the first time a Rolls-Royce has an opening tailgate, which it calls ‘The Clasp’. In a nod to the era when luggage was mounted on the exterior of the motor-car, so the occupants did not travel with their belongings, the rear profile of Cullinan is a two-part, ‘D-Back’ format, with the bustle denoting the place of the luggage. ‘The Clasp’ opens and closes in its two sections automatically at the touch of the key fob button.

The rear passenger compartment of Cullinan has been designed to offer the best seat in the house for the owner’s particular needs. Two rear configurations are offered – Lounge Seats or Individual Seats.

The Lounge Seat configuration is the more functional of the two options. With space for three passengers in the rear, it will likely be more attractive to families. The rear seats also fold down – a first for Rolls-Royce.

The seats fold electronically in a number of configurations by pressing the appropriate button in the boot or rear door pocket. One press sees each backrest effortlessly fold down, whist at the same time moving the headrests upwards to avoid making an imprint on the seat cushion. Both seat backs can be folded completely, creating a flat load area or in a 2/3 and 1/3 split, increasing practicality even further. Rear passengers can still travel with a long load, or use the carpeted seat back as an occasional table on which to rest their precious personal items.

For those who intend to transport large items back from their adventures, the rear of Cullinan offers a large amount of space in different arrangements.

The rear compartment or boot area offers a standard 560 litres of space, growing to 600 with the parcel shelf removed. Furthermore, the base of the rear seats sit higher than the boot floor, so even with both rear seats folded, the items in the boot cannot slip forward and are safely contained, unlike in any other SUV. But for those wishing to carry a long item back from their trip – whether it be a Mark Rothko from the Art Gallery of a newly discovered artefact from the latest archaeological dig –  a loading length of 2245mm and load capacity of 1930 litres is accessed by electronically raising the boot floor to meet the seat base, allowing the item to slide through effortlessly.

Rolls-Royce’s investment in making the rear of Cullinan effortlessly and ultimately practical has the side benefit of offering a loading length longer than a Range Rover Vogue Extended Wheelbase. A very practical Rolls-Royce indeed.

Knowing that the Rolls-Royce customer expects to bespoke his or her Cullinan, a second rear configuration is offered.

The Individual Seat configuration is for those who value the ultimate luxury an SUV can offer over practicality. The two individual rear seats are separated by a Fixed Rear Centre Console incorporating a drinks cabinet with Rolls-Royce whisky glasses and decanter, champagne flutes and refrigerator. The seats also move in a number of planes to offer ultimate comfort whilst travelling in the rear.

One final feature brings a final Rolls-Royce level of ultimate luxury to this configuration of Cullinan, creating the first truly “three-box” SUV. Inspired by the age when one never travelled with ones luggage, a glass partition isolates the passenger cabin from the luggage compartment, creating an inner ecosystem for the occupants. In addition to enhanced and class-leading silence within the cabin, a further benefit becomes clear in the hottest and coldest of environments. Thanks to the sealed cabin created by the glass partition wall, the occupants can remain in the optimum temperature even when the luggage compartment stands open.

Adventure awaits

Cullinan awakes at the touch of the unlock button on the Bespoke key, or indeed by simply reaching out to its beautifully tactile stainless steel door handle. It lowers itself by 40mm to make entry effortless as the iconic Rolls-Royce coach doors stand open to welcome driver and passengers to their adventure.

Having stepped directly into the cabin, thanks to the wide aperture of the doors and completely flat floor, driver and passengers press the door closing button to seal themselves within the sanctuary of Cullinan’s cabin. Or one touch of the sensor on the exterior door handles will see the doors automatically close themselves from outside.

A touch of the start button then elevates Cullinan 40mm to its standard, commanding ride height, placing its occupants in the perfect position from which to see the world as it drives off.

The driver instantly recognises Cullinan as a driver’s car thanks to its thicker, smaller steering wheel. It’s heated, pliant rim hints at epic voyages which Cullinan is all too eager to begin, whilst heated and ventilated seats mean passengers will be perfectly acclimatised. From their commanding position at the helm of Cullinan, all equipment and technology is clearly seen and reached by the driver.

All information is clearly communicated by the latest generation of digital instruments, with the displays themselves designed with clear and beautiful virtual needles, Rolls-Royce jewellery-like chaplets and clear lettering.

The central information screen is for the first time touch sensitive, allowing the driver to quickly select functions, map views and vehicle set-up whilst on the trail. This portal can still be controlled from the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy controller which nestles on the central console with the ‘Off-Road’ button, Hill Descent Control button and Air Suspension height adjustment controls.

A host of other cutting-edge technology makes Rolls-Royce Cullinan the most technologically advanced car of its type in the world. Further equipment includes: Night Vision and Vision Assist including daytime and night-time Wildlife & Pedestrian warning; Alertness Assistant; a 4-Camera system with Panoramic View, all-round visibility and helicopter view; Active Cruise Control; Collision Warning; Cross-Traffic Warning, Lane Departure and Lane Change Warning; an industry leading 7×3 High-Resolution Head-Up Display, WiFi hotspot, and of course the latest Navigation and Entertainment Systems.

For those not behind the wheel, the world’s most spectacular scenery is to be seen from a privileged position. Those in the rear sit higher than those in the front of the car on Rolls-Royce’s Pavilion Seating, enjoying grandstand views of their surroundings thanks to the large glazed area of Cullinan’s side windows and industry-leading panoramic glass roof. And if they wish to locate themselves or their latest far-flung discovery, they can zero in on their location on the rear touchscreen map.

Also, no photographic opportunity will be missed as all electronic devices can be charged via the five USB ports around the cabin, whilst phones can be wirelessly charged in the front of the cabin.

Arriving at their remote destination, the occupants can descend without dirtying their trouser legs as both front and rear coach doors wrap low under the sill of Cullinan, ensuring that all dirt remains of the outside of the door. A feature only Rolls-Royce would have considered.

Authentic Rolls-Royce engineering – everywhere

“The proposition of this car is an engineering masterpiece, its off-road capability, whilst maintaining the world-famous ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ of Rolls-Royce,” comments Müller-Ötvös.  “When we began engineering this car, these were the guiding principles.”

Key to the creation of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV was the Architecture of Luxury – Rolls-Royce’s proprietary all-aluminium architecture.

The Architecture of Luxury really comes into its own in creating Cullinan. The engineering team behind Cullinan adapted the Architecture of Luxury to the design template of a high-bodied car laid down by Giles Taylor and his design team thanks to its innate adaptability.

It was designed and engineered from the ground up in such a way as to be scalable to the size and weight requirements of different future Rolls-Royce models, including those with different propulsion, traction and control systems, thus underpinning the long-term future product roadmap.   

Cullinan uses this new architecture in a wholly different manner to deliver an iconic design and presence, uncompromised comfort, space and usability, cutting edge technology and the peerless on-road and off-road driving experience and capability.

The component parts of the base architecture were reconfigured into a spaceframe that was higher and shorter whilst also delivering a completely new feature never seen before on a series production Rolls-Royce – a tailgate.  

