Graham Vinter is a finance lawyer and partner at the international
law firm, Allen & Overy.
Ninety per cent of his job covers non-UK markets. He therefore spends
the bulk of his time travelling internationally.
’I always watch Sky News as they are the only guys who still do a 10pm
slot and I can’t make the news any earlier. I also watch Sky Sports for
the footie. I subscribe to The Economist and I’m a big fan of the
weekend Financial Times which I read more for leisure than work. I’m not
a Rupert Murdoch fan although I admit to buying The Sunday Times. When
I’m abroad, I might buy the International Herald Tribune but I don’t
think it’s very good. But it is in English. In my hotel room, I watch
BBC World which I think is excellent.
’As far as advertising goes, I think I’m quite a hard sell. The most
effective ad at Heathrow airport is the giant Motorola phone that you
watch spin round when you’re late for your plane. And I like the ads on
the M4, the crazy ones where they jack up a full-size car.
’I can’t remember any advertising that has hit me between the eyes
recently.
Once I’m in the plane seat, however, I’m a captive victim of
advertising.
I can never do any work on longhaul flights, mostly because the battery
in my laptop runs out. I might look through the British Airways magazine
for ads, especially for new computers.
’The spending power in terms of professionals who go around the world is
enormous but there are some strange ads around.
’For example, when you get off at Zurich airport you pass many posters
for a company called ABB - which I suppose is fine if you want to buy a
turbine.’
Andrew Hampel works at the sports marketing company, IMG, as senior
group vice-president Europe, Middle East and Africa. He travels
internationally at least twice a week for clients who include the
golfers, Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomery.
’When I’m in the UK, I read The Times and The Daily Telegraph,
especially for the sports coverage. I take the Financial Times for
business purposes but I also read it for pleasure.
’For my job, I need to keep an eye on the various trade journals such as
Sport Business. I sometimes read Time and Newsweek and I might
occasionally read Hello!, er, over my wife’s shoulder.
’As far as TV goes, I make sure I catch the news every morning and
evening, either on ITV or BBC. Then there’s sport. I watch golf, Formula
One, rugby, football, and all the major sporting events like the
Olympics, mostly on Sky Sports.
’When I’m travelling I use the time for work and relaxation. The airport
lounge, for example, is definitely for work. For each transatlantic trip
I do, I’ll normally have one piece of written work to complete. Once
that’s done, I either read a book or watch the inflight
entertainment.
’I do notice the big ads at the airport. I remember the giant mobile
phone at Heathrow. And I like the commercial for the Welsh Development
Agency on the inflight entertainment, which ends up with an image of the
Rugby World Cup.
’When I reach my destination, I pick up a local newspaper. In the US,
you usually get USA Today put under your door and I’ll also look at The
Wall Street Journal and New York Times. When I’m in my hotel room, I’ll
watch CNN News.’
John Haile teaches senior business people in the UK and the US how to
make the most out of their careers. He travels frequently across ’the
pond’.
’When I’m in the UK, I watch very little TV. If I do switch it on it
would be for South Park or the Late Review arts programme on BBC2.
Otherwise, I tend to watch films on Sky. My daily newspaper is the
Financial Times. I find it invaluable for spotting new clients. When I
first started targeting clients on Wall Street, it told me where the
English people worked.
’When I’m travelling on business, I’m usually hell-bent on trying to get
the paperwork finished. However, once that’s done, I’ll probably settle
down to the FT and whatever thriller I’ve brought with me. I regard the
inflight magazine as a last resort. The editorial is just full of world
romance. The only magazine I might buy at the airport is Wallpaper.
’Mostly, I regard the plane as a complete pause. So if I’m hit by ads, I
find it surprisingly irritating. In fact, I’m indignant. I’m definitely
aware of more advertising in the US. The walls are all plastered with
ads for the Village Voice, or whatever. I find that advertising abroad
tends to be flat. In the US, I think they have to appeal to a broad
audience and therefore advertising tends to be bland. The frequency of
the ad rate in the US can be a bit irritating, which is probably why I
don’t watch much television when I am over there.’
Stephen Yorke is a former Warburgs banker who last month launched a
sports betting magazine called the Sports Adviser. He travels
internationally at least twice a month.
’I watch a lot of Sky Sports - I particularly like boxing, football and
cricket. I also love Channel 4 News, the Today programme and The
Simpsons.
I’m pretty evenly split between terrestrial and satellite but I might
watch slightly more satellite. I read the Financial Times (I
particularly like the Lex column on the back page) and The Times, which
has strong sports coverage. The FT on Saturday is a very good read and I
also buy the Evening Standard.
’At the airport, I treat myself to magazines - Men’s Health, The
Spectator, New Statesmen and probably a sports title like Boxing
Monthly. I also love The New Yorker.
’I think of travelling as getting away from work. Taxis are part of the
office but planes and trains are off limits. I don’t expect to be
called.
’I’ve noticed the Motorola phone at Heathrow but can’t think of another
good ad at the airport. I have also noticed the American Express ads
because they are ubiquitous. I think they have to be careful about
advertising on planes. I find the ads very irritating on inflight
channels.
’I would probably only read the inflight mag on landing. Having said
that, most of them are high quality nowadays. The only reason I wouldn’t
read it is because I have other stuff.
’I tend not to watch much TV when I’m abroad but if I’m in the States,
I’ll flick through channels. I love the Washington-based public service
channel in US. It has no ads and is like the Today programme with a
camera.
’When I’m in the States, I buy the FT’s American edition and I try to
read The New York Times.’
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