Russell Bedford Marketing and Young Partners & Managers Meetings

November 2021

Russell Bedford’s first in-person meetings in almost two years were held in Portugal’s stunning capital city of Lisbon. This hotly anticipated meeting was attended by marketing representatives and managers and young partners from within the Russell Bedford network, with members attending from Belgium, Congo, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and UK.

Opening the first of two meetings, 2021 Marketing Meeting, Helena Neto from Luxulting - Luxury Consulting, led an excellent session on differentiated marketing strategies, sharing her lessons from the world of excellence. Delegates learned about marketing strategies implemented by some of the world’s most prominent luxury and premium brands and how to translate these examples into marketing strategies for their own firms.

Following a buffet lunch, the group reconvened for the afternoon sessions starting with an update delivered by Stephen Hamlet on Russell Bedford’s 2021 Strategic Review and how this should be brought in line with the marketing strategies of member firms

After a short coffee break, the group engaged in a debrief of the morning session, discussing the most important learnings and the new marketing strategies and tactics they hoped to implement at their own firms.

The group then split into smaller groups to work together on analysing their own brands using Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism to identify and examine the six elements of the prism: Physique, Personality, Culture, Relationship, Self-image and Reflection.

Delegates joined for dinner at Argentinian Restaurant, La Paparrucha, a rooftop restaurant with spectacular night views over the city for a relaxed evening of continued conversation and connection.

The Young Partners & Managers Meeting opened on Tuesday morning with a session by Stephen Hamlet, updating all on the international network.

Next, delegates heard from Ricardo Correia, partner at Russell Bedford’s Lisbon member firm, Tocha, Chaves & Associados. Ricardo delivered a presentation on Doing business in Portugal.

Leadership coaches, Carla Afonso and Dora Sousa joined next for a series of interactive workshops including Knowing each other better: Ice breakers and networking and Chairs of talent: Communication and self-presentation.

After lunch, delegates engaged in a SOAR Analysis: Vision, values and purpose.

Following the close of the meeting, delegates met at Café Luso, an atmospheric central Lisbon restaurant, located in the cellar and stables of 17th-century palace, for drinks, dinner and a wonderful live Portuguese ‘fado’ music performance.

Day two of the Young Partners and Managers Meeting opened on Wednesday morning with a ‘World Café’ - Leadership skills development session, followed by LEGO Serious Play® work.

To wrap up, delegates participated in a session entitled ‘KISS’, where each delegate created their own individual development plan. The meeting concluded with a buffet lunch before individual departures.

Speaking about the meetings, CEO Stephen Hamlet said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to be once again meeting with our international colleagues at real-life, in-person meetings. Both the marketing representatives from within our global network and the managers and young partners bring incredible enthusiasm and vibrancy, full of fresh ideas and new and inspiring ways of advancing themselves and their firms, while supporting the development of the Russell Bedford network.”

He added: “One of the greatest lessons learned over the past +18 months is the importance of embracing relationships, while engaging and learning from one another. Our meetings in Lisbon epitomised this sentiment and provided a reminder to never take these special moments of connection for granted.”

He concluded: “A huge thank you to our colleagues who made the effort to travel to these meetings, you are a credit to your firms and our global network, and I look forward to connecting again at our future events.”