The all-new aluminium sub-structure delivers extraordinary car body stiffness for exceptional ‘best-in-class’ functional performance on rough terrain whilst offering better ride comfort.

The ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ taken off-road

The integration of new technologies into the architecture was also key to ensuring the fundamental quality of Cullinan as Effortless, Everywhere. The engineering team began by creating a drivetrain that would bring Rolls-Royce’s famous ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ off-road.

“The drivetrain system we engineered for Cullinan had one key job to do,” explains Caroline Krismer, Engineering Project Leader for Cullinan. “To bring the famed Rolls-Royce ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ to all other terrains possible, while ensuring class-leading on-road behaviour in the SUV sector.”

Rolls-Royce’s celebrated Magic Carpet Ride impresses off-road as well as on-road thanks to the new lighter architecture, and the latest generation of self-levelling air suspension. Through a thorough re-engineering of the existing air suspension system – including adding larger air struts with more air volume to cushion the blows of the toughest of terrains – the strengthening of drive and prop shafts, the inclusion of drive to the front wheels as well as the back for the first time in Rolls-Royce history, and the complete reworking of the new 6.75 litre twin-turbo V12 Rolls-Royce engine to deliver just the right level of torque (850Nm) at the lowest possible revolutions (1,600rpm), the Rolls-Royce engineering team has ensured Cullinan will take owners to places no modern Rolls-Royce owner has travelled in luxury before.

The suspension makes millions of calculations every second as it continuously varies the electronically controlled shock absorber adjustment system – reacting to body and wheel acceleration, steering inputs and camera information. A new double-wishbone front axle and 5-link rear axle deliver astounding levels of control over lateral roll and shear forces and deliver incredible agility and stability, as does the addition of four-wheel steering, all contributing to incredible drivability and nimbleness.

In the case of driving off-road, the electronically controlled shock absorber adjustment system uses an air compression system to actively push down any wheel it detects losing traction to ensure every wheel is constantly in contact with the ground and maximum torque is being provided to all wheels.

“Put simply, what makes the car great on-road makes the car great off-road,” concludes Krismer.

The final piece of the puzzle of ensuring that the Rolls-Royce Cullinan is Effortless, Everywhere is one single button. Known within Rolls-Royce as the ‘Everywhere’ button, one single push is all it takes to harness all the aforementioned peerless Rolls-Royce engineering and unleash all of Cullinan’s off-road capability.

Once engaged, the driver can finesse the off-road setting to glide over any situation, whether it be rough track, gravel, wet grass, mud, snow or sand delivering all 850Nm of torque to all four wheels without interruption. And faced with deep snow, sand or the need to ford streams, Cullinan delivers the deepest wading depth of any super-luxury SUV at 540mm thanks to its highest ride height.

Designing a force of nature

“At this point in the history of automotive design, SUVs have become homogenous and ubiquitous,” comments Giles Taylor, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “The label SUV is now applied to anything with a two-box silhouette and the least suggestion of going off tarmac. We envisioned an authentic, three-box all-terrain high-bodied car with a convention-challenging design and absolute capability that would satisfy the adventurous urges of our clients.”

Working with the Architecture of Luxury, Taylor and his team designed the car he knew would meet

expectations. Iconic design, proper Rolls-Royce proportions inside and out, and uncompromised levels of luxury.

“One of the first benefits of the Architecture of Luxury to the design of Cullinan was the ability to place the wheels and create a unique roofline silhouette that would give Cullinan an immediate sense of Rolls-Royce pedigree,” comments Taylor. “This gave Cullinan the commanding stance of a warrior, immediately communicating its strength and power, whilst at the very same time allows effortless entry and exit from the rear cabin.”

This strength and power are immediately apparent from the face of Cullinan. Key features such as lights and air intakes are deep set into the bodywork, whilst strong vertical and horizontal lines create a powerful visage, with the prominent brow of a Saxon warrior created by the line that runs across the top of the pantheon grille and ‘eyebrow’-like daytime running lights. This approach lends a toughness of expression to the front of Cullinan.

The grille is created from hand-polished stainless steel, but for Cullinan it is set slightly proud of the surrounding bodywork that pushes it up and forward. The Rolls-Royce badge and Spirit of Ecstasy ride significantly above the line of the wing, giving them a unique vantage point.

Away from the face of Cullinan the vertical lines that run from the A-pillars down along the raised bonnet edge, down the side of the grille and into the metal skid plate below emphasise the height of the car and its dominant character.

From the side, the purposefulness of Cullinan is clear. There is an uncompromising sheerness of the typical Rolls-Royce long bonnet profile, with the bonnet itself seen to be set higher than the wings of the car to communicate greater toughness.

The line then rises quickly on the A-pillar to resolve in an ultimate height for Cullinan of 1,836mm, a height accentuated by the glass to metal ratio as seen from the side. From just over the B-pillar, the roofline becomes quite fast and drops away to the even faster rear glass which resolves in an elegantly protruding boot lid that reminds one of the D-Back Rolls-Royces of the 1930’s, some of the last of the marque to still carry their owner’s luggage on a shelf outside the car.

Taylor’s famous rotating line then takes the eye back towards the front of Cullinan as it shoots forward through the 22-inch wheel hubs to give it a beautiful balance, whilst the depth of the side profile is optically broken up by a most authentic and honest piece of metal, like a Saxon spear, that flies down the lower door surface and gives the whole side of the car a beautiful sense of tension.

The rear view of Cullinan continues the theme of functionality, with the design reduced to a functional baseline. Any jewellery is subdued. So for instance, the Rolls-Royce badge stands on its own smaller plinth separate and above a thin metal finisher over the number plate housing. The design theme for the rear lights also remains simple as two narrow upright units house all the lights and are minimally adorned by thin narrow strips of jewellery at their centre. A final mark of functionality are the exposed metal exhaust pipes and skid plate, both reminding one of Cullinan’s power and ability.

Inside, the cabin of Cullinan combines authentic Rolls-Royce luxury with simple, symmetrical functionality to express the car’s inherent strength. Whether the fascia and centre stack of the dashboard or the arm rests on the doors, structural horizontal and vertical elements underpin the interior design.

The centre stack is framed by hand-finished metal pillars that bridge the upper fascia and middle console, giving it a sense of robustness, whilst also suspending the horizontal elements of the fascia to give a more commanding feel.

The upper fascia is clad in a newly developed contemporary ‘Box Grain’ black leather – a durable and water resistant boarded leather similar to that used in Italian high-end luggage and handbag design. It gives the fascia a sense of width as it runs across its upper segment, allowing the jewellery-like elements of clock and air vents to stand out beautifully.  

Supporting this upper section is a strong band of wood that is moulded in three-dimensions to flow out to the centre stack, whilst the entire dashboard is protected by leather pads on top and at the bottom. The top pad is fashioned in a wing like fashion, suggesting muscularity and movement, as well as the functionality of a cockpit.

Finally, the seats in Cullinan have a bold, confident character, showcasing Rolls-Royce quality and craftsmanship. Designed to suit the more casual and dynamic quality of Cullinan, they feature a simple but modern horseshoe graphic which emphasises the supportive bolsters of the seat. These new seats also showcase Rolls-Royce’s mastery of leather craft as this entire backrest panel has been crafted from a single piece of leather to pick out a highly three-dimensional surface.

All areas throughout the interior that are now heated include the front door armrests, front centre console lid, lower C-Pillar, rear side armrests and rear centre armrest.

One life, many lifestyles

Driving to your remote location is simply the first part of the adventure in a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Further enjoyment awaits in the shape of a Rolls-Royce Recreation Module

Imagine the scene. Having chosen your adventure you call down to your garage. “Jason, we’re going to go drone racing today. Can you load the Drone Module into the Cullinan?” Downstairs, Jason selects the Drone Racing Module from the rack containing several other Recreation Modules that the owner has had commissioned from Rolls-Royce to satisfy his or her preferred recreational pursuits.

Fly fishing, photography, rock climbing, snowboarding, parascending, kite boarding, base jumping, volcano boarding or simply sitting and taking in the view, anything is possible thanks to the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective. Easily slotted and plugged into the boot of Cullinan, each Recreation Module contains a motorised drawer housing the equipment and paraphernalia specific to each Cullinan owner’s pursuits. When the owner is ready to play, it presents itself.

-Ends-

Background Notes to Editors: A note on Cullinan pedigree

114 years ago, two Englishmen from very different walks of life – one an aristocrat adventurer and the other an engineer par excellence – shared the conviction to “Take the best that exists and make it better”. So much so that they joined forces to create Rolls-Royce Limited two years after they met. Their motor cars would attract those Royals and wealthy aristocrats with an adventurous streak thanks to the luxury offered by a stout vehicle that was swift and dependable. Their dependability was initially proven over rough roads during the Scottish Reliability Trials of 1907, and the Alpine Trials of 1913.

1907 was also the year that British businessman Frank Norbury successfully introduced Rolls-Royce into India by driving a Silver Ghost 620 miles from Bombay to Kolhapur, through the rough terrain of the India Ghat mountain-passes, without incident or fault. An explosion of orders from Maharajahs and Maharanis all over India ensued, and they would subsequently use their Rolls-Royces in the jungles of this vast and fascinating country.

Not many years later, war clouds gathered over the continent of Europe. British commanders armoured their Rolls-Royces and relied on them to carry them and their men across the crater-marked and mud-festooned landscape of Northern Europe. When the war spread beyond Europe, Rolls-Royces were relied upon to take the campaign to China, Russia and the Middle East. And there, in the sands of the Sinai Peninsula, one particular man proved, that “A Rolls in the desert is above rubies.” That man was Lawrence of Arabia.

Nine Rolls-Royces would carry Lawrence and his men to victory – including two Silver Ghosts named ‘Blast’ and ‘Bloodhound’, and Lawrence’s personal transport ‘Blue Mist’. These three Rolls-Royces were stripped of all their finery and put to work for the Army as ‘tenders’ – wooden-bodied open bed vehicles with wooden artillery wheels but no other changes to the original, underlying Rolls-Royce engineering.  The others were armoured cars weighing up to 4 tonnes. Other vehicles used on the campaign would regularly break down or become bogged down in the sand, but the Rolls-Royces superior ability not only retrieved them time and again, but carried a victorious campaign in the treacherous deserts of the Sinai and Palestine.

Many more such stories of Rolls-Royce reliability in the worst of conditions abound, and post-war, those with an intrepid streak flocked to Rolls-Royce to build them motor cars best able to face their own personal epic adventure.

From ‘The Tank Corps Journal’, October 1922

The most outstanding incident since the war has been the trip of three Rolls-Royce armoured car tenders from Jerusalem to Baghdad last year. This journey was undertaken with the aid of aeroplanes who daily kept in touch with the cars and brought them supplies. In addition to these three tenders, fitted with Vickers machine guns, the convoy consisted of some other makes, over which the former demonstrated only too often their vast superiority. Upon one occasion a back axle complete was brought out by air and, in all, thirteen back axles were broken on twelve accompanying vehicles whereas the Rolls-Royce cars had no mechanical breakdown, either on the outward or on the return journey.

Generally, the ground travelled over was rough in the extreme. One particular stretch, a total distance of only 10 miles, took two days to cover, for a road had to be hand picked over lava beds. Altogether the journey took 28 days going and 18 days coming back. The return journey would have been much quicker but for the delay caused by some accompanying vehicles, which occasionally had to be towed by the Rolls-Royces.

These armoured cars were the ordinary Rolls-Royce chassis with no other changes in construction other than a lowered gear ratio and heavier, stronger springs substituted for the usual touring equipment.

Road tests showed that a steady squadron speed of over forty-five miles per hour could be maintained, although the cars with armour and equipment weighed close upon four tons.

Furthermore in West Africa during the same period during several months of extremely arduous work, over country which was devoid entirely of roads and consisted mainly of desert sands and rock-strewn highlands, not a single Rolls-Royce armoured car was laid up for an hour, except as a result of the enemy’s fire.

Magma Red
Dimensions  
Number of doors / seats 4 / 5  
Vehicle length 5341 mm / 210 in
Vehicle width 2164 mm / 85 in
Vehicle height (unladen) 1835 mm / 72 in
Wheelbase 3295 mm / 130 in
Turning circle 13.23 m
Boot volume 600 ltr
   
Weight  
Unladen weight (DIN) 2660 kg / 5864 lb
   
Engine  
Engine / cylinders / valves 6.75 ltr / 12 / 48
Power output @ engine speed 563 bhp / 571 PS (DIN) / 420kW @ 5000 rpm
Max torque @ engine speed 850 Nm @ 1600 rpm
Fuel type1 Petrol
   
Performance  
Top speed 155 mph / 250 km/h (governed)
   
Fuel Efficiency  
Fuel Consumption (combined)2 15 ltr/100km  /  18.8 mpg
CO2 Emissions (combined)2 341 g/km

Technical Specification

Darkest Tungsten  
   
Dimensions  
Number of doors / seats 4 / 4  
Vehicle length 5341 mm / 210 in
Vehicle width 2164 mm / 85 in
Vehicle height (unladen) 1835 mm / 72 in
Wheelbase 3295 mm / 130 in
Turning circle 13.23 m
Boot volume 526 ltr
   
Weight  
Unladen weight (DIN) 2660 kg / 5864 lb
   
Engine  
Engine / cylinders / valves 6.75 ltr / 12 / 48
Power output @ engine speed 563 bhp / 571 PS (DIN) / 420kW @ 5000 rpm
Max torque @ engine speed 850 Nm @ 1600 rpm
Fuel type1 Petrol
   
Performance  
Top speed 155 mph / 250 km/h (governed)
   
Fuel Efficiency  
Fuel Consumption (combined)2 15 ltr/100km  /  18.8 mpg
CO2 Emissions (combined)2 341 g/km


1 The engine is designed for Octane grade 95 fuel; however, it may be run on fuel with a minimum Octane grade of 91.

2 Preliminary data not yet confirmed, subject to change. The values of fuel consumptions, CO2 emissions and energy consumptions shown are determined according to the European Regulation (EC) 715/2007 in the version applicable at the time of type approval. The range shown considers optional equipment and the different size of wheels and tires available on the selected model and may vary during the configuration.
The values are already based on the new WLTP regulation and are translated back into NEDC-equivalent values in order to ensure the comparison between the vehicles. For the assessment of taxes or other duties based (at least inter alia) on CO2-emissions the CO2 values may differ to the values stated here.
Further information on official energy and fuel consumption and the official specific CO2 emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the “Guide to Fuel Consumption, CO2 Emissions and Electricity Consumption of New Passenger Cars”, which is available at all outlets free of charge and at DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern and under http://www.dat.de/angebote/verlagsprodukte/leitfaden-kraftstoffverbrauch.html in Germany, at http://carfueldata.direct.gov.uk/ in the United Kingdom or your local government authority.

Further information:

You can follow the progress of this story on Social Media by using #EffortlessEverywhere

You can find all our press releases and press kits, as well as a wide selection of high resolution, downloadable photographs and video footage at our media website, PressClub. You can also find the communications team at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on Twitter and Instagram.

Posted in Economic News | Leave a comment

HOW TO START A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS: THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER’S GUIDE

When you first picked up a camera and began taking pictures, do you remember how you felt? As you snapped photos of your surroundings or your friends and family, you may have thought about how getting into photography would be your dream job (and may have thought about starting a photography business).

Fast forward to today, and here you are, a wedding photography business owner. You did the research necessary to learn how to how to start a photography business, and now you spend your time doing exactly what you love and working with clients who adore you. Getting into photography as a business venture is just the beginning.

START A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

When you make the decision to find out how to start your own photography business, one of your top priorities is growth. We’ve created a comprehensive list of things you need to know to prepare, build, and sustain your growth, which we will cover in 4 separate blog posts. In the first post of this series, we will cover 4 ways to prepare your photography business for growth.

*As a note, these tips can help you whether you are in your first year or are an established photography business.

1. GOALS AND METRICS

Some of the first questions you may have when you start a photography business are:

  1. What do I need to start a photography business?
  2. What should I do to set up a photography business that is successful?
  3. Which steps do I take toward building a photography business right now?

With everything you do in business, the key to growth is setting goals as a part of your photography business plan. When you first set out to start a photography business, sit down and write out the goals you needed to achieve to do so.

While working toward an end goal for your business, every decision you make should be aimed at growing your wedding photography business and increasing your profit. If your focus is anywhere else but on your end goal, it will be harder to establish a brand that people recognize.

Your Plan

As a business owner, it’s necessary to think of growth in terms of where you want to be in the future. The first step to this is to figure out where you are today. From where you are now, create a plan using goals and metrics to help you reach your long-term goal. Start by taking a look at the metrics of your photography business. How many weddings did you shoot last year and how much profit did you bring in? These numbers will help you to forecast your metrics for this year.

Tip: Create a photography business plan template that you can adjust each year based on what you achieved the previous year.

Previous Year:

  • # of weddings
  • # of portraits or other events
  • Booking fee
  • # of Associate photographers (if applicable)
  • Average print sale
  • Average album sale

Goals for this Year:

  • # of weddings
  • # of portraits or other events
  • Booking fee
  • # of Associate photographers (if applicable)
  • Average print sale
  • Average album sale

Resource: Blog – 4 Left and Right-Brained Tasks to Prepare for Busy Season

Tip: Make sure you also add in any Specialists you outsource to, such as ShootDotEdit for your wedding photo editing needs, into your budget.

SMART System

Once you’ve taken a look at where you currently are in your wedding photography business and where you want to be, it’s time to create a detailed plan that will help you get there. Any goal you set during this process should be reasonable and should be supported by metrics. Relying on the metrics of your business informs you of whether your goals are realistic and achievable. For example, a goal of making one million dollars in a year sounds like a great goal. But, is it obtainable? To help determine if this goal can be achieved, you could review your income from the previous year to see if it’s within reach of your goal.

By using metrics in conjunction with your goals, you will be able to identify where you want to go and what you need to do to get there. Metrics help establish the framework for making your goals obtainable, and without them, goals may sound great but not be in reach. By having a purpose with metrics to support it, you are creating good systems that will help grow your photography business.

Setting goals is the fastest way for you to improve your wedding photography business on a regular basis throughout the year. Once you create your overall goal for the year, break some of your larger tasks down into short-term goals. Short-term goals allow you to stay focused on your long-term goal but require less of your time and energy.

When setting short-term goals, decide what aspects of your photography business you need to work on to grow, and what parts you can outsource to save you time. Outsourcing to specialists frees you up so you can focus on the tasks that only YOU can do.

The SMART System for Goals:

Specific: Create specific goals that are highly detailed (ex: shoot 15 weddings per year)
Measurable: Base attainable goals on the dollar amount and percentage
Action-Oriented: List the actionable items you need to do to reach your goals
Realistic: Avoid setting goals that are out of your reach
Time Specific: Every goal you make needs to have a deadline

Resource: Blog – The Science of Setting Goals That Will Actually Motivate You

Who’s Doing It Right?

ShootDotEdit Wedding Pro, Vanessa Joy recommends to be specific in the goals you set for your wedding photography business, especially when it comes to booking weddings.

“To reach your goals, you need to know what they are. It’s no use to throw a number out there like ‘15 weddings’ when 5 of those could be $5,000 weddings and the others are $2,000. When making and attempting to reach booking goals, be as specific as possible, breaking down the numbers and doing the math to come up with a concrete target in numbers and dollars.”– Vanessa Joy Photography

Activities:

  1. Prepare yourself for growth within your photography business with metrics from the previous year. Write out the specific goals you need to reach this year for your business, photography shoots included:
    • Number of weddings and other events
    • Booking fee
    • Number of Associate Photographers
    • Total revenue
  2. Where do you want to be in the next year of your wedding photography business? Review your goals and metrics from the previous year. What are you doing differently to achieve your goals this year?
  3. Choose your top 3 goals that are achievable and create at least 2 SMART metrics for them.
    • Create a time frame for these goals to determine when you’ll check in to see how far along you are in terms of attaining the said goal.

2. BRAND AND MESSAGE

Since there are thousands of photographers in the industry who want to book weddings, your brand message has to stand out to reach your goals. When you are unique as a wedding photographer and have a strong central message, it will allow you to attract the right clients to your website and help set the stage for growth. Getting to know your clients is a way to develop your niche to deliver a brand message that captures their attention.

Authenticity

Every photographer’s path differs when it comes to setting up a photography business, so it is important to stay true to who you are as a person and a photographer. It’s important to understand the difference between being unique and being different. Being unique and being authentic to who you are will set you apart from other photography businesses. Knowing who you are and what your passions are will help you to define what it is that makes you unique.

Know why clients choose you. The more you can build a business around YOU, the less you can be copied, and the more your clients will want you. They will book you because they love YOU, and if they love you, they will love your work.

Specialism

Specialism is the way for you to develop a unique brand message that attracts ideal clients to your photography business. Author and specialism guru Jeff Jochum says it best in his book, Uniqueing Your Brand:

“Anyone can copy what you do; no one can copy who you are. The essence to making Specialism work for your business is that you must stand for something other than ‘making money’ to make this happen. Your WHO becomes your primary differentiator, and the real value of your business. We call this ‘YOUniqueness.” – Jeff Jochum

How do you decide if you are a Generalist or a Specialist? Take a look at the events you have booked on your calendar. Are you shooting a variety of events from weddings, portraits, newborns, and landscapes? If so, you fit more into the category of a Generalist – clients can look to you for a variety of photography services.

A Specialist focuses on one aspect of photography, such as wedding photography. Creating a specialized brand will send the message to clients that you only photograph weddings.

Resource: Blog – What is a Specialist?

In his book, Jeff highlights the 4 steps to becoming a Specialist:

  1. Discover who you are and what makes you unique.
  2. Be authentic to yourself. Use words that resonate with who you are and your passion.
  3. Declare who you are and what makes you unique to the rest of the market.
  4. Deliver a message (through your website, social media, etc.) that reinforces your declaration of who you are.

Resource: Book – Uniqueing Your Brand by Jeff Jochum

Who’s Doing It Right?

Sarah Roshan, ShootDotEdit Customer, specializes in outdoor wedding photography and markets to ideal clients that share that quality. When you view her website, she shares images from her past weddings that focus on the outdoors, which helps her attract the right kind of client to her wedding photography business.

Activities:

  1. Write down 5 things about you that make you stand out from other photographers. What do you offer in your services that other photographers do not?
  2. Determine whether you are a Generalist or a Specialist by writing down the types of events you shoot throughout the year. Do you notice that you book a variety of photography events, or do you consistently shoot the same events?
  3. Create a “want list” for events. What types of events do you want to shoot, and what are you going to do to achieve this goal?

3. ORGANIZATION

When you first started your photography business, you may have been thrilled to start a photo studio, to work your own hours, and to be your own boss. The truth is, opening a photography business may show you that you might enjoy not having a boss, but not necessarily enjoy being the boss. When you’re in charge, you have the responsibility of growing and maintaining your wedding photography business – that’s a lot of work and pressure.

The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber, states that most new businesses are not started by entrepreneurs who set out to build a strong business, but rather, by technicians who enjoy the hands-on work themselves. As a photographer, you are a technician who is passionate about the work and your clients. Because of this, you may tend to focus on working IN your business rather than working ON your business.

Resource: Book – The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

As the CEO of your business, you take on 3 very different jobs:

  1. The Entrepreneur: You have the vision and the passion to implement ideas  that will help to grow your business.
  2. The Artist: You have the vision and passion to create beautiful art with your images.
  3. The Manager: You are in charge of creating a vision to ensure success for your business.

Within all three of your roles, it is necessary to implement systems that will keep you and your business organized at all times. Organization is key to running a smooth and productive business.

“Creating a system helps you stay in control of your business as it continues to grow.” – Mike Adrian

Manuals

As you narrow down the necessary steps it will take to start and grow your wedding photography business, create a manual that outlines every process involved in your business. Taking part in this exercise will help you to dial into your photography business and every aspect of running it. This will help you review everything you currently do, refine it to eliminate any unnecessary steps, expand on those that need clarification, and delegate tasks that do not need to be completed by you. By refining each system within your business, you are setting yourself up for success and can spend time focusing on other areas of your photography business.

Here are the steps to take:

  1. Write the Process: Write down everything you currently do in your wedding photography business. This list should be as detailed as possible so you know exactly what needs to be worked on by someone other than you.
  2. Simplify the Process: The next step is to take a look at your current tasks and figure out what steps can be removed. Also, take note of what steps only you can do.
  3. Assign the Process: As your business grows, start delegating or outsourcing your tasks to in-house employees or other businesses.

Resource – Blog: Creating a Manual for Your Wedding Photography Business

Quick Checklist:
Do you have systems in place for everything?

  • Email management
  • Lead management and processes
  • Booking process (wedding photography contract, as well as the information that goes along with it)
  • Client management
  • Post-shoot workflow (cull, color correction, blogging, social media, etc.)
  • Vendor Relationships

Emails

In many cases, the clients you encounter in your photography business want their information as soon as possible. They expect a quick reply from you wherever you may be during the day. Since you probably receive hundreds of emails throughout the work week, setting up systems to manage your emails will help you stay on top of your communication.

FREE TEMPLATES


Streamline Your Email Workflow

According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the average person dedicates 13 hours per week to reading, deleting, sorting, and sending emails. That’s nearly 30 percent of your work week.

Use a system to speed up your email process:

  1. Schedule Time: As you create a calendar for the month, be sure to schedule time each morning to check your inbox. By beginning with this, you can respond to any urgent emails right away and then work on other projects right after.
  2. Prioritize Emails: Sort your emails as you receive them into urgent and ones that can be answered at a later time. This allows you to communicate with your clients and vendors in a timely manner without overwhelming yourself with emails that are not high priority.
  3. Automate Messages: Much of the time, your emails can have the same copy for several clients. Automate your emails so you can save time writing out every individual email.

Resource– Templates: 49 FREE Email Templates for Wedding Photographers

Who’s Doing It Right?

Leeann Marie, Wedding Photographers is known as the “Photographer Systems Queen” for her ability to implement effective systems into her business.

In addition to outsourcing her wedding photo editing needs to ShootDotEdit, Leeann uses IFTTT. IFTTT creates “recipes” to connect your various social media platforms.

Quick Workflow Hacks

Táve – Virtual studio manager
1Password – Creates and remembers passwords
Boomerang – Schedules your email messages
Wunderlist – Manage and share your to-do lists
ShootDotEdit – Photo editing services for photographers
Dropbox – A way for you to keep all your images together on your computers and devices
Evernote – Keep track of your ideas and to-do lists in an organized manner
Fotoskribe – Outsourced blogging that captures Google’s attention
Hootsuite – Schedule and keep track of your social media activity
Asana – Project Management Software to share projects and set deadlines
Extra – A team of marketers sell prints for you from your wedding photography gallery to your gallery guests, commission free. You get checks every month

Activities:

  1. Understand the 3 roles you play in your company. Divide your workload into those 3 sections to become a better business owner.
    • What do you need to do to become The Entrepreneur?
    • What do you need to change to focus on your artistry?
    • How do you transform into The Manager while maintaining your other 2 responsibilities?
  2. Create systems that will allow you to speed up your workflow. Use workflow hacks that keep your systems organized and help you to stay on track. Outsource time-consuming things, like wedding photo edits.
  3. Write down everything you do in your daily workflow. What needs your attention and what can be done by someone else? Have 2 tasks in mind you can give to someone else.

Related: The Keys to Building a Successful Photography Business

4. WORKFLOW

For you to effectively grow your photography business, your workflow needs to be efficient, both in time and productivity. Once you shoot the wedding, your clients are anxiously awaiting their images. When photographers edit, it takes a lot of time away from other important tasks, especially because wedding photography editing is one of the most time-consuming parts. Thankfully, there are plenty of workflow tools to help speed up the time you spend working on your images.

Cull

If not focused on the task at hand, culling can become a tedious and disorganized part of your workflow. You need a system in place that allows you to review, sort, and prepare your images for editing as quickly and painlessly as possible so you can continue with your post-shoot workflow. Creating a workflow for how you cull is extremely important and can save you hours of unnecessary work.

Programs such as Lightroom have the functionality of tagging and rating images during a cull; however, there is one program that stands out as the most efficient to many photographers: Photo Mechanic. Touted as a standalone image browser and workflow accelerator, Photo Mechanic allows you to cull, sort, tag, and prep your images in a timely manner. It also has a great export feature, so when you are finished culling, you can pull the chosen images back into your editing program and start your post-production work or outsource to a photo editing company like ShootDotEdit.

Photo Mechanic Details:

  1. It uses the embedded JPGs found in your RAW files to view the images – this means there are no previews that need to render, which eliminates the lag time.
  2. All tagging and color labels are customizable to your needs.
  3. Any tags or starred metadata will be saved and can be viewed in your Lightroom Catalog.

Color Correction

While most photography is an art, color correction is more of a science. Color correction is about bringing all your images to a consistent, normalized point. The most common program for color correction is Lightroom. While this program is designed to help you create an efficient workflow, editing is still a time-consuming process. Balancing for exposure, color, and contrast is an arduous task, and this is what takes up the majority of your time in post production.

Rather than editing wedding photos yourself, consider the choice to outsource photography editing to a Specialist. ShootDotEdit, a photo editing service, teamed up with Jared Platt, the industry leader in Lightroom, to create a robust Lightroom workflow with advanced tips, as well as shortcuts that will speed up the process. This workflow provides a fast way to send and receive images that will give you countless hours back that you can use to grow your wedding photography business. Plus, when you send your images to a professional photo editing service, you can trust that your images are in good hands while you work on other parts of your photography business.

Resource: Online Training – Advanced Lightroom Skillsets with Jared Platt

Resource: Blog – Top 5 Advanced Lightroom Tips

Lightroom CC/6

With Lightroom CC part of the Creative Cloud, it makes editing your images faster than ever before! The ability for you to utilize the most advanced version of Lightroom allows you to increase your workflow speed and spend more time on other parts of your business.

  1. Invest in Lightroom Mobile: Now that Lightroom is part of the Creative Cloud, you can take your images anywhere you go, on any device you want.
  2. Use Facial Recognition: With the newest version, you can categorize and organize images based on one person – think of the time you can save with this brand new feature.
  3. Notice the Speed: The time it takes to import and export images is significantly reduced, allowing you to work on your images faster.

Resource: Blog – Top 5 Tips for Lightroom CC

Tip: Use Extra to host your images and present to your clients. Not only will ShootDotEdit take care of your wedding photography post production needs, but your images will be loaded to Extra for you and you’ll receive checks for your print sales, commission free!

Who’s Doing It Right?

Workflow expert, Jared Platt, is known for utilizing post-processing tools to increase his productivity. He is an advocate for Lightroom’s many time-saving benefits.

Print Sales

After you shoot a wedding, do you have a plan in place to sell prints to your clients and their loved ones? If not, you are missing out on more money from print sales. By selling prints and giving clients the opportunity to purchase them, you could be increasing your profit drastically! Our newest service, Extra, is complimentary with our Annual Plans and is a simple way for you to share your images with clients after the wedding day. Not only can you outsource your color correction to wedding photography editing service, ShootDotEdit, but now Extra can also increase your profit without any more work on your part.

Imagine this: you shoot a wedding on Saturday and send it to ShootDotEdit on Sunday. Your images are color corrected and placed on Extra by Wednesday, which is when you send the gallery link to your clients, as well as their family and friends. By Thursday, Extra is already selling your prints and making you more money! Click here to learn more about Extra and how we can make you more money from every wedding.

Turnaround Time

With tools such as Photo Mechanic for culling, ShootDotEdit for color correcting, and Extra for sharing and selling prints, photographers can get their turnaround time from shoot to client delivery reduced to 1-2 weeks, saving an average of 6 weeks.

Resource: Blog – How Fast Turnaround Times Create Client Evangelists

“If you spend a little extra effort now, it will save hours upon hours in the future.” – Jared Platt

Fast turnaround time in your wedding photography business matters. Here’s why:

  1. Delivering beautiful images to clients FAST increases their happiness.
  2. Happy clients spend more money and will share their great experience with others.
  3. FAST delivery keeps your business efficient.

Activities:

  1. What program do you use to cull your images?
    • How long does the culling process take you?
    • Do you have a clearly defined workflow to review your images? Write 3 ways you can speed up your cull. (Hint: We highly recommend Photo Mechanic!).
  2. Take a look at your color correction workflow.
    • How long does it take you to apply basic color correction to an entire event?
    • How long do you spend on artistic edits?
    • Write 3 ways you can reduce this time and spend it on areas that generate a profit in your photography business:
      • A photo editing company like ShootDotEdit can do your post production work and have your images back to you as fast as 48 hours!
  3. How can you create a faster turnaround time and make clients happier?
    • Write out each step of your entire post-shoot workflow.
      • Where are you spending the most time?
      • Write 3 ways that you can speed up your workflow and have a faster turnaround time for your clients.

Once your plans are in place and you know what goals you want to reach (both short-term and long-term), you can begin building for growth in your business. There are many aspects of your business to work on – from your website, to marketing, to social media, as well as connecting with clients and vendors, you’ll have plenty of ways to build for growth. The more you focus on the important parts of your business, the easier it will be to maintain your growth and create an established brand.

When you first thought about how to get started in photography, did you imagine it would have so many details? With proper planning, you can create and achieve goals that help you grow each year.

Find out how you can prepare for additional growth in your photography business through marketing to your ideal clients. Our free Guide to Marketing for Wedding Photographers shares how to market your photography business to book more clients and secure the longevity of your business. Download it today!

http://shootdotedit.com/2017/08/how-to-start-photography-business/

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DHL Express Announces Egyptian Football Superstar Mohamed Salah as Brand Ambassador for the MENA Region The partnership is a testament to the synergy of core values DHL Express and Mohamed Salah share; leadership, commitment, teamwork, precision, agility, determination and service

DHL Express, the world’s leading express logistics provider, has signed a strategic partnership for the Egyptian football superstar Mohamed Salah to become its  brand ambassador for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for the next two years.

The new collaboration will see the parties working together on a series of marketing activities and CSR initiatives that reinforce the synergies between the core values of DHL Express as a business and Mohamed Salah.

It was announced on 23 May at a press conference held in England in the presence of senior DHL Express officials, distinguished guests and international media and comes just a few weeks before Mohamed Salah will lead the Egyptian football team at the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Under the terms of the new agreement, DHL Express will work closely with Mohamed Salah’s company to support CSR and charitable projects while joining forces to support broader initiatives that can impact communities across the wider MENA region.

Following the signing of the partnership agreement, CEO of DHL in the Middle East and North Africa, Nour Suliman, expressed his pride in collaborating with Mohammed Salah, and lauded his cooperative spirit and great personality that inspires many people around the globe.

“Our partnership with Mohammed Salah is unique and different from any other partnership, because it is the first time we contract for an individual player. Before the signing, we considered his attributes as a human being who works on himself to develop and improve his performance to prove to all that hard work leads to success, which led to his most successful seasons in the Premier League yet. ” Suliman elaborated.

Suliman added that Mohamed Salah puts dedication and sincerity in any work he does and is constantly working to develop himself, because he knows well what it means to work positively within a team. DHL also perceives Salah as a figure that resembles the brand in many ways as Suliman stressed.

Sharing his excitement about becoming DHL Express brand ambassador for the MENA region, Mohamed Salah said, “I’m very proud to be the first individual player to partner with DHL and I’m very happy to collaborate with an international brand.”

This association will help DHL Express strengthen its brand presence in the region as a company that deeply involves itself in regional development through connecting people and improving lives.  

Furthermore, the inclusive culture of DHL Express has already significantly contributed to the development of the countries they operate in within the MENA region. This includes supporting many charitable causes, such as recycling and providing care to the elderly and orphans in underprivileged areas.

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Discover the World-Class Destinations of Costa Mesa Orange County California Orange County Visitors Association entices Middle Eastern families and travelers to experience OC’s arts and shopping hub

Orange County, California is an exciting west-coast destination that offers visitors a wide range of cultural experiences, from high-tech amusement to historical sites to world-class performing arts, shopping haven and more.

Centrally located between Los Angeles and San Diego and just minutes from beaches and the Disneyland® Resort, the picturesque Costa Mesa sets the stage as the City of the Arts™ – brimming with the Art of Fashion at South Coast Plaza, one of the world’s premiere shopping destinations. Costa Mesa boasts the Art of the Stage at internationally acclaimed performing art venues and a resident symphony and opera company at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. And the City of the Arts™ lives up to its reputation for the Art of Dining with a stunning array of critically acclaimed restaurants. We’ve assembled a two-day itinerary that will surely make you say, “encore!”

For your stay, Costa Mesa offers a wide variety of exceptional hotels fitting every budget, everything from a four-diamond experience to boutique offerings to well-branded names. Visit travelcostamesa.com for a listing of recommended hotels, or check out the Costa Mesa Marriott, 2.5 miles from John Wayne Airport.

Here is a two-day itinerary to get you some ideas to explore The OC’s family-friendly arts and shopping center this summer:

Day One Itinerary

Morning

Your flight lands at John Wayne Airport, Orange County (SNA), just minutes south of Costa Mesa, with many hotels offering free round-trip shuttle service to the airport. John Wayne Airport makes traveling to Orange County (OC) a breeze, with a reach to more than 20 nonstop destinations throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The airport showcases rotating art exhibits throughout the Thomas F. Riley Terminal, including a grand exhibit, “ORANGE COUNTY: Destination Art & Culture.” In Terminal C baggage claim, a sculpture by Beth Nybeck, Flight of Ideas, hovers overhead.

For the ultimate retail experience, head to South Coast Plaza and explore one of the world’s premier luxury shopping destinations rivaling Fifth Avenue in New York and Bond Street in London, as well as Ginza in Tokyo and Avenue Montaigne in Paris. With more than 250 boutiques, restaurants and department stores, South Coast Plaza boasts an internationally acclaimed roster of elite retailers including Tiffany, Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta, Ermenegildo Zegna, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Versace, Valentino, Fendi, Lanvin, Gucci, Cartier, Yves Saint Laurent, to name a few. You’ll also find plenty of favorites like Quicksilver, Nike Running, UNIQLO and Zara. There’s a lot to explore at this 2.8-million-square-foot retail center, which attracts more visitors annually than the Disneyland® Park, so wear comfortable shoes.

Noon

Treat yourself to lunch at one of South Coast Plaza’s award-winning restaurants. Din Tai Fung, a Michelin-rated dumpling restaurant, brings a touch of Shanghainese-style dining to South Coast Plaza with its famous mouthwatering xiaolongbao. And Capital Grill restaurant unveils mouthwatering entrées including seared tenderloin with butter poached lobster tails and all-natural herb roasted chicken.

Early Afternoon

Take a break from your day of shopping and stop by one of South Coast Plaza’s four concierge centers where you can check your packages for the afternoon, free of charge. Foreign-language assistance is offered in more than 40 languages, everything from Arabic, Mandarin to Spanish.

Now that you’ve lightened your load, it’s an easy walk across Unity Bridge to the “arts campus” of Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Take a self-guided walking tour of public art on display that ranks among the finest collections of outdoor art and sculpture in the United States. See works by such masters as Joan Miro, Henry Moore and Richard Serra. Or take a visit to the 1.6-acre California Scenario designed by world-renowned sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi.

Late Afternoon

You probably already have your tickets to a concert, symphony, ballet or Broadway show at one of Costa Mesa’s many world-class theater venues. But first, enjoy an early dinner at a first-rate dining destination located within walking distance to Segerstrom Center for the Arts, including: The Silver Trumpet, Mastro’s Steakhouse, Pizzeria Ortica or Scott’s Restaurant & Bar.

Evening

Catch a show at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the performing arts leader in OC. Showcasing national and international productions of music, dance and theatre, this cultural campus has deep community roots and is home to Pacific Symphony, the Pacific Chorale and the Tony® Award-winning South Coast Repertory. Its capacity for national and world productions is unmatched anywhere in OC with the magnificent Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, designed by César Pelli, who’s rated by the American Institute of Architects as one of the 10 most influential living architects in the U.S. An architectural masterpiece, the splendid 2,000-seat concert hall features an acre-long glass façade in the shape of a serpentine wave, plus a stunning, multi-tiered foyer and silver-leafed lobby ceiling.

Day Two Itinerary

Morning

Enjoy an early morning breakfast at The CAMP retail center in Costa Mesa, featuring such acclaimed eateries such as the Old Vine Café, which offers fresh, locally sourced organic cuisine in the style of southern Italy. In the first-known environmentally sensitive retail campus in the United States, The CAMP offers customers a non-traditional retail community in a casual and lively atmosphere. All of the stores here are health conscious or fitness related, with a strong emphasis on an active lifestyle. “Green” is everywhere, from the native vegetation to the progressive retailers offering their organic wares.

Check out The LAB across the street that has distinguished itself from other shopping centers by staying true to its “anti-mall” atmosphere. If you take a moment to admire the structure of The LAB, you will notice that it is made up of remnants of what was once a goggle-making factory. The site has been creatively transformed and now includes a relaxed indoor-outdoor courtyard that invites customers to lounge and relax.

Noon

Try a sumptuous lunch just minutes away at South Coast Collection (SOCO), where The OC MIX is located. SOCO is home to designers, locally owned boutiques and award-winning culinary spots. Taco Maria is a perfect place to dine. Taco Maria’s chef, winner of Michelin stars, prepares a distinctly modern take on Californian-Mexican cuisine such as the pepian mole, which is macadamia-crusted cod bathed in a green pumpkinseed sauce splashed with coconut milk, sprinkled with Serrano chili and graced with green apple. Afterward, have dessert at St. Patisserie Chocolat, a high-end Parasian confectionery retailer whose pastry chef is Stephane Treand, named one of the 10 best pastry chefs in the U.S. by Pastry Art and Design Magazine.

Afternoon

Stay at SOCO for the ultimate design experience of Southern California. SOCO is home to more than 70 showrooms, curated restaurants and stores. For any decorator, designer, chef or creative mind in Orange County, SOCO is a shopping destination that is sure to inspire.

From heralded retailers like Surfas Culinary District, Pirch and Design Within Reach to creative outlets like the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, there is always something to discover at SOCO.

Evening

There’s an impressive collection of unique retailers to see at The OC MIX. The Mixing Glass, Orange County’s first specialty cocktail store, has everything you need to create exceptional drinks at home. You can also peruse through hundreds of vinyl records at Analog.

End your day by dining at Social Costa Mesa on 19th Street. Save room for dessert, as they have released a new dessert menu with the help of award winning Pastry Chef Ashley Guzman. Traveling with your family or children? Don’t forget to check out the OC Fair and Event Center for a list of shows, special events, and daily schedules.

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SLOVENIAN TOURIST BOARD LAUNCHES ‘MOUSTACHE TOUR’ IN LJUBLJANA

 Ljubljana Tourism organises a number of cultural interactive tours, which enable you to get a first-hand experience of rich history and tradition of the green capital of Slovenia. The newest among them is the Moustache tour, which introduces the lives of three cultural giants who, apart from playing a major role in the Slovenian history, had something else in common.

Can you guess what?

Who says moustache should only be associated with Movember? In Ljubljana, moustache is a big thing also in May. Or actually from April until late October. By launching the entertaining Moustache Tour of Ljubljana, which explores the lives of the three Slovenian cultural giants, Visit Ljubljana has proved that getting to know history and tradition can be much fun. Cultural tour of Ljubljana, combined with cycling from one spot to another, represents an excellent chance to experience Ljubljana from a completely different perspective. It gives you a chance to cycle along Europe’s Green Capital of 2016 and get an insight into the everyday lives of the three cultural giants: architect Jože Plečnik, poet and writer Ivan Cankar and painter Rihard Jakopič of Slovenia. Not only that they all had moustache, their soul was daring and brave. They left an important mark on Ljubljana and Slovenia in general, each of them in their own way. The tour will reveal their creative power and open up the secrets of the town. But that’s not all: you will get a chance to visit an authentic retro barbershop and experience a number of travel-back-in-time moments.

If you want to experience the tour, which represents an ultimate fusion of culture and fun, Moustache tour is the right choice for you. Available in English, the 3.5-hour Moustache tour takes place every Friday at 3 p.m. until 31 October. It can be booked online for 45€.

https://www.visitljubljana.com/en/visitors/tours-and-trips/moustache-tour/

The Slovenian Tourism Board has dedicated 2018 and 2019 to promoting cultural tourism. Check out other posibilites of spending cultural holidays in Slovenia.

Additional information

For further information regarding the Slovenian Tourist Board and Slovenia promotions contact:

I FEEL SLOVENIA Middle East Office

Tel:                   +971 (0)4 3753578

Email:                Ifeelslovenia.me@aviareps.com

Website:            www.slovenia.info

Facebook:         feelslovenia

Twitter:              @sloveniainfo

Instagram:         @feelslovenia

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PHILIPPINES DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM (PDOT) ANNOUNCED 96% INCREASE ON TOURIST ARRIVAL FROM JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018

Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) announced an increase of 96.66 percent on visitor receipts for January and February 2018 compared to the same period last year.

Based on the data released by the Department of Tourism (DOT), combined receipts for the first two months of the year grew to PHP78.82 billion (1.5 Billion USD) from PHP40.08 billion (7.6 Million USD) in 2017.

DOT attributed the growth to the influx of South Korean and Chinese tourists to the Philippines, with the Koreans snagging the title of top spenders within two consecutive months.

Last January, total tourist receipts surged 73.65 percent to PHP37.65 billion from PHP21.68 billion in the same month last year. There was also a 123.74 percent hike from February 2017’s PHP18.40 billion worth of visitor receipts to PHP41.17 billion last February.

South Korea was the top spending market, generating PHP21.98 billion for January and February 2018 combined.

On the other hand, visitors from China registered PHP16.35 billion for the same period, followed by the United States with PHP10.46 billion.

Rounding out the 15 top-spending markets were Japan, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, United Kingdom, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia, the biggest tourism market of the Philippines from the Middle East region.

Seoul was also Manila’s top visitor market for the same period, recording 354,700 arrivals. Lagging a few figures behind was Beijing with 256,880 visitors in the two months.

According to DOT, Average Daily Expenditure (ADE) for January 2018 was PHP6,426.77 while the Average Length of Stay (ALoS) was 9.10 nights. In the following month, ADE increased to PHP6,575.79, with ALoS at 9.39 nights.

The average per capita expenditure of visitors, meanwhile, were pegged at PHP58,547 (1,100 USD) and PHP61,746 (1,200 USD) for January and February, respectively.

Earlier, the department said it is focused on attracting top spending markets to the country, including the Chinese.

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Barometer has named Chinese tourists as the world’s top tourism spenders for 2017.

The report cited that China spent the most at USD258 billion, followed by America at USD135 billion, Germany at USD84 billion, the United Kingdom at USD63 billion, and France at USD41 billion.

Of the Philippines’ 7.5 million tourist arrival target for 2018, DOT is looking at China’s share at 1.5 million.

The Philippines has seen the consistent growth in tourist arrivals from the Middle East. In 2016, the Philippines received a total of 83,546 tourists from the region, growing by 9.69% over 2015. Tourist arrivals from Saudi Arabia and UAE, the two largest markets out of the region for the Philippines, reached 50,884 and 16,881 respectively.

The PDOT aims to achieve 100,000 tourists from the Middle East by the end of 2018 and proactively developing strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in the Middle East to capture a sizeable percentage of its high-yield tourist market.

For further information about the Philippines visit the Philippines Department of Tourism English and Arabic social media sites at:

Facebook: @funinphili

Twitter: @PhilTourismME

Instagram: @PhilTourimME

Or the Philippine Department of Tourism Middle East Marketing Representative Office at:

Tel: +971 (0)4 433 5952

E-mail: dotmiddleeast@aviareps.com

Website: http://itsmorefuninthephilippines.com

